86-L«ncaster Farming, Saturday, November 21, 1998
Fitzkee Propagates Apples and Living Gifts
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Fanning Staff
MANHEIM (Lancaster Co.)
Many people recognize Dan Fitz
kee as the man with a passion to
raise the largest apples in the area.
The Manheim man received
national recognition a few years
ago when he picked a 2.71 pound
apple from his tree.
“I missed the Guiness Book of
records by .03 of a pound," Fitzkee
said. His picture appears in a
national seed catalogue that prom
otes an apple tree called Stark’s
Jumbo Special.
Fitzkee is still trying to raise the
biggest apple. Although he con
tinues to get the blue ribbon at the
Manheim Community Farm Show
for the biggest apple, he hasn’t
been able to attain the world
record.
That’s O.K. Fitzkee has another
passion—help the hungiy —which
he seeks to propagate in others.
Fitzkee takes the biblical injunc
tion seriously; If a man has two
coats, he should share one with the
one who has none, and if he has
food, he should do likewise.
Fitzkce is one of the leaders of
(lie Living Gift Fair, begun in the
1980 s, when his son Don and oilier
students at Elizabethtown College
took up the challenge of raising
money for those in need.
Donating a “Living Gift”
docsn’t mean donating your organs
after your death. The Living Gift
refers to Heifer Project Interna
tional (HPI), a nonprofit organiza
tion committed to alleviating hun
ger and poverty by providing ani
mals and related assistance.
People purchase an animal or
share of an animal in the name of a
friend to give to those in need.
A family in need gets the HPI
animal. In return, each recipient
passes on the gift by giving one or
more of the first offspring to
another needy family. This way the
project is self perpetuating and in
With the apple on the left, Dan Fitzkee missed the Gui
ness Book of records by .03 of a pound. He had a replica of
the apple made and each year tries to beat it. This year, the
apples were small but Fitzkee still won first place at the Man-
Helm Community Fair with the apple on the right.
some villages has been continuing
10 years after the first animal was
given.
Those who receive a Living Gift
are given an attractive HPI gift card
to give to the person in whose name
it was purchased.
Often at Christmas, it is difficult
to know what to buy or if it will be
appreciated by the receiver. For
those who participate in the Living
Gift Fair, Fitzkee said, “You have
the satisfaction of knowing that
your gift was needed.”
In the past, Fitzkee donated
some bees to HPI. One year Fitz
kee delivered the bees to a West
Virgina family. Fitzkee was
amazed to see the poverty that
existed there.
“You hear about malnutrition
and poverty in other countries.
Even if there weren’t signs of mal
nutrition, the people in the moun
tains were so isolated that Fitzkee
was unable to reach them with his
pickup truck.
After driving through creeks,
Fitzkee had to park his truck and
depend upon someone else with a
more brawny truck to deliver the
shipment
In poverty-stricken areas, reci
pients are often women. The men
often work in distant cities because
there are no jobs where they live.
“People have a desire to help
themselves and to help in the deve
lopment of the community. Proper
training to leach the care of the ani
mal is a major requirement for
those who are recipients in order to
assure that the venture will be suc
cessful," Fitzkee said.
“Compared to people in other
countries, we are all rich," Fitzkee
said.
“A living gift helps wipe out dis
couragement and hopelessness in
people who have no resources to
help thcrqselves. A gift animal in
some of these countries can double
the income for some families,”
Fitzkee said.
“A Living Gift isn’t just a hand
out. It lifts up recipients and
enables them to help others, which
gives them self esteem."
When the Living Gift Fair was
first established, only large ani
mals were used. Tilings have
changed a lot.
“Now, we have more that two
dozen animals to choose from,"
said Fitzkee.
Goats are one of the most needed
gifts. For families who have no
refrigeration, a goat provides just
the right amount of milk daily. A
goat can be raised on steep terrain
and doesn’t need much land.
