MB-TW 'hioM vebiufa'} Hasans 1 810-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 1, 1897 , The Jacob Tice family from Panama are vacationing In Grantsville, Md. They are Jonathan and Joseph, the pet Toby, Salome and mother, Marlene. Jacob, a dairy far mer stayed in Panama. Panama, Pennsylvania, Maryland Are All Home GAY BROWNLEE Somerset Co. Correspondent GRANTSVILLE (Garrett Co., Md.) Panama in Central America has been home to Salome, Jonathan, and Joseph Tice, for almost seven years. They used to live in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Then the farm their parents owned was sold so they lived for awhile near Grantsville, Maryland. After that the family moved to Panama and began farming there. Their parents are Jacob and Marlene Tice. When it is wintertime in the north, people in Panama are hav ing their summer season. So all the children have school vacation. That is why Salome (nick named Sally) and her brothers, and her mother can spend two months with relatives whom they seldom see. On February 25 they will fly back to be with their father. Mr. Tice stayed in Panama. He milks lots of cows and is the boss of seven workers who help him. Sally is 15 and very pretty. Jonathan is 12 and very tall. Joseph is 10 and very talkative. “Sally always has her head in a book,” says Joseph. This is true. Sally and her mother are like bookworms. They just love to read. Sally says her favorite kind of book is the mystery. Unlike most kids here, Sally ids & t For Tice Children doesn’t have a lending library near her to borrow the latest books. “My hobby is fishing,” says Joseph.” Jonathan, too, enjoys fishing. He isn’t fast enough to fish the way he has seen the locals do it ‘This is how the locals fish,” he explained. ‘They put on a snorkel mask (goggles); they go under the water with a machete (knife); they see a fish and take a quick move and cut it. They put their head up from the water and throw it to the person on the shore and that per son cleans it” Then the one with the machete goes down again for another fish. The boys find worms to bait their fishing lines. They can go swimming often. All year long, even in the winter, Panama stays warm. Winter is the rainy season. “In winter there’s lots of rain,” says Sally. “I get tired of rain, especially when I want to go swimming,” she says. Spanish is the language spoken in Panama. The Tice children speak it and understand it as well as they do English. They also understand Pennsylvania Dutch, Jonathan said. In the town of Concepcion, the children attend schools run by the Seventh Day Adventists. Their mother said the schools are excellent. Joseph agrees to wear his shoes to go to school, but he would ■ * "*» * r* * * .*« rather go barefoot all the time. “When we are out of school we feed calves,” says Joseph. He says they also have a mare and a colt. “We have cows in pasture year ’round," Jonathan said. “A person has to round up the cows, milk them and put feed in troughs,” he said. Before they are milked the cows stay in a holding area. It is easy for people in the coun try to go to town because every IS minutes there is a bus going by. Their parents let the children go on the bus by twos, not alone. When they ride the bus to town, it costs less only 25 cents, if they are wearing school uniforms. Riding the bus costs more money for people wearing regular clothes. There is no television in their home. Many programs are not wholesome to watch so the Tices do other things for fun. “In some ways I’m glad we don’t have television,” says Sally, “Because I wouldn’t have time to do all the other things I do. But sometimes I wish we did have it because life gets so boring.” Panama is a little country between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Salome, Jonathan and Joseph like swim min in the Pacific waters better than in those of the Atlantic Ocean. Jonathan says: ‘The Atlantic is further. It isn’t as comfortable to or*net** Salome “Sally” Tice is from Panama and is visiting her grandmother Salome Yoder In Grentsvllle, Md. Her favorite spot when reading, is a rocker by the windows. Md. are very entertaining for brotL— Joseph (foreground) Tice. The boys are on a long vacation from life in Panama, Central America. They and their mother and sister will return there on Feb. 25. swim there because of coral and stuff like that.” “From the highest peak in Pana ma, on a clear day," said Joseph, “You can see both oceans.” A volcano named “Volcan Barn” is also on the mountain where they live. Volcan Bam has not erupted for many, many, many years. The people believe it won’t erupt again. There are no other kids their own ages for the Tices to play with when they are at home. Sometimes the adults joined them to play softball or volleyball. “Someone hit the softball and it went into the pasture and they couldn’t find it,’’ said Jonathan. After that, their dad bought a volleyball net for them. Jonathan has enjoyed playing computer games on his Uncle Joe Yoder’s computer. Mr. Yoder is also a farmer. . » * ...I 1/ • *■» His mother suggested to Uncle Joe that Jonathan should do bam chores during vacation to earn time for computer games. She wans’t sure that Uncle Joe fol lowed her advice. Vacation for Salome has meant having new books to read. Joseph enjoyed the good food at other people’s houses, when the family was invited out for meals, he said. In Panama people eat rice and beans almost every day. The Tices raise a steer for their own meat “When we get back,” said Joseph, “We’re gonna’ have to butcher a steer, break the colt, and go to school.” They enjoy flying in a big jet airplane. It will take about four hours to fly to Panama from the east coast. When they land in Panama City, they will drive eight more hours to reach their home. , 4P*
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