A2B-Lancaster Faming, Saturday, October 8, 1994
Manheim Has Strong Dairy Shows
EVERETT NEWSWANGER
Managing Editor
MANHEIM (Lancaster
Co.) In a dairy show that Judge
Steve Shaw from Blair County
called a great tribute to the dairy
fanners around Manheim, Lowell
and Deb Brubaker family, Man
heim, walked away with 11 first
place wins and three champion
ships in the Holstein show that
included the grand champion, the
junior champion and the reserve
junior champion. The grand
champion was the stylish junior
2-year-old with real dairyness and
the best udder of the show.
The reserve grand champion and
grand champion of the junior divi
sion was Jason Wiveil’s strong,
red, 3-year-old.
The reserve grand champion of
the junior division was Marsha
Balmer’s senior 2-year-old.
In the Ayrshire show Ken Find
ley and Karen Hambrick had all the
entries. Hambrick had the grand
champion and the junior and
reserve junior champion and Find
ley had the reserve grand
champion.
There was one Guernsey shown
by Jason Henisee, a senior yearling
that was junior and grand
champion.
The top placings are as follows:
AYRSHIRE
Jr. Calf: 1. Findley.
InL Calf: 1. Findley.
Sr. Calf: 1. Hambrick.
Huntsberger, Strathemyer
JOYCE BUPP
York Co. Correspondent
YORK (York Co.) —Two
unique York County farming
operations have been honored by
the county’s agri-business com
munity.
The Geary Huntsberger fami
ly, Etters, received the Farm
Family award, and Strathmeyer
Forests, Warrington Township,
was named Ag Industry award
winner during the sixth annual
Agriculture Recognition dinner,
January 28, at Wisehaven Hall,
more than 200 attended the award
program, sponsored by The York
County Penn State Cooperative
Extension Service, Farmers’
Association and Chamber of
Commerce.
The Huntsberger family oper
ates Corn Hill Farms, with some
2500 acres of rented and
sharecropped land planted in
corn, hay and small grains. In
1946, after a stint of service with
the Navy, Geary and his wife
Rosemary returned to the family
farm in northern York County.
Always innovative, Hunts
berger is likely the only farmer in
the county who moves equipment
with a barge. Many years ago, he
ventured into farming islands
mid-river m the Susquehanna,
including Shelley’s, Hill and
Three Mile islands. Huntsberger
was also one of the first area
growers to dry corn. His progres
sivcncss and management abili
ties earned him a Master Farmer
award in 1979.
Geary is semi-retircd, but still
handles equipment maintenance
and the barging of machinery to
the island acreage. His son,
Robert, is farm manager, handles
field work and purchases and
oversees Corn Hill Farm’s two
employees. Rosemary manages
the farm’s accounting.
Sr. Calf: 1. Hambrick.
Jr. Yearling: 1. Hambrick.
Int Yearling: 1. Hambrick.
Jr. 2y: 1. Findley.
4y; 1-3; Findley.
Aged; 1. Findley.
Dry: 1. Hambrick; 2-3, Findley.
Best Udder: 1-3. Findley.
Dam/Daughter: 1. Hambrick; 2.
Findley.
Produce: 1. Findley; 2.
Hambrick.
Jr. Get: 1. Hambrick.
Sr. Get: 1. Findley.
Best 3:1. Findley; 2. Hambrick.
Dairy Herd; 1. Findley.
GUERNSEY
Sr. Yearling; 1. Jason Henisee.
HOLSTEIN
Jr. Calf: 1. Kris Martin; 2. David
Wenger; 3. Lowell Brubaker.
Int. Calf: 1. Crystal Brubaker; 2.
Marsha Balmer; 3. Heather
Brubaker.
Sr. Calf: 1. Denise Bollinger; 2.
Danny Bollinger
Summer Yearling: 1. Melanie
Balmer; 2. David Wenger; 3. Jason
Wivell.
Jr. Yearling: 1. Denise Bollin
ger; 2, David Wenger.
