York Chamber Honors Ag Family Businesses JOYCE BUPP York Co. Correspondent YORK (York Co.) The Paul McPherson and Dick Naylor families have been named farm business honorees of the year by the York Chamber of Commerce. These two marketing-sawy farm families were saluted before a crowd of more than 300 attend ing the Chamber’s annual Ag- Business Awards Dinner, Jan. 25 at the York Expo Center. Named farm family of the year, Paul and Gail McPherson operate a 1,400-acre grain and fruit operation new New Park. A portion of their orchard produc tion is marketed through Maple Lawn’s customer-pick and farm retailing center, with seasonal emphasis on peaches, blueber ries, and apples. Their Maple Lawn Excavating service is a sideline business started several years ago by Paul to assist other landowners in conservation con struction. Paul is a 10-year director of AgChoice and chairs the Fawn Township Planning Commission. He has also served as director of the Penn State Ag Science Alum ni Society and as president of the National Peach Council, Fawn Grove Fire Company and the York County Fruit Growers As sociation. Gail is an active charter-mem ber of the American and Penn sylvania Agri-Women, serves on the Apple Marketing Board and formerly taught in the Southeast ern School District. The McPher sons are involved in the North American Farmers Direct Mar keting Association and fill vari ous leadership positions at the Centre Presbyterian Church. The couple has three children, daughters Gretchen and Sarah, and son, Hugh, who has joined the family business after gradu ating from Penn State. Hugh added an additional twist to Maple Lawn’s creative market ing events and activities with the farm’s popular corn maze. That enterprise has evolved into a “Maze Quest” franchise with seven additional mazes in vari ous locations. With their upbeat approaches to marketing, the McPherson farm has become a destination for thousands of regional con sumers looking for quality fruit, hands-on harvest experiences and hours of cornfield entertain ment. Selection of the Farm Family award is based on excellence in farming and production quality, dedication to and years of in volvement in agriculture, com munity involvement, setting a positive lifestyle example and participation in ag-related activi ties and groups. Similar criteria excellence in operation, a quality produce, out- Genealogy Conference Is March 30-31 LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.) ily History Conference on Friday 18th-century German Palatinate, about 20 other workshops featur- Program and further registra — Featuring as keynote speaker and Saturday, March 30-31, He will also present workshops ing beginner to advanced re- tion details are available from Roland Paul associate director 2001, at Lancaster Mennonite on “Genealogical Sources for the search; facilities in multiple geo- Lola M. Lehman, Lancaster since 1978 of the Institute for High School, Lancaster. Palatinate in State, City, Church, graphic areas; and usage of Mennonite Historical Society, Palatinate History and Folk Cul- i n his keynote address, Paul and Private Archives” and “Im- van ® d types of records, including 2215 Millstream Road, Lancas ture, Kaiserslautern, Germany will discuss “The Old World and migration into the Palatinate ter ’ PA 17602-14 " (include self the Lancaster Mennonite Histori- the New World of the Pennsylva- from Switzerland and Other ° ords . gravestones and socia j addressed, stamped envelope), cal Society and the Lancaster n ia Germans,” outlining the po- Countries after the Thirty Years i denti ’ ty . genealogy computer Phone: (717) 393-9745; fax: (717) County Historical Society will litical, religious, and social situa- Wars.” programs and web pages as shar- 393-8751. Registration deadline cosponsor the 22nd annual Fam- tion in the 17th- and Other leaders will conduct ing tools; and dating one’s house, is March 17. standing customer service, com munity service, and years of pop ular business relationships are the selection hallmarks of the an nual Outstanding Agri-Business Award, presented this year to Dick and Audrey Naylor’s pro duction and marketing business, Naylor’s Wine Cellars. “You can make a living from a hobby,” quipped Dick Naylor, accepting the family’s honor from the Chamber on behalf of their family-farm