Lancaster farming. (Lancaster, Pa., etc.) 1955-current, July 18, 1998, Image 60
MARSHA ANN CHESS Mercer Co. Correspondent MERCER (Mercer Co.) The Mercer County Lamb and Wool Growers Association held its an nual Shepherd’s night, June 25, at the Mercer County 4-H Park and Extension Center, Mercer. The ac tivities included a lamb dinner, crowning the lamb and wool queen, a skillathon contest, a lead line competition, and a jackpot dr««° k So t^ dy f P r school ln a red and black plaid wool Kara Kingsley, 6, of Volant, shows her lamb In the Night" 6 COntest dur,n ° tha Mercer County Shepherd’s Colorado 4-H’ers Try Pennsylvanian Life JENNY WILT Adams County Correspondent ABBOTTSTOWN (Adams Co.) When the school bus arrived in front of Knouse Food’s Peach Glen plant many of those aboard gave no indication that they had spent days riding in this means of transportation. They had arrived in Adams County on July 1 from their homes in LaPlata County, Colo., and were now exploring Adams County and the surrounding area as part of a 4-H Exchange Program. This day they had just com pleted a Mason-Dixon Farm tour and were about to embark on a visit to the Peach Glen plant * wniSKB JB. *1 1? Members of the LaPlata County, Colo., 4-H Clubs painted die window of the school bus they traveled In with a “Gettysburg or Bust” sign. The 21 youths and 10 adults visited Adams Coun ty 4-H members and their families and todred the area. Lamb And Wool Queen Promotes Industry lamb show. TTie 1998 Mercer County Lamb and Wool Queen is Cheryn L, Courtney of Mercer. Cheryn won the title at the annual meeting in April, but her crown had not ar rived at that time so plans were made to crown her at Shepherd’s night. Unfortunately, Cheryn was working so her mother accepted the crown and banner on her be half. where cherries were the fruit of the day. Bob Weary, director of human resources for Knouse Foods, said the cherry crop was “very short” this year because of the early spring rains which made the fruit “mushy.” What was har vested was now going through the line in the canning plant. The plant expects to process 6,800 tons of cherries. Most will be turned into pie filling or be water packed. Knouse Foods Cooperative, which includes Lucky Leaf, Musselman, Apple Time, Speas Farms, and Lincoln, is the largest fresh fruit packer in the United States, according to Weary. Weary also explained that Knouse Foods will process some three million pounds of peaches and in a year’s time can process 12 million bushels of apples. There are 147 growers in the cooperative. The visit to Knouse Foods was just one of the many area attractions the youths saw dur ing their visit East. They spent a day at the Civil War re-enactment held over the July 4th holiday, went to Hershey Park, Baltimore, Md., where they visited Fort McHenry, Inner Harbor, Lexington Market, and The World TVade Center Observation Level. Before heading West and home they stopped in Washington D.C. for two days. Kimberly Stevens, 15, of Abbottstown, who is a member of the Adams County 4-H Senate, and her Colorado com- In Mercer County Chcryn is the 17-year-old daughter of John and Pamela Courtney. She will be a senior at Mercer High School, this fall, where she is an honor student. Her activities include showing lambs in 4-H, soccer, track, powder puff football, speech team, show choir, ecology team, SADD, equus board, and school musicals. Che ryn is listed in Who’s Who Among American High School Students and has received the Hugh O’Brien Youth Leadership Award. Cheryn feels that her position as Lamb and Wool Queen is import ant because it allows her to edu cate the public and promote the sheep industry. “Some people don’t even know where wool comes from,” she said. “Some people know very little about farm animals.” Cheryn added, “People need to realize that shearing doesn’t hurt the animal. In fact it’s good for them.” Cheryn is part of the fourth gen eration of her family to sheep and her family is very active in the sheep industry. Her father, John Courtney is president of the Penn sylvania Sheep and Wool Growers Association. And her sister Cam ise and Aunt Ruth Ann Courtney Maxwell were both Mercer Coun ty Lamb and Wool Queens. In fact, Ruth Ann was the Pa. Lamb and Wool Queen in 1962. Cheryn plans to go to college, but is unsure of what field of study she will pursue. panion, Misty Zellitti, 14, of Durango, were enjoying getting to know each other and said “It’s nice to get to meet people from other areas. It’s fun.” Misty also enjoyed visiting with others and said, “It’s really pretty on on the East Coast, but it’s definitely hot.” Misty’s cousins, Tracy Zellitti, 15, Kristi Zellitti, 19, and Cynthia Zellitti, 14, all of Durango, found their experience in the East “awesome.” Cynthia summed up the three visitors’ thoughts with “It’s exciting and totally cool.” The goal of the 4-H Exchange Program is to provide an oppor tunity for 4-H teens to visit a dif ferent part of the country and experience, first hand, the lifestyles and differences in cul tures. UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre Co) You’ve just finagled a month off work and rented a quiet cabin in the mountains. You think it might be fun to bake your favorite wild berry pie, but suspect the rustic kitchen may lack to say the least a pastry blender and measuring spoons. How will you squeeze a well stocked kitchen in with the clothes and sleeping bags? A home economist in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences may have the solution. The Portable Kitchen Assembly Guide describes how to pack a kitchen, from veg etable brush to wire whisk, into ier County Lamb and Wool Queen Cheryn Courtney poses for the camera while on a weekend break from her job as a lifeguard at Seneca Hill Bible Camp, Franklin, Pa. Among the 4-H members from LaPlata County, Colorado, are sisters Tracy, 15, Kristi, 19, and Cynthia Zellittl, 14. The three pulled on hairnets for a tour of Knouse Foods Peach Glen plant, where cherries were the fruit of the day. Kitchen To Go a package the size of a tote bag, §ays Jan Scholl, associate pro fessor of agricultural and exten sion education.. “You might be interested in the Portable Kitchen if you’re heading to a cabin this summer, or out on the road in an RV,” Scholl says. The Portable Kitchen con tains more than 50 common kitchen items, packed into an 11 l/2-by-15-inch plastic dishpan. The dishpan doubles as an on- - site sink. A second dishpan, which is slipped inside the first, can be filled with rinse water. “All items are standard-sized except for the cookie sheet, which is the size used in toaster ovens,” says Scholl. The four-page assembly guide comes on card stock and opens like a menu. It lists step by-step visual instructions on how to pack the kitchen, with drawings for each item. It also includes a shopping checksheet To order the Portable Kitchen Assembly Guide, send a check for $1 (for printing and mailing) payable to Penn State University to Jan Scholl, 323 Agricultural Administration) Building, University Park, PA -16802. For more call Jan Scholl at (814) 863-' 7869. . -