812-Lanca»ter Farming, Friday, January 9, 1998 The McKeestead farmhouse Is home for Virginia McKee Smith. Her grandparents raised 10 children here and Virginia and her husband raised four. Now son Steve and his wile Amy live In part of the farmstead. Twenty Years Baking Pies For Farm Show Competitions GAIL STROCK Mifflin Co. Correspondent LEWISTOWN (Mifflin Co.) “It was a challenge just to see how good I could do,” Virginia McKee Smith of Lewis town comments about her 20 years of entering home canned or baked goods at the Farm Show. She’s had a lot of experience. She and her husband Nelson raised four children on their Ferguson Valley Road dairy farm, where she has canned and baked to feed the family. This energetic petite grand mother of four lives in the same huge red brick farmhouse in which her grandparents raised 10 children. Her father, who’d never been in the hospital lived in the house until age 96. Virginia was bom and raised here and now shares her home with son Steve and his wife Amy. Steve and Amy milk 75 head while brother Barry helps work the 100 tillable acres of McKeestead Farm’s 200 acres. The Smiths also rent neighboring farmland. Virginia’s husband Nel son is in Ohesson Manor follow ing a stroke. She sees him nearly every day and tries to bring him home once a month. “We were married SO years this past summer, so I’ve done a lot of cooking.” Virginia says as she deftly shapes sweet rolls that she's making that day in the comfort able kitchen. The sweet roll recipe she’s mixed together came from neighbor Kathryn Fisher. It was printed in their Ellen Chapel Church cookbook. She bakes something nearly every day. “I won first (at the Farm Show) for rolls several times. In fact, I won first place with a Peanut But ter Temptations recipe I clipped from Lancaster Farming” Virginia says that former exten sion agent Clair DeLong encour aged her to enter the Farm Show. She was active in the Women’s Extension group, and DeLong of ten took entries to the Farm Show for anyone who wanted to partici pate. Virginia stops what she’s doing to run down the steps to the base ment. Returning, she climbs the steps back to the kitchen more slowly, carefully carrying jars of her hard work. She’s holding pints of dill pickles and her version of “chow-chow.” One jar still has Farm Show entry and prize slips taped to it “I like to garden and can,” she (Turn to Pag* BIS) ,r 9 ■< o\ erguson Valley Road near Lewistown enjoys gardening but likes to bake and can better. Shaping rolls looks sasy when you watch Virginia Smith. Shs freezes her award-winning Peanut Butter Temptations, shown In the front container. SEE YOUR NEAREST 55 I\EWHOLLAI\D DEALER FOR DEPENDABLE EQUIPMENT & SERVICE PENNSYLVANIA ittstown. PA Hon Messick Equipment RD 1, Box 255 A 717-259-6617 Equipment, Inc. RD 1, Rte. 934 717-867-2211 larlisle. PA R&W Bros. Equipment Co. J-JJ- 2 „ 35 East Willow Street 61 °* 9B7 - 6257 717-243-2686 Pitman. PA Elizabethtown. PA Schreffler Messick Farm Equipment Equipment, Inc. 717.648-1120 Rt. 283 - Rheem’s Exit 717-367-1319 Tamaaua. PA Charles S. Halifax.PA rS V 3 9r ’ lnC Sweigard Bros. 717-386-5945 R.D. 3, Box 13 717-896-3414 S.G.Lewis & Son, Inc. 352 N. Jennersville Rd. 610-869-2214 1-800-869-9029 MARYLAND Frederick. MD Ceresville Ford New Holland, Inc Rt. 26 East 301-662-4197 Outside MD, 800-331-9122 Hagerstown. MD Antietam Ford Tractor, Inc 2027 Leitersburg Pike 800-553-6731 301-791-1200 Rising Sun. MD Ag Industrial Equipment Route 1,50 N. Greenmont Rd. 401-658-5568 NEW JERSEY Bridgeton. NJ Washington. NJ Leslie G. Fogg, Smith Tractor & Inc. Equip., Inc. Canton & Stow Creek 15 Hillcrest Ave. Landing Rd. 908-689-7900 609-451-2727 609-935-5145 kwhouaud