Bt4-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Oacambar 24, 1994
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Angels hover in the rafters above the manger scene during the relnactment
of the first Christmas. The relnactment was held four times at Fred and Julie
Farm Attracts Crowds For Nativity Reinactment
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Farming Staff
LITITZ (Lancaster Co.)
Hundreds of people followed the
brightly shining star to the Fred
Heller farm last weekend. The
10-foot diameter star teetered 140
feet above the farm.
Like the star that drew the wise
men to the manger where the baby
lay, this star too was used to draw
crowds to a reinactment of the
baby’s birth. Only this star did not
appear in the heavens but was
lifted by a crane.
Fred and Julie Heller’s 17-year
barn during tha Christmas play. The wlsemen, from left, are
Dan Heller, who also directed the play, Rod Weber, and Mike
Stoltzfus.
old son Dan directed a camel, a
donkey, sheep, goats, a calf, and a
caste of actors in a real-life reinact
ment of the story of the origin of
Christmas.
Lancaster County Poultry
Ambassador Michele Stauffer nar
rated the nativity play from the
haymow, which was used as a
stage.
Hay was scattered over an area
of the bam where the six goats,
three sheep, two turkeys, and a calf
mingled next to the manger.
Joseph Martin played the part of
Joseph as he brought his wife Mary
Heller’s farm In Lltltz last weekend.
played by Holly Hurst, on a donk
ey to the shelter of the bam.
Angels, played by Zonya Zim
merman and Chad Shirk, hovered
in the rafters above the manger.
The bam doors opened so that
the crowd could see the shepherds
and sheep walking down the hill
side to visit the newborn child.
Three wisemen guided a gangly
camel, named Job, down the hill
side to the site.
Six musical groups sang Christ-
(Continued from Pag* B 12)
Mom, who believes in teaching
children early to cook. A few years
ago, she purchased two loose-leaf
cookbooks for her daughters. The
girls copy favorite family recipes
and lend a hand in the kitchen so
that they can leant to cook just like
Mom.
‘The problem is Mom doesn’t
have a recipe for a lot of stuff,” Ste
phanie said of her mother’s reputa
tion as a “dash of this and a lump of
that” cook. “We have yet to figure
out how'she makes barbecue.”
Writing down recipes is allo
cated not only to the girls in the
kitchen. The boys are learning
their share of recipes too. For the
family’s annual butchering of two
beef and seven pigs, recipes for
homemade bolonga, scrapple, and
home-cured ham must be carefully
calculated.
“If those recipes aren’t written
down, and someone dies, the
recipes are lost forever,” Meyer
said.
“The butchering takes five days
to complete, because we butcher in
T a
mas carols while children in the
audience joined the animals in the
hay for an on-the-spot petting zoo.
Dan said that he thought of the
idea for the play while working for
Paul and Brenda Zimmerman, who
own Hammercreek Exotics in
Lititz. The Zimmermans lent the
camel and other animals for the
reinactment
The rustic bam was an ideal site
for the play. Built in 1817,thebam
was used for storage until Dan got
the idea to userit for the Hammer
Meyers Home Aglow
between milking,” Meyer said.
In years past, die butchering was
always done during the week
between Christmas and New
Year’s. “But that always cut the
enjoyment of Christmas,” Meyer
said. This year the family butch
ered at the beginning of December.
“Now we can really enjoy
Christmas,” he said.
Butchering requires several
family members to arise at 3:30
a.m. While several milk the cows,
others butcher. The butchering
requires sawing meat, grinding it
for hamburger and bolonga, and
endless wrapping.
“It’s a job we both enjoy and
dread.” Stephanie said. “Because
we want to eat good, we do it.”
Two large-sized freezers arc
filled to the brim, one with meat
and the other with produce from
the garden.
The family farms in partnership
with Meyer’s parents, Marvin and
Betty, and a brother Clyde and his
wife Carolyn.
The three families own 300
acres and rent another 100 for rais
ing com, alfalfa, and soybeans.
Creek Mennonite Church Youth’s
Pby.
Youth from the church helped
the Heller family clear the bam. A
blower was used to remove the
cobwebs and plenty of volunteer
sweeping power was donated by
youth and family members.
The youth agreed that the work
was worth it. “It was fun working
together, but to see the people’s
reaction was the best part,” Dan
said.
But their primary focus is milking
140 cows, which requires five to
six persons help for each milking
since a 68-stall bam is used for the
140 cows.
Stephanie is often asked why
she doesn’t run for dairy princess.
Her standard answer is, “I’m too
busy working on the farm.”
It’s her job to help with evening
milking.
In addition to the milking cows,
the Meyers have about 140
replacement heifers and the girls
raise pigs for their 4-H project.
The Meyers live on a farm with
a bam that dates back to 18S7.
Although it’s not the original, the
house was built in 1864. “It costs
sB,oooto build back then,” Meyers
said of the brick homestead that
has been in the family since it was
built.
Helping on the farm, house
work, and working part time as
receptionist for a law firm doesn’t
occupy all of Lois’s time.
She said, "Give me a sewing
machine and material and I’m
happy”
(Turn to Pago B 15)