On Being a
Farm Wife
(and other hazard:
Joyce Bupp
For years, they’ve gone hand
in hand.
The New Year. And the Penn
sylvania Farm Show.
Anything new in agriculture,
you could generally figure on
being able to see, touch, or at
least learn about it at the Farm
Show. During our high school
years, Farm Show was one of
those events tempting to “hook
out” of classes for, because it ran
only Monday through Friday.
(No, I never did; it would have
been the first and last time if I
did and it was found out.) Our
kids, as cattle exhibitors, were
readily able to receive permission
from school for time off to partic
ipate.
Now, the Farm Show runs over
this weekend for those who can’t
get off from work or school, but
one less weekday. This year
brings one of those “temporary
inconvenience...permanent im
provement” periods of time, with
the multi-million renovations and
expansion of this Harrisburg
landmark.
The Farm Show offers more
things to see than most of us can
possibly catch in one visit. (Espe
cially if you go with a spouse who
wants to ponder at length the
merits of various pieces of equip
ment). Sometimes we just part
company for awhile and go dif
ferent directions to see items of
specific interest, especially if he
wants to visit at length about
equipment while I want to linger
over the crafts and homemaking
entries.
Here’s a random check-list for
your Farm Show visit (or to re
hash it if you’ve already been
there this year);
• Number of little kids you
counted sitting on tractor seats,
wide-eyed, wearing big grins;
• Winner of the new rural hol
iday ornament contest;
• The nut display (no, no, not
peop!e...we mean like walnuts,
pecans, hickories, etc.);
• Educational displays de
signed by and in competition
among statewide FFA chapters;
• Number of adult guys you
counted sitting on tractor seats,
wide-eyed, wearing big grins;
• A bird of prey on display at
the nature center area;
• Winning garments from the
4-H sewing project entries;
• Number of frustrated-look
ing moms, wives, and sisters tap
ping their feet with impatience at
the big and little guys, wide-eyed
and wearing big grins, crawling
on and off tractor seats;
• Entries in the sheep fleece
competition, judged for qualities
like length and kink of wool
strands;
• A cooking demonstration
featuring Pennsylvania-produced
food;
• Number of folks spied trying
to juggle milk shakes, deep fried
mushrooms, apple cider, baked
potato, fish sandwiches while try
ing to guide kids through the
ever-popular food court. Bon Ap
petite!
• The champion Christmas
tree;
• Honey and related products,
like candy and beeswax candles;
• Floral ar
rangements (and
flowers to take
home for a spe
cial someone
from the horticul
ture folks)’
• Those stun
ning, giant, draft
horses;
• Competitive displays of veg
etables including things like
black radishes, rutabagas and
parsnips (yes, Virginia, folks ac
tually grow and eat those);
• The champion dressed tur
key, hoarded from Christmas
dinner-use for show competition;
• Number of little kids (and
big ones) petting squeaky-clean
cows, fluffy sheep, snoozing pigs;
• A blue-ribbon dozen of eggs;
• The butter sculpture;
• The Department of Agricul
ture’s new Wood Mobile;
• Disappointingly, no prized
poultry this year, due to an out
break of Avian Influenza in the
state. (My favorite place to take
the kids when they were little and
got bored before all the cow ex
hibiting chores were finished.)
For the Farm Show, this is
truly a week for “ringing out the
old” in a facility that has been
such a part of Pennsylvania’s ag
riculture history and heritage.
And we can hardly wait to see
the “bringing in the new” in an
expanded, spruced-up Farm
Show site of the 21st century.
UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre
Co.) Visitors to the Pennsylva
nia Farm Show are urged to con
tribute to the statewide 4-H Can
Make A Difference food drive
and help feed the hungry. Donat
ed cans, boxes and bags of nonpe
rishable food will be used to con-
struct a 4-H House of Food made
out of donated food products.
The house symbolizes 4-H’ers
hopes that the pantry shelves in
every Pennsylvania home will be
stocked with food. The display
will be located in the Pennsylva
nia Department of Agriculture
exhibit.
This is the first year the 4-H
food drive has been initiated with
the Farm Show and the Pennsyl
vania Department of Agriculture.