InL Yearling: 1. Harold Brubak
er; 2. Jason Wivell; 3. Amanda
Kolb.
Sr. Yearling: 1. Harold Brubak
er; 2. Harold Brubaker.
Jr. 2y: 1. Lowell Brubaker; 2.
Joe Wivell; 3. Lowell Brubaker.
Sr. 2y: 1. Lowell Brubaker; 2.
Marsha Balmer; 3. Danny
Bollinger.
3y; 1. Jason Wivell; 2. Lowell
Brubaker; 3. Lowell Brubaker.
A long-time agriculture
activist, Geary has served as
chairman of both the county and
state ASCS committees, is a
member of the Dauphin Deposit
Bank board of directors, the New
berry Township school board and
the TMI Citizens’ Advisory
Board.
Robert is an associate director
of the York County Conservation
District, committeeman for the
ASCS district and a member of
the Pennsylvania Farmers Asso
ciation legislative committee. He
and his wife Sue have two chil
dren.
Strathmeyer Forests’ roots in
York County reach back more
than 90 years. Nearly a century
ago, Charles H' Strathmeyer,
grandfather to current president
Fred Strathmeyer, Sr., began sell
ing Christmas trees at his general
store at Philadelphia and Hartley
streets in York.
His son, Charles, founded a
production operation in the
Depression years, selling seedlings
grown from the seeds of pine
cones that he collected. By the
19605, seedling sales had sur
passed Christmas trees as the
prime Strathmeyer business, and
acreage was expanded.
Some three million Strathmey
er seedlings are now sold annual
ly to growers ranging in size from
a few acres to a few thousand
acres. Strathmeyers also stock 11
tree sales centers and retail about
10,000 Christmas trees each sea
son. Another 50,000 are whole
sale marketed to retailers as far
away as Massachusetts and Illi
nois.
Strathmeyer Forests cultivate
about 1,000 acres of trees at
plantings near Bloomsburg and in'
York, Adams, Cumberland and
Dauphin counties. Seedlings are
stated at a 1500-acre nursery at
4y; I. Joe Wivell; 2. Lowell
Brubaker.
sy; 1. Denise Bollinger.
Aged Cow: 1. Lowell Brubaker.
Dry Cow: 1. Denise Bollinger.
Best Udder 1. Lowell Brubaker;
2. Joe Wivell; 3. Jason Wivell.
Dam/Daughter: 1. Jason Wivell;
2. Denise Bollinger.
Produce: 1. Lowell Brubaker; 2.
Denise Bollinger.
Jr. Get: 1. Lowell Brubaker.
Best 3; 1. Lowell Brubaker, 2.
Jason Wivell; 3. Lowell Brubaker,
Dairy Herd: Harold Brubaker; 2.
Jason Wivell; 3. Lowell Brubaker.
The grand champions from left, Jason Wivell with the grand champion of the Junior
division and the reserve grand champion of the open show, and Lowell and Deb Bru
baker with the grand champion of the open show.
Families Honored In York County
The third and fourth generations of Strathmeyer tree growers were on hand to
accept their York Ag Industry award. From left are Brian, Tim, Fred Sr., Robin, and Ger
rft Strathmeyer.
Named York County Farm Family were the Huntsberger’s of Corn HIM Farm. From
left are, Rosemary and Geary, Robert and Sue.
York Springs,
Fred Sr. was instrumental in
organizing the state Christmas
Tree Growers Association. He is
past president and a current direc
tor of the National Christmas
Tree Growers Association.
Karen Hambrick with the grand champion Ayrshire.
All five children of the fourth
generation of Strathmeyers are
involved in the family business.
Fred, Jr., and Gerrit handle mar
keting and sales, Tim and Brian
manage production and daughter
Robin works with the mail order
division.
Also honored during the
awards presentations were partic
ipants in numerous farm public
relations efforts cooperatively
sponsored by York agriculture
(Turn to Pago A3O)