84-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 3, 1686
On Being a
Farm Wife
(and other
hazards) i
Joyce Bupp
In the Chinese calendar, every
year is designated the year of a
particular animal.
One year, it may be the year of
the cat Another, the year of the
horse. (Around here, every year is
the year of the cow.)
But in the world of folk decorat
ing, this is the year of the sunflow
er.
Every few seasons, some hot
new decorating decor comes into
play. This is an artfully designed
and carefully honed method of
marketing and merchandising,
otherwise known as selling stuff.
It keeps the economic wheels
greased and people in work. Capi
talism at its finest
Indiana County
Selects Dairy Princess
INDIANA (INDIANA Co.) 4
Julie Lockhart was recently |r *
crowned Indiana County Dairy
Princess by Amy Trimble, the for
mer dairy princess.
Dairy promotion is not new to .
Julie who served as a dairy maid pr *
for four years and was alternate w
county dairy princess last year.
Julie is the daughter of Charles
and Jackie Lockhart. In the fall,
Julie will be a senior at Marion .
Center High School, where she is W .
active in FFA and ROTC. Julie k
also in active in church activities r *
and in 4-H. ,
To help with county dairy prom-* f* -*
otion, Julie will have four dairy }
maids to assist her. They are Jen- *
nifer McMillen, daughter of Bill '
and Karen McMillen; Tammy
Trimble, daughter of Tom and I
Faye Trimble; Kathy LaVan, *
daughter of Joe and Barbara *
LaVan; Barbara White, daughter
of Ronald and Irene White,
Participants at the pageant held
at the Holiday Inn included Master
of Ceremonies Todd Marino,
flower girl Tricia Wallace, crown
bearer was Jacob Scott, pages Fred
Beatty, Aaron George, and Keith i*.
Pollock, pianist Hazel Johnston,
and County Commissioner Bemie
For booking reservations, call
contact person Charlotte Deaben- • .
derfer at (412) 463-0321. Indiana County Dairy Princess Julie Lockhart Is eager to
promote the dairy Industry.
Many seasons ago, we Holstein
cow people were absolutely de
lighted when the “black and
white” cow pattern decor swept
the country. Black and while glis
tened on everything from kids un
derwear to teapots to my prized
Holstein-spotted computer
mouse-pad gifted me by a special
friend.
Then, the sunflower sprouted
Few flowers relay the message of
down-hominess better than a sun
flower. Their brilliant yellow pet
als and wide-eyed face look cap
tures the essence and cheerfulness
of summer’s brightest and most
pleasant days. Sunflowers sym
bolize warmth and happiness and
little kids palying in the garden.
Suddenly, there were sunflow
ers on T-shirts, sunflowers on
friendship coffee mugs, sunflow
ers on kitchen rugs. Bolts of fabric
boasted yards of the cheery yel
low-petaled posies and silk repro
ductions grew from door wreaths
and table arrangements.
Not to be outdone in the effort
to rcamin “with it” decorativc
ly speaking we are pleased to
announce that the farmstead has
been redecorated in the latest sun
flower look.
Courtesy of Mother Nature,
with engineering by our bird
population. And maybe a squirrel
or two.
Aiding and abetting this effort
has been the overwhelmingly wet
summer, in which anything that
sits in one place for more than an
hour either sprouts or mildews.
Which means that places which, in
most summers will not even grow
grass, have flourishing colonies of
sunflowers.
Like under the maple trees,
whose aggressive roots and thick
canopy usually starve and shade
out all plant growth beneath
flowers, grass, even weeds don’t
do well at the feet of maples. But,
this summer, oodles of sunflowers
have sprouted in the mulch around
the maple’s trunks from seed
dropped there from the birdfeed
ets and not found by the rooster
and guinea-fowl clean-up crews.
Most are a bit scruffy and anemic,
due to the havey shade cover, but
are nonetheless forming minature
bloom heads and seedheads.
Where the environment is more
promising, sunflower volunteers
have trunks like small trees and
multiple blooms. One eager
beaver set roots just off the black
top outside the dairybarn, and
grew a fat, wide head with a flat
spot on which the birds are already
sitting to snatch the developing
seeds.
Another took root in the rasp
berry patch, guarding over the bri
ars (and weeds) like a lofty sentin
el. A support wire for the electric
PDFP Bicycle Tour.
PITTSBURGH (Allegheny
Co.) The Pennsylvania Dairy
Promotion Program Board will
promote milk with a sponsorship
of the 10th annual Tour de ‘Toona
bicycle race August 21-25, in Al
toona. The American Dairy Asso
ciation & Dairy Council Mid East
will coordinate and implement the
sponsorship on behalf of the
PDPP Board.
Tour de ‘Toona is one of the
largest pro/am bicycle races in the
United States and annually draws
more than 30,000 spectators to Al
toona. Television, radio, newspa
per and cycling magazines from
southwestern Pennsylvania and
across the United States will cover
the event
“As a Blair county dairy farmer,
I look forward to welcoming the
riders and spectators to Altoona,”
says Ray Diebold, Pennsylvania
Dairy Promotion Program board
member. “The PDPP Board spon
sorship will create greater aware
ness of the dairy industry and
dairy products by promoting to
this health-conscientious audi
ence.”
PDPP will sponsor the “King of
the Mountain” portion of the race
and will award a “got milk?” jer
sey and milk toast to the fastest
male to ascend Blue Knob Moun
tain. The grueling seven-mile
climb is part of the 90-mile road
race around Blair County on
Saturday. August 24. The winner
will then wear his jersey during
the final portion of the race on
Sunday.
Media coverage of the race is
extensive on both the local and na-
pole in the cotter of the patch runs
right by the developing seedheads,
ideal perch for the finches to
check the seed progress.
My favorite is the sturdy fellow
in the middle of the back yard,
which sprouted in soil stirred
loose when The Farmer yanked
our dying willow tree. When the
rain finally stopped enough that I
could mow the lawn, the stalk was
already a yard-high, sporting a
bud. How could I kill that? So
there it stands, mid-yard, with
multiple golden blooms crawling
with honey-making bees, outper
forming die row of ornamental
'sunflowers just beginning to
bloom in the garden.
We have a new garden motto.
“Sunflowers Happen.”
tional levels. Altoona media
reaches a 17-county area and in
cludes Johnstown, State College,
and Pittsburgh. The PDPP Board
plans to capitalize on the media
exposure at Tour de ‘Toona. “Got
milk?” banners will line the race
course reminding spectators and
TV audiences to drink milk. Tour
de ‘Toona radio coverage includes
daily updates and wire-to-wire
coverage of Saturday’s race on
WALY-FM radio, Altoona.
“Got milk?” cow bells will be
distributed to the nearly 500 spec
tators expected to line Blue Knob
Mountain for “King of the Moun
tain.” Similar to racing crowds in
Europe, the fans will not only
cheer the racers as they tackle the
most challenging section of the
course, but will also take home a
milk reminder.
The PDPP Board’s involve
ment in Tour de ‘Toona will ex
tend beyond the race itself. Six '
hundred race marshals will wear
hats with the “got milk?” logo,'
and other marketing opportunities
to incorporate the “got milk?” ;
logo will reinforce the dairy mes
sage throughout the year. In addi
tion, local dairy princesses and
promoters will save milk punch
and dairy product samples for rac
ers.
ADADC Mid East is the pro
ducer-funded organization that
implements advertising, promo
tion, marketing, and nutrition edu
cation serving dairy producers in
33 counties in western and north
central Pennsylvania on behalf of
the Pennsylvania «Dairy Promo
tioin Program Board.