Food products will be donated to
the Central Pennsylvania Food
Bank, which distributes food to
320 nonprofit groups, including
soup kitchens, shelters, and food
pantries.
“Traditionally, food drives
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every Monday, December 31 - March 25
Coach departs Sarasota, FL* for Lancaster, PA
every Wednesday, January 2 - March 27
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4-H Accepting Food
Donations At The Farm Show
Cheese Carving Contest Set
For Pennsylvania Farm Show
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) Cheese lovers and food
enthusiasts will demonstrate
their patriotism and creative
flair by entering the fourth an
nual Cheese Carving Contest
to be conducted during the
2002 Pennsylvania Farm
Show in Harrisburg.
Pennsylvania residents par
ticipating in the “Simply
American: Cheese Carving
Contest” will compete for
more than $5OO in cash and
prizes. Contestants age 15 or
over have been required to
submit a description of their
patriotic cheese carving idea,
along with a photo or sketch
of the actual creation.
Six finalists will participate
in a “carve-off” at the Penn
sylvania Farm Show on Jan. 6.
Finalists will be provided with
one five-pound block of Ched
dar cheese, one paring knife
and other carving “tools.”
take place during the Christmas
season, but the need for food
doesn’t go away after the holi
days,” said Marilyn Corbin, state
program leader for children,
youth and families with Penn
State Cooperative Extension. “In
an agricultural state such as
Pennsylvania, it’s sad that people
still go hungry. The Pennsylvania
food banks are in desperate need
of our help.”
Non-perishable items always
are needed. Some of the types of
foods most needed include:
canned tuna, canned meats and
stews, soups, peanut butter,
canned fruits and vegetables,
packaged pasta and rice, canned
and dried beans, pure fruit and
vegetable juices, nonfat dry milk,
baby food, cereal, and formula
(must be within code date).
The Department of Health re
quires that all cans have labels
and are free of dents or rust.
Packaged goods must be factory
sealed. Health laws prohibit the
distribution of home-canned or
Hot Air Circulator
(Needs NO Electricity)
• Special top-vents create a
natural draft
• Burns wood or coal
• Cast Iron Doors & Grate
• Exterior handle for clean shake
down
Optional Electric Fan for the
maximum heat circulation
•All DS Stoves have hot air (or hot water) regulators
•All DS Stoves have cast iron doors and grates
•All DS Stoves have exterior shaker handle for dust-free shake down
D.S. Machine Shop
Stoves &C Chimneys m.s, box se?
2388 Old Leacock Rd., Gordonville. PA 17529 Williamsport, PA 17701
717-768-3853 717-745-3253
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 5, 2002-B5
A panel of local celebrity
judges will select the top three
winners, who will be awarded
gourmet cheese baskets and
$l5O, $lOO and $5O respec
tively. All finalists will receive
prizes and have their creations
showcased in the cheese dis
play in the Food Court.
The annual contest is spon
sored by Mid-Atlantic Dairy
Association, American Dairy
Association & Dairy Council
Mid East, and the Pennsylva
nia Dairy Promotion Program.
“This is an exciting way to
celebrate one of America’s fa
vorite foods,” said Deanna
Rose, communications special
ist for Mid-Atlantic Dairy As
sociation and contest coordi
nator. “The interest and
popularity of domestic cheese
is definitely growing, and the
contest provides a fun and fes
tive setting to highlight the
versatility of cheese.”
home-packaged foods.
Statistics from the Pennsylva
nia Hunger Action Center show
that more than 736,800 Pennsyl
vanians are “food insecure” each
year, and that number is rising.
More than half of those are chil
dren.
“4-H is proud to lead such an
important effort to make a differ
ence in the lives of needy citi
zens,” said Corbin. “4-H encour
ages all citizens to join in the
fight to eliminate hunger in this
state and to become involved in
local community action initia
tives.”
“As we gather this holiday sea
son around tables with a bounty
of delicious fodd, it is important
to reflect on the fact that the
threat of hunger is a widening
phenomenon in our society,” she
said. “It doesn’t have to be this
way. By donating food to the 4-H
Can Make a Difference House,
you can help to reduce the threat
of hunger so children and fami
lies can live a more healthy life.”