Fitzkee said that agriculture
missionaries work closely with
those who receive projects. In
many countries, the land has been
abused and is so poor that crops
cannot be raised on it. Trees have
often been cut down and need to be
replanted to provide leaves for
goats and nitrogen for the soil. Ani
mal manure helps enrich the land.
“It’s a matter of stewardship,
where all things work together,"
Fitzkee said.
When the concept of gift giving
first began, it was typical for far
mers to donate animals for the pro
jects. Today it often costs more
money to ship the animal than the
animal costs.
To counteract these costs, the
animal is now purchased closer to
the area where it is to be used.
Camels and llamas arc good exam
ples of animals that would be
extremely expensive to purchase in
this country but are much cheaper
in countries where they are used.
Using animals from the same
country often means the animal is
more resistant to parasites and easi
ly adapts to the climate.
Ostriches ate growing in popu
larity. An ostrich produces 60 to 90
eggs annually. Meat, skin,
feathers—all parts of the bird are
used.
Fitzkee said that snails are prob
ably the most unusual project.
They are used for food in places
such as Ghana.
In some countries, such as
Romania, the gift includes semen
straws as a means to upgrade the
genetic quality of the cows.
The Living Gift Fair is held in
the fellowship hall at the Lititz
Church of the Brethren. Tables are
set up with explanations of current
projects in the country it is in. An
explanation of what animal is used,
how it provides food, income, and
printed materials are available free.
Participants mark purchases on
a shopping list, pay for the gift or
gifts and receive a recognition card
showing what has been purchased
in the name of a friend or family
member.
Also available to purchase at the
Living Gift Fair arc soups, sandwi
ches, drinks, apple dumplings,
other lunch items, baked goods,
craft items, and toys. Profits from
these also go toward the HPI
project
Hammercreek Exotics provides
animals for a petting zoo during the
Fair. Balloons, games, puppet
shows, and other activities are pro-
tm —
i 1
Dan Fitzkee has a passion for propagating apples and for
helping the hungry. He takes the biblical injunction serious
ly: if a man has two coats, he should share one with the one
who has none, and if he has food, he should do likewise.”
One of the best ways to share, Fitzkee believes is through
the Living Gift Fair, which he helps to oversee each year.
vided at the Children’s Comer.
A large Christmas tree in the
center is decorated as participants
purchase animals and a shape of
the animal purchased is attached to
the tree.
Last year $19,000 was raised.
This year, the committee has set a
goal to raise more than $20,000.
Have A Cow
LITITZ (Lancaster Co.)
Short on gift ideas for the person
who has got everything?
Well, have a cow! Or a goat,
or a yak, or hive of bees.
These and a variety of other
familiar and not-so-familiar ani
mals will be on sale at the 11th
annual Heifer Project
International Living Gift Fair
November 28 from 9 a.m. to 2
p.m. at the Lititz Church of the
Brethren.
The fair provides conscien
tious Christmas shoppers with
an alternative to the material
ism of the holiday season.
Here’s how it works:
Shoppers purchase animals in
the name of a friend. The friends
receives an attractive HPI gift
card. A family in need receives
the animal. Decorated tables
provide information about how
\ '
,1. *
The 11th annual Living Gift Fair
will be Saturday, Nov. 28, from 9
a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lititz Church
of the Brethren, 300 W, Orange St.
(across from Warwick High
School). Contributions are tax
deductible.
For more information, call Dan
Fitzkee at (717) 665-5743.
HPI animals benefit poor fami
lies in the US and abroad.
Those wishing to take some
thing home with them can
choose from Discovery Toys, HPI
clothing and merchandise,
homemade baked goods, arts
and crafts, and more. Bring the
whole family for lunch.
Special children’s attractions
include live animals to see and
touch, puppet shows at 10,
11:15, and 12:30 by Sandy
Brandt, face painting, and heli
um-filled balloons.
The Lititz Church of the
Brethren is located at 300 W.
Orange St., in Lititz, directly
across from Warwick High
School. Donations of crafts and
baked goods will be accepted
until the day of the fair.
more, call Dan Fitzkee at 717-
665-5743.
jl