82-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 5,2002
Northern Bedford Senior To Sing At Farm Show Opening Ceremony
LINDA WILLIAMS
Bedford Co. Correspondent
NEW ENTERPRISE (Bedford
Co.) Kendy Gable, 17-year-old
daughter of Bemetta and Bradley
Gable, will sing “There You’ll
Be” at the opening ceremony of
the Pennsylvania State Farm
Show on Saturday, January S, as
a part of the Governor’s address.
Kendy, a vivacious, multi-tal
ented brunette, was chosen for
this honor after singing at the
National FFA Convention in
Louisville.
At the convention, Secretary of
Agriculture Samuel Hayes Jr.
heard Kendy and asked her to
perform at the Pennsylvania
Farm Show.
“Most of my success with sing
ing can be attributed to working
with the Meistersingers,” said
Kendy. This is a group of profes
sional-like singers with a 34-year
history at Northern Bedford
County High School. With them
she has sung at the Kennedy
Center and the state capitol. Last
year, she was selected for the role
of “Milly,” in the high school’s
musical performance of Seven
Brides for Seven Brothers.
“Just being selected for the
Meistersingcrs was a honor,” said
Kendy. “We only get together to
practice about three hours a
week. However, we are expected
to practice a lot on our own. Our
instructor, Steve Augnst, makes
videotapes and we have to per
form with them. He looks for
kids who can learn a whole show
in a day.”
Challenge Compels Hobbyist To Compete For Farm Show Gold
LOU ANN GOOD
Food And Family
Features Editor
HEGINS (Schuylkill Co.) “It’s a challenge and my
hobby,” Sally Reinoehl said of the reasons she enters
about 50 items in the family living division at the Pennsyl
vania Farm Show.
Although she has stacks of ribbons, Sally said that she
hasn’t won every category she enters, but she’s de
termined. Armed with pencil and paper, Sally frequents
the family living area during Farm Show week to mark
down obvious and not-so-obvious details of the winning
entries.
For example, she can tell you that a dark chocolate
cake always wins the competition, and that blue ribbon
white rolls are baked separately. She also knows quite a
few secrets that she won’t divulge.
Last year, Sally took home 26 ribbons for her canned
Sally examines her ginger snap cookies
baked for Farm Show competition. Her family
jokes that they learned a long time ago to eat
rejects and save the perfect specimens for
Farm Show entries.
Kendy credits her mother, Ber
netta, with being her faithful au
dience as she practices.
“I could sing all of the songs
right along with her,” said Ber
netta. “The dances too, she adds
laughingly, “I just didn’t want
anyone to see me.”
“And I certainly credit my
farm background with getting to
sing at the Farm Show,” Kendy
says.
Her mother her owns Snider’s
Guernsey bam took her daughter
to the barns before she could even
walk. “I guess I wanted to show
cows from the time I could hold a
halter,” Kendy said.
Active in the Southern Cove
Dairy 4-H until she reached high
school age, Kendy says she is
now a member of the Northern
Bedford FFA. “We have a won
derful FFA,” she says. “And I
credit Mrs. Kring for that.”
The year 2001 has been the
best ever for Kendy in cattle
showing. “I showed at the World
Dairy Expo and took a first in
both junior and open,” she said.
“I also participated in the
North American Livestock com
petition in Louisville.
“Always before I was in my
brother Aaron’s shadow. This
year I did a lot on my own.”
Her favorite cow is a Guern
sey, “Snider’s Sensation Dhur
ma,” which Kendy raised from a
calf. “I am so proud of her.”
Although Snider’s is most
proud of their Guernseys and
consider them their first love.
Kendy has also shown Jerseys.
“Someone "ave me one when I
was little and Mom thought it
would be better for me because I
was small and so was the cow,”
Kendy explained.
After high school, Kendy plans
to enter college to study ag com
munications and dairy science.
“1 would also like to have fun
with my voice, like, cut a record
at Nashville. But, I do realize
that getting to the top by singing
takes a lot of breaks. Who knows,
I might get one. If not, I want to
have something steady to fall
back on.”
“After all, no matter what you
do, it takes some breaks and
knowing the right people. That’s
why it is so important to meet all
kinds of people,” Kendy said
with maturity far beyond her
years.
Getting to know people has
never been a problem for Kendy.
In addition to her singing and
farm activities, she plays the sax
in the high school band and the
piano for fun.
She has been active as a
cheerleader, plays volleyball,
dances, acts, and writes for the
school paper.
This year was a special Christ
mas at the Snider Homestead
farm. Next year, Aaron will be
living on his own and Kendy will
be in college.
Worried about their mom
being lonely, Kendy and Aaron
bought her a St. Bernard puppy.
“She just had to have someone to
keep her company,” said Kendy.
goods, 17 ribbons for her baked goods, and two best of
show ribbons were for her canned goods and for her fruit
braid roll.
Although those awards give her a sense of achievement,
she is frustrated that she can’t unlock the secret criteria
judges use for pickle relish.
“I never got a ribbon for my relish, but I think it looks
as good or better than those that win. I just can’t figure
out what the judges see that I don’t,” she said.
“But I’m going to keep entering it until I win,” Sally
said.
The challenge was what initiated her to enter the state
competition in the early 19905. She said, “I always went
to the Farm Show, and I’d see these entries, and I’d say,
“My stuff looks as good or better than that.”
So one year, she packed up some of her canned goods
and entered the Farm Show.
Guess what? She didn’t win much.
Most people probably would have given up entering,
but not Sally. Instead she started studying what judges
were looking for. She valued any tidbits of information
It took Sally a whole hour to place these
green beans in a jar. But her attention to metic
ulous detail begins long before packing a jar.
She pours over gardening books to select the
perfect seed to plant, harvest, and preserve for
canned bean entry. The bean must be uniform
and straight with no curves to cause havoc for
packing.
Kendy holds the St. Bernard puppy she bought her
mom for Christmas. Kendy will sing at the opening cere
mony of the Pennsylvania Farm Show.
judges sometimes mark on entries. She found out that it is
necessary to remove rings from canned goods. One little
bit of corrosion or discoloration on the lid can disqualify
an entry, she said. So before she tightens rings on ajar lid
she covers it with plastic wrap. This prevents discolora
tion.
Although her favorite canned peach for eating is Jubi
lee, Sally said that variety doesn’t look as nice in a jar.
Firmer peaches are better for appearance because they re
tain their shape. A winning entry of canned peaches has
each peach uniform in size, and the fruit distributed even
ly from top to bottom. That requires hot packing a
more time consuming endeavor than a boiling water bath.
Sally and her husband Frank still live on the farmland
on which she grew up. In fact, Sally said that she was
Here are a few of the canned goods Sally, an
elementary school teacher, will be taking to the
Farm Show. Her entries include homecanned
cherry tomatoes, blackberries, peaches, plums,
apricots, com, beans, sauerkraut, pumpkin,
ketchup, spaghetti sauce, grape juice, jellies,
jams, pickled watermelon rind, and even home
made noodles.
(Turn to Page B 4)