814-Lancaster Farming, Friday, January 9, 1998
Ice Cream At 1932 Farm Show Never Tasted Better
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Farming Staff
HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.)
During the Great Depression in
1932, David Sentinel was lucky
enough to attend the Pennsylvania
Farm Show. He remembers when a
vendor held out an ice cream cone
to entice passers-by to spend a
nickel. The advertising gimmick
looked so tempting to 6-year-old
David, who couldn’t resist licking
the cone as he passed by.
“I don’t know who was more
shockcd-*-my parents or the ven
dor,” said Semmel, who is 72 years
old. Fortunately, his great uncle
dug into his pocket for a nickle to
pay for the cone.
Since then, Semmel has often
visited the Farm Show as a 4-H’er,
as a farmer, accompanied by FFA
students when he served on the
school board, and as a retired per
son. The complex has grown lar
ger, the scheduled events more
intense, but the sights, sounds,
smells, and the taste of that ice
cream cone at the first Farm Show
he attended remain a vivid
memory.
Semrod's father had sent some
vegetables in advance of the show
forjudging, but when the Semmels
arrived, they couldn’t find the veg
etables. Because it was during the
Depression, Sentinel presumes
“some hungry people made use of
them along die way.”
Semmd was fascinated by the
steel wheels, threshing machines,
grain binders, horse-drawn plan
ters, cultivators, grass mowers, and
even the hand tools on display.
Hoping to sit awhile, the family
searched for a seat in the small are
na, but the seats were filled.
This picture from the Semmel’s scrapbook shows son
Dalton who was part of the Lehigh Potato Judging Team,
which placed first In competition held at the state Farm
Show in 1961. From left, Robert Reitz, Bryan Klstler, Dalton
Semmel, and Larry Hamm.
Abaci kn«« will keep Dave Semmel from attending the Penneylvania Farm Showthle
year, but N will not prevent him from remembering Farm Shows past. Considered an
archivist, Semmel spends his day compiling historical accounts of the area. He wrote
a church history bopk, writes a column for the local paper, and collects antique tools,
tractors, vehicles, and gas engines. In the background is a photograph of the steam
engines that Semmel collects. His son Dalton, left, collects antique toy tractors.
“What we call the large arena
was not constructed until later,
about 1937,” Semmel said.
After the large arena was con
structed, Semmel said of the event,
“I can still hear the sounds of the
roosters—each trying to outdo
each other.”
This year no sounds and sights
of exotic birds or poultry will be at
the Farm Show because of die ban
from avian influenza.
Semmel also laments the loss of
the big machinery displays.
Farm Show was always the
place to hear and see new wonders
of the mechanical age. One year,
Semmel was amazed to hear that
Allis Chalmers was experiement
ing with producing a battery
operated tractor. “But we never
heard anything after that,” Semmel
said.
Farm Show is almost always
accompanied by weather-related
horror stories of getting to and
from Harrisburg. Although Sent
inel doesn’t remember having
snow-covered roads on the trip
from Allentown to the Farm Show
when be was only six. he does
recall that they drove in a 1929
Chevrolet, with no heater or
defrosters, tires that were not too
reliable, and at an average speed of
30 to 35 miles an hour.
“My father remarked about the
few cars and trucks on the road, but
this was when many people had
their cars setting on blocks, not
having enough money to pay for a
license, let alone gasoline and tires.
In fact, some people got a license
for six months from July through
December, at half fee rather than
the full year for $10,” said Semmel,
who is a noted historian.
The Semmels stand next to the original stonehouse (at left) oi. p>
believed to have been built before the Revolutionary War. In the background Is the
house, built in 1842, where the Semmels live.
While there weren’t many cars
on the road for that initial journey,
later trips involved “horrible traff
ic” on the old Route 22 bypass.
Hopes that the new Route 81 would
alleviate the jam-ups were dashed
when “traffic backed up pass the
exits making travel really
dangerous.”
In the 19505, Semmel recalls
leaving the Farm Show complex
during a heavy snow storm. At one
point his carload reached the top of
a long hill only to have the car spin
around and take them back down
the hill.
Semmel and his wife Mary live
on the 7 5-acre farm that his grand
father purchased in 1906. The orig
inal part of their 10-room house
was built in 1842.
“In 1915, my grandfather added
a bathroom and running water that
was pumped with a gasoline
engine,” Semmel said.
SemmeTs father was a black
smith. It was in the blacksmith
shop that Semmel was regaled by
tales of the past His interest in his
tory was piqued and no doubt
influenced him to begin his collec
tion of antique tractors, cars, and
gas engines.
In 1947, Semmel married and
began farming in partnership with
his dad and later his brother. In
1949, he and Mary moved on the
farm, where they raised two
daughters and a son. They now
have five grandchildren.
He did general farming until
1960. ‘This was potato country,”
jry -SK typi
when they display their antique tractors, cars, and gas
engines at the Kutztown Pennsylvania German Festival.
Sentinel said of the farmland.
“My father always said that if
the plowing is poor, that’s the first
thing against a good potato crop.
Sentinel's diligence in plowing a
straight row paid off, for he won
numerous county plowing contests
and the state plowing contest in
1956.
Plowing wasn’t his only field of
expertise. In 1953 Sentinel won the
stale public speaking contest spon
sored by the Pennsylvania Far
mer’s Association (now Farm
Bureau) and went to Chicago to
compete in the national conven
tion, “where I got beat out by some
guy studying to be a lawyer,” Sent
inel said.
Although the soil was great for
raising potatoes, it was too stony
for the mechanical potato pickers,
and Semmel reluctantly discon
tinued potato growing.
When his brother graduated
from Penn State and convinced his
dad to install a dairy operation,
Semmel continued grain Burning
on the side and worked in the engi
neering department for the Lehigh
County Authority until his
retirement.
Sentinel has a Urge collection of
antique cars, melon, and gas
engines. He purchased his first
vehicle in 1957. He and his wife
often display their collection of gas
engines and antique vehicles at
{daces such as die Kutztown Pen
nsylvania German Festival.
”1 never collect vehicles with the
idea of making money. I just buy
what I like,” said Semmel, who has
purchased a 1925 car and a 1926
truck, which commcrate the birth
yean of he and his wife. When he
purchased the truck for S2S to save
it from the junk pile, he didn’t envi
sion that it would now be worth
$6,000-$7.000.
The Sentinels drive the vehicles
to antique car conventions such as
the one held annually in Hershey.
But Sentinel believes that he and
his wife will not be able to attend
the shows indefinitely and be is in
the process of distributing his col
lection to his children and
grandchildren.
In 1986, Sentinel and Sterling
Zimmerman started the Antique
engine, tractor, and toy club. From
the first meeting with 17 members
it has grown to more than 500
members. Semmel continues to
serve as secretary and treasurer of
the club.
“Wc arc comfortably retired in
our 10-room house until I look
around at all the outside buildings
and think of all the upkeep that
needs to be done, then I get uncom
fortable,” Semmel said.
“If I had to go out and start farm
ing, I’d need to learn all ovff
again,” he said of the need to be
licensed for chemical usage and the
computerization of machinery.
The sights, sounds, and smells of
the Farm Show continue to fasci
nate Semmel. but he won’t be able
to attend this year because of a bad
knee. Instead, Semmel will spend
the week doing what he does most
weeks: He writes a bi-weekly col
umn “Lore & More,” for the “Park
land Press” about local historical
events, and is compiling all the
tools required for blacksmithing to
donate to the Kutztown Pa. Ger
man Heritage Center of which he is
a board member.