Harvard Graduate Farms , Teaches, Directs
LINDA WILLIAMS
Bedford Co. Correspondent
BEDFORD (Bedford County)
Frank Antonson spent his
growing up summers in Bedford
County. He has traveled the
world over and still declares
Bedford to be “the most beauti
ful spot in the world.”
A Bedford middle school
teacher, Frank teaches humani
ties andlanguage. He speaks five
languages including English,
Portuguese, Spanish, French,
and German.
The Antonsons live on the
farm they bought from Frank’s
uncle and raise beef cattle.
But, Frank’s true love is the
Dutch Corner Community
Choir which he formed and di
rects. Practice is held every
Monday evening in the room
God is very
democratic in his
dispersal of talent.
Therefore, we
have people in the
country who can
sing just as beauti
fully as those in the
big cities. 9 9
Frank Antonson
Frank added to their home for
the choir.
Almost nothing is too difficult
for this group of rural singers (a
number of them farmers) to un
dertake. In the spring, they are
planning to do Mendelssohn’s
“Elijah.” For Christmas, they
will perform the Messiah, which
will be free and open to the pub
lic
The group performs for
churches, clubs, and does special
events such as a concert in the
Bedford Square in July. They
will be a part of a special talent
show being presented by the
Pennsylvania Consort in late Oc
tober.
Frank organized the choir in
1982 at St. John’s Lutheran
Church in Cessna. “I knew
there was a lot of talent here,”
Frank says. “God is very demo
cratic in his dispersal of talent.
Therefore, we have people in the
Making Hay Inside The House With Strawboard/Agrifiber
(NAPSI) There’s more
wheat in the bread drawer these
days as the use of agrifiber prod
ucts rises on the homefront. Once
just the kernel of an idea, agri
cultural fiber-based products are
now on their way to becoming
staples for a wide range of interi
or uses.
Panels and boards made from
wheat straw, sugar cane and
other agricultural crops are ap
pearing everywhere from a show
case straw house in Montreal to
kitchen and bath cabinets and in
terior furnishings across North
America. Engineered to meet or
exceed performance standards of
industrial-grade particleboard,
these agrifiber products are now
a viable option for a host of ap
plications.
A custom-order manufacturer
Frank Antonson directs the Dutch Corner Community Choir. From left are basses Mi
chael Marisic, Jeremiah Heydt, Will Snyder, and Dave Harper.
“In a large choir, you can lean on someone else. Put an average alto in the middle
of a large section of outstanding altos and she can sing well. But, on her own, she
might have trouble. That’s what you quickly learn with the Dutch Corner group,” Anton
son said. From left are alto singers Nancy Koontz, Michal Wiles. Connie Claycomb,
Donna Zubak, and Allyson Dehmke.
in Portland, Oregon, for exam
ple, first introduced wheatboard
as a substrate in one kitchen cab
inet collection over a year ago.
Not only did the new agrifiber
line garner an industry product
innovation award, but the overall
performance results were so suc
cessful that today the company
uses wheatboard in all its kitchen
and bath cabinets.
“Wheatboard is light, strong,
and repels moisture well,” ex
plains Rick Fields, vice president
and general manager, Neil Kelly
Cabinets. “We couldn’t find any
reason not to use it.”
A high-profile Canadian build
ing also proves that agrifiber
products are no straw in the
wind, but an up-and-coming op
tion. The first straw house in
downtown Montreal features
strawboard from Isobord Enter
prises throughout its
2,000-square-foot design. The
ecological home, completed last
summer as part of the Afforda
bility and Choice Today (ACT)
Program for housing innovation,
boasts strawboard on wall panel
ing, cabinets, baseboards and
shelving.
Products made from annually
renewable resources have been in
the development stage for years.
Researchers at lowa State Uni
versity, for example, have been
working for nearly a decade to
find ways to use agricultural ma
terials like cornstalks to manu
facture composite panels. Today,
wheatboard and other agrifiber
products have successfully en
tered the consumer market and
are coming into their own. They
are used increasingly in the man-
ufacture of office and residential
furniture, kitchen cabinets, case
goods and other applications.
They are now also widely avail
able at home supply stores like
Lowes and Home Depot
throughout the United States
and Canada.
Consumers aren’t likely to no
tice any visible difference with
these crop-based boards, al
though they may pick up on the
light weight of the products,
which makes them easy to work
with. However, customers may
well notice a difference in their
pocket books, as cost benefits
draw manufacturers to agrifiber
products.
One ready-to-assemble (RTA)
furniture manufacturer began
using strawboard as a compo
nent for its home office and
home entertainment designs two
country who can sing just as
beautifully as those in the big cit
ies. They often need an outlet to
prove it.”
The group uses no accompani
ment for performances. To get
over the difficult practice hur
dles, Terry Osman, a member of
the group plays the baby grand
piano located in the Antonson
“singing room.” Terry also writes
special numbers for the choir.
Baroque, secular, and religious
music are all included in the rep
ertoire. “We seldom sing 20th
Century numbers,” Frank said.
“But, we can, and on rare occa
sions, we do.”
There are no tryouts for the
choir, however, some come and
soon learn it is too difficult for
his or her individual talent.
“Most of the time, we let the in
dividual be the judge of that,”
Frank explained.
“We have folks come from
large city choirs who thought this
would he a piece of cake. They
soon learn otherwise. In a large
choir, you can lean on someone
else. Put an average alto in the
middle of a large section of out
standing altos and she can sing
well. But, on her own, she might
have trouble. That’s what you
quickly learn with the Dutch
Corner group.”
Membership changes frequent
ly as singers find other interests,
move away, or even become ill.
Connie Claycomb, wife of retired
farmer Fred Claycomb, and Car
olyn Kegg would come closest to
being charter members.
Few are music majors or have
even had professional training,
but under Frank’s leadership,
they work hard and they learn.
“I hardly let them breathe for an
hour and a half every Monday
evening,” Trank admits. “There
is, however, time afterwards for
some fun and few good-natured
comments are hurled at the driv
en director who often comes to
practice directly from tending his
cattle.
The teacher/farmer’s most re
cently accomplishment has been
applying for and receiving a $350
grant from the Pennsylvania
Rural Arts Alliance. It had to be
used to nurture a quartet of
young people. These include stu
dents Willie Snyder, Joy Thom
as, Deanna Reffner, and Chris
Bullington.
Ages of the choir vary from
high school students to senior cit
izens.
years ago because of its compet
itive price. “This allows us to
offer a cost-effective product to
the customer,” says Derek
Okada, president. Talon Sys
tems, Inc.
Strawboard performs as an
equal with other tried-and-true
composite boards, according to
Okada. “We intermix straw fiber
particleboard, medium density fi
berboard (MDF), and wood fiber
particleboard,” he notes.
Although their potential has
only begun to be tapped, agrifib
er products are already blossom
ing on the homefront, providing
consumers greater options than
ever before.
For more information about
engineered wood products, con
tact the Composite Wood Coun
cil at 301/670-1752 or visit their
web site at www.pbmdf.com.