82-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 22, 2000
Gettysburg Senior Citizen Educates People About Environment
Mildred displays the curriculum materials that she provided to students who got in
volved with Soil and Water Stewardship Day. This event was just one of Mildred’s activi
ties as environmental technician for the Conservation District.
Working side by side with her husband on their farm for most of her life helps Mildred
Musselman relate to farmers working with the Conservation District. It also motivates
her to educate the community about conservation.
National Infant Immunization Week Reminds Parents
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Farming Staff
LANCASTER (Lancaster
Co.) Caring parents do what
ever possible to protect their
children from situations that
could cause brain damage,
bodily injury, or death. Except,
perhaps, they don’t make sure
that all immunizations are up to
date.
Some parents, fearful of side
effects and who may lack infor
mation on immunization, are
skeptical of the need for immun
ization and do not have children
vaccinated against tetanus,
diphtheria, polio, measles,
mumps, Hib, chicken pox, and
hepatitis B.
This puts their children at
risk not only for contracting the
illnesses but also complications
from the diseases, which can
cause seizures, brain damage,
deafness, other physical handi
caps and even death. It also can
cause others to contract these
vaccine-preventable diseases.
“You gave them life pro
tect it,” is the motto for the Na
tional Immunization Week,
April 16-22. National Infant Im
munization week gives the Lan-
Tom Gave
caster County Immunization
Coalition the opportunity to
bring to the community an in
creased awareness for the need
to vaccinate children at an early
age. Infant immunization is
simple and inexpensive.
Failure to see that children
are properly vaccinated is often
based on myths, according to
Elaine Zuck, nurse at the Lan
caster County site of the Pa. De
partment of Health. Some of
these myths include the follow
ing:
• “I’ve never seen these dis
eases and I don’t think they exist
anymore.”
“The reason few children con
tract polio, diphtheria, and
many of the formerly common
childhood diseases is because of
immunization. Decrease the rate
of immunization, and the inci
dent of disease goes up,” Zuck
said.
• “Vaccines can make my
child sick and might even cause
death.”
“Vaccines are very safe and
effective,” Zuck insists. “It is
extremely rare to have signifi
cant side effects to vaccines es
pecially since the release of the
hewer and safer vaccine DTaP,
Them Life - Protect IP
which causes fewer and milder
reactions than the formerly used
DTP. Experience and research
does not support the myth that
vaccines cause the disease they
are intended to prevent.”
• “Vaccines hurt and I hate to
see my child get a shot.”
The reality is that temporary
discomfort from an injection is
soon forgotten and nothing com
pared to the excruciating pain of
contracting one of the diseases.
Before attending school,
Pennsylvania law requires that
children must have had the fol
lowing immunizations: four
doses of tetanus and diphtheria,
three doses of polio, two doses of
measles, one dose of mumps and
rubella, and three doses of hepa
titis B. The only exemptions
from this law are for medical or
religious beliefs.
The medical profession be
lieves that parents who shun im
munizations because of religious
beliefs should reconsider. They
have seen heart-rending stories
of babies and children who die
or are permanently damaged be
cause they were not immunized.
Although immunizations are
(Turn to Pag* B 4)
JAYNE SEBRIGHT
Lancaster Farming Staff
GETTYSBURG (Adams Co.)
Mildred Musselman gets up
at 5:30 a.m. every morning, goes
to work from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
at the Adams County Conserva
tion District, and then goes
home to work in her rock garden
and lawn for most of the eve
ning.
Maintaining the energy of a
25 year old, Mildred went to
work at the Conservation Dis
trict in 1989 when she turned 65
years old. Last year was her
tenth year anniversary with the
District.
Mildred and her husband
Arthur farmed on their 162-acre
farm in Gettysburg until Arthur
passed away in 1985.
raised grain and pouh r y “j was
involved in every asp„- c t 0 f tic
farm,” said Mildred.
After Arthur’s death, Mildred
began renting the farm to a local
farmer. Then, in 1989, the
farmer who was renting her
farm encouraged her to apply at
the Conservation District.
“He told me they needed
someone down there to work
with the farmers,” said Mildred.
“Since I was a farmer, he
thought I would be able to com
municate well with other farm
ers.”
Mildred’s first job at the Dis
trict was to do Chesapeake Bay
assessments for Adams County
farmers. “I started out inter
viewing farmers and collecting
information about their opera
tions.”
Shortly after starting, she
became a Chesapeake Bay tech
nician and helped farmers de
velop conservation plans. “I
pares the third dose of DTap for 8-month-old Austin held
by his mother Bridy Mullikin, Lancaster.
always enjoyed working with
the fanners because they spoke
my language and I spoke
theirs,” she said.
Just last year Mildred
switched responsibilities after
working as a Chesapeake Bay
technician for ten years to
become an environmental tech
nician. Now, instead of working
with farmers, she’ll be educating
students, teachers, and the com
munity about conservation a- J
environmental issues.
“With my new position, I’ll be
able to educate the general
public on environmental issues
related to farming,” said Mil
dred. ,“TS his will be my chance to
giv- c back to the farm immu
nity.”
Mildwi 1 is one of seven full
tine employees at the District.
About 50 percent of the work
done there involves farmers in
some way. Mildred is the first to
work solely with the community
and education programs.
Some of her responsibilities
will include promoting Soil and
Water Stewardship Day and
Earth Day. For Soil and Water
Stewardship Day, she supplied
schools with educational materi
als for the students to study
prior to attending environmen
tal camps.
With Earth Day quickly ap
proaching, Mildred has been
busy distributing seeds to senior
citizens clubs throughout the
county and coordinating a tree
seedling sale. She also helped
the Watershed Alliance of
Adams County monitor local
stream water to solve environ
mental problems.
“I just completed plans for a
(Turn to Page B 3)