winery. A tool and die marker by trade, and general manager of York’s Cor-Box by later career, Naylor began growing grapes as a hobby, purchasing the farm near Stewartstown in 1974. The vineyard has grown from its orig inal l-'A acres to 33 acres, with more than 25,000 vines of 15 mainstay varieties of grapes and more than two dozen experimen tal cultivars. Sales for 1998 topped $BBO,OOO, with 95 percent of their production marketed through their own retail outlets. About half of the Naylor Wine Cellars total sales figure is from distrib uting speciality packaging prod ucts, including shipping cartons and gift boxes, to some 700 other wineries and shops around the country. Winter months keep the sever al full-time and part-time pro duction employees busy pruning and caring for the vines, as well as bottling product. During the summer months, musical enter tainment and special events bring crowds to enjoy the rural setting of the Naylor vineyard pavilion. Naylor’s wines have won numerous industry awards for excellence. A true family business, Naylor is headed by Dick as president, Audrey is vice-president, their daughter Janey Potter handles systems coordination, while son in-law Ted Potter is a winemak er. Naylor’s mother, 98-year-old Helen Wheat, often lends a hand helping to label and bottle. Recognition was extended to hosts of the Chamber’s annual Farm Visitation Day. Farms which opened their doors to the public for the annual ag educa tion event last November were Brown’s Orchards and Farm Markets, operated by Stan and Nona Brown; Highboume Deer Farm, the enterprise of John and Nancy Behrmann; Perrydell Dairy, Greg, Laurie, Tom and Donna Perry; and the South Branch Farm of Robert and Anne Kinsley. Also honored were partici pants in the Agricultural Ex change, which teams farm and industry representatives to spend a day visiting at their worksites. Teamed with Sandy Johnston and her horse farm were Adhe sives Research employees Cathie Huber and Sue Kisielnicki. Dairy farmers Harry Bickle, Alta Vista Farm West, and Felicia Dell, York County Planning Commis sion, were teamed for a visit, as well as 93rd District State Repre sentative Ron Miller who teamed with grain producer Brian Utz, Green Valley Farm. Dale Crist, business associate of Rutter’s Dairy and the Cham ber ag business committee’s pho tographer, was honored for his years of service. The FFA Chap ter of Eastern York High School was saluted by the Chamber for its outstanding display awards received at the recent Farm Show. Also recognized were county dairy princess Heather Crowl, Pennsylvania Poultry Ambassador Rijelle Kraft, Alan and Denise Taylor who were among the top finalists in a re cent state Farm Bureau young farmers competition, and Russel and Betty Combower, also hon ored by the Farm Show for Rus sel’s lengthy years of participa tion. Featured speaker was Penn State Ag College’s dean. Dr. Robert Steele. Steele praised York County for its measures being taken to preserve farm land, noting that “Pennsylvania Farm Family of the Year honoree by the York Chamber is still a keystone state, located o f Commerce was the McPherson family of Maple Lawn within a day’s drive of two-thirds Farms. From left are daughter Sarah, Paul, Gail and son of the U.S. population.” Hugh McPherson. Accepting their York Chamber of Commerce Agri-Business of the Year award are, from left, Tony Dobrosky, Chamber representative; Audrey Naylor, Helen Wheat, and Dick Naylor. “That gives this area a geo- vation efforts, with some 200,000 quality, to be an issue of concern graphical advantage,” noted Dr. acres on 1,500 farms in preserve for the future and that capturing Steele, praising the ag-business status. But with 45,000-plus and recharging water supplies honorees for recognizing and uti- farms and more than 7.5 million becomes more difficult as acres lizing the surrounding popula- acres of farmland across the are paved over, tion in their marketing efforts. Keystone state, Steele em- “Keep agriculture a profitable Steele acknowledged that phasized that there is much more enterprise,” he urged. “That’s Pennsylvania is the leading state to be done. He especially noted the best way to preserve agricul in the nation in farmland preser- water quantity, along with water hire.”
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers