VERNON ACHENBACH JR.
Lancaster Farming Staff
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) A demonstration of the
uses of wool products in clothing
and garments and the ability to
model those articles of clothes
with a pleasing self-confidence,
character and style are what judges
sought Oct 4 in Harrisburg of the
31 contestants in the Keystone
Lead Line contest part of the 41st
Keystone International Livestock
Exposition (KILE).
The sheep industry developed
Kathy Musser shows her brown and blue plaid, semi
fitted dress with a denim collar, and four-gored skirt while
she leads a Dorset ewe that wears a matching scarf.
Laura Hunter wear an imperial blue vest with gold heart
buttons and a warap around skirt and head band, while her
Dorset ewe Princess wears a matching woolen halter cover.
Lead Line Contestants Demonstrate Poise
the Lead Line constest as a way of
educating youth about the uses of
wool and sheep products in clo
thing people. As a competition,
participation has been growing
around the state and especially at
KILE.
While Lead Line contests are
held at various fairs, the contest at
KILE presents the greatest local
competition, as participants are
from several states and are usually
youth involved in the industry, and
from homes with sheep breeding
operations.
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The KILE competition recog
nizes three age divisions
senior, ages 16-19; intermediate,
ages 13-15; and junior, ages 9-12.
The youth, male and female, are
dressed in outfits of their choice
comprised of wool and related pro
ducts and lead a sheep, which is
usually adorned with some kind of
matching or complementary arti
cles, such as a scarf, hat or bow.
Hie contestants of each age
group present themselves first as a
group before a table of three
judges, and then individually.
During the individual judging,
each participant entered the showr
ing with his or her animal, walked
half-way around the perimeter of
the showring, half circling the
stage, and then handed the lead of
their animal to show assistant Kyle
Fleener, of Robesonia.
All the while this was happen
ing, a prepared talk about the outfit
and the contestant was read by a
show official.
With Fleener tending to their
animal, each individual contestant
then modeled their outfit from the
stage a small, center-showring
platform that served as the stage
and runway for each contestant to
model their outfit.
At the end of the presentation,
the participant then resumed their
walk around and out of the ring.
The entire group returned to the
ring for a semi-final review. This
judging was done for each of the
groups before the final judging,
when each group returned to the
show ring for a final decision by
the judges.
In addition to the awards and
plaques received through the com
petition, a number of other awards
were made to individual contes
tants based on some non
contestant specific, such as that
they led a specific breed sheep in
the ring.
Senior Division
In the senior division, Kathy
Musser, 16, of Ml Joy, was the
winner. Leading a Dorset yearling
ewe by her side, Musser wore a
brown and blue plaid dress, that
was designed and sewn by Kathy
and her mother.
The semi-fitted dress was made
of 100-percent wool and featured a
blue denim collar, 19 covered but
tons, long sieves and a four-gored
skirt.
Candice Mascarenas shows her outfit of self-made short
wool coat over a seml-fitted jacket and dark brown wool
trousers, and brown hat, while leading a Hampshire ewe.
She outfitted the ewe with a
matching scarf.
Musser is a student at Donegal
High School and is in her fourth
year with with Lancaster County
4-H Woolies Club, currently serv
ing as its treasurer.
In second place in the senior
divison was Rebecca Mitchell, 16,
of Skaneateles, N.Y., who works
on her family farm with 120 sheep
and other animals. She owns a
flock of Oxord, Jacob and Scottish
Blackface sheep. She led a Scot
tish Blackface yearling ewe. She
noted that the breed represents the
only type of wool New Zealand
has to import
Mitchell’s self-made outfit was
a fully-lined black evening dress of
100-percent wool, except for the
sheer sleeve fabric. It featured a
rear kick pleat and a hand-knitted
lace yoke. She wore black suede
shoes and a pair of self-made black
cufflinks to accessorize.
In third place in the senior divi
sion was Pennsylvania Lamb and
Wool Queen Andrea Musser, 19,
of New Middletown, Ohio, who
led a Suffolk yearling ewe.
She wore a red single-breasted
jacket of 100-percent wool with
black button, narrow black trim on
the collar, lapels and double
breasted pockets. She also wore a
black wool skirt, and wide
brimmed red wool hat with a black
satin bow. She wore black pumps
and gold accessories.
Currently a pre-vet and agricul
tural education student at Ohio
State University, she has also been
a 4-H member for 11 years and this
year showed market lambs and
breeding sheep as well as com
peted in showmanship at her coun
ty fair, the National Junior Suffolk
Show, and other local and state
shows.
Intermediate Division
In the intermediate division,
Candice Mascarenas, IS, of Con
cord, Ohio, was the champion,
leading a Hamshire ewe.
She wore a self-made 4-H sew
ing project outfit of a 100-percent
short wool tan coat with a button
front, detailed shoulders and
matching scarf, as well as dark
brown 100-percent Woolrich wool
trousers with straight legs, a fly
front, buttons closure and belt
loops. She also wore a multi-plaide
semi-fitted jacket with brown trim
that featured princess seaming and
a shaped front hemline.
She also wore a brown hat and
brown leather gloves.
(Turn to Page Bit)
Wool
Queen
(Continued from Page B 2)
champion Suffolk sheep and mark
et lambs in her 10 years of
showing.
Paula Jo Gevin from Cochran
ton, Crawford County was another
contestant. The 17-year-old
daughter of Milo and Margaret
Gevin raises 20 registered Shrop
shires. Oxfords, and Cheviots.
The 1996-97 state queen Andrea
Musser told the audience about her
promotional efforts during the past
year. Whether with strangers or
friends, Andrea’s favorite subject
is sheep and her personal slogan is
“Eat lamb, eat lamb, eat more
lamb, and serve some to the
neighbors.”
Susan Eshelman is state coordi
nator for the state wool queen con
test Master of ceremonies for the
event was Stephanie Bowman, the
1995 Pennsylvania lamb and wool
queen. Judges were sheep breeders
from Berks County Nancy Bow
man, Lenhartsville, and Ruth Hart
man, Limekiln.
Here are recipes from the
contestants:
Buffalo Chips
Heidi Svonavec
1 loaf party rye
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground sausage
1 pound ground lamb
1 pound Velveeta cheese, cubed
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon basil
1 tablespoon oregano
Brown meats, drain fat. Cube
cheese and mix with warm meat
until melted. Add spices and stir
until blended. Place one heaping
tablespoon or more on each slice
party rye. Place on cookie sheet,
and bake at 350 degrees for 10-15
minutes or until mixture is heated
through.
Shelley Patton’s
Lamb Stew
2 pounds boneless lamb, cubed
1 large onion, sliced
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup potatoes, cubed
Salt and pepper
2-3 tablespoons oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup carrots, sliced
10-ounce package frozen peas
Brown lamb in oil. Add all the
ingredients except peas. Place in a
slow cooker on low heat-for eight
hours. Add the peas. Cook one
hour more. Serves 6 to 8.
Paula Gevin’s
Lamb & Cheese
Canape Spread
1 pound ground lamb
1 clove crushed garlic
3 tablespoons ketchup
16 ounces cream cheese
1 tablespoon horseradish
Salt and pepper to taste
Combine one pound ground
lamb and a clove of crushed garlic.
Cook over low heat until browned,
stirring occasionally. Drain off
drippings. Stir in ketchup, cream
cheese, horseradish, and salt and
pepper to taste. Spread on
crackers.