On Being a Farm Wife (and other hazard: Joyce Bupp Old farmhouses are full of sto ries. They hold tales of generations born, raised and moved on into life. They harbor reminiscences of joy and love, of sadness, some times of tragedy. Their nooks and crannies are stuffed with memo ries of birth and death and family gatherings, of festive holidays and years of routine daily living. All played against the stage setting of a beloved family home. Old farmhouses show bumps and bruises and scars accumulat ed through life, cracks in walls, nicks in doorframes, nail holes punched, abandoned, and punched somewhere else. Floors &iS A / SOFA AND LOVESEAT \ 'Available in 4 Different . Colored Fabrics . CLOSEOUT *589” I 4 jr/ 5 DRAWER DRESSER N __lnßK:an Oak Finish I v-iu plnty*s $89.95 1 “A timii CLOSEOUT 1 *39 m j A S 5 PC. LIVING ROOM SBOT / Sofa, Loveseat & Chaise .| Dark Brown Velvet ' I CLOSEOUT *799““)L rd lb;/ TWUVDOUBLE ~ \ 1 pfea FUTON BUNK | A I m Black Red, Bv White, w/8' 1 i T jl Futon Mattress | -A I CsTs- -v Reg. Ret. yj\ r ■ n $898.95 I S pkml»279 m £S'/ 7 pc. Dininc Oak Table w/your Cl s SMOKED BEVELk J GLASS COCKTAIL T/ if 30x50x17” UNDER WHOLESALE Factory Special a 3 PC END TABLE . j R »9- '«■> inr* 299 Tv closeout •109’ CLOSEOUT *' FIVE PIECE Di Table & Four Chairs Whlte/Natural, Greet Reg. Ret. $1,029.9! Cash Price $469/ CLOSEOUT *24 which begin to sag after a time and windows reluctant to open and close. Doors which fit their frames only because they were specifically cut to fit not-quite perfect openings. Stair steps worn and curved, imprinted by countless footsteps of hard boots and fuzzy slippers, toddlers scal ing the stairway mountain, toe nails of dogs clicking up and down. Old farmhouses are colored with personality and character and quirks painted by years of experience. Intrinsic charm, how ever, does not always equate with convenience. “Ow!” I yelped one morning RAM'S HORN SOFA ft LOVESEAT I Reg. Ret. ■ $2100.00 I;TT. i if L ‘ Our Price I ' $799.95 | CLOSEOUT $ 649 95 ; I LIGHTED CURIO ' Available In Oak and ' Cherry Finish I Reg. Ret. $489.95 > Our Price $229.95 Special M 59 88 ; 3 PC. COCKTAIL «f ' END TABLE SET I rp rp c,s“ (80K ' CLOSEOUT . » 1 »289 9S ’ 29S«t«! / / 5 PC. DINING ROOM \ $419,95 I CLOSEOUT 5 369 95 / Jh HESE HOT DEALS" £ \/'deluxe glider ROCKER\ Available in Blue and Green ■ Reg. Ret. $239.95 /JQ Our Price $119.95 I Cash Price $98.95) A. ffisssb CLOSEOUT I AR ' CANOPY BED \ £ . i f I Matte Black / Maple . vrfl = Tl = [ B«9- Bet- $909.95 u UffldL I I Our Price I -v. IJm $599.95 . (T\\ F=i£s ktCP under Wholesale |- A CLOSEOUT *249“ ]& 'M ' FUTON CLOSEOUT * In Black ' Comes w/8” Mattress 39 95 ' 7PC DINING ROOM"" \ CHERRY Finish , 4 sldeSand 1 Iks. 2 Arm Chairs ( xxJm Wi a CLOSEOUT *3o9*’ '•» last week, rubbing the top of my head after having clunked it against a sharp comer of the computer printer table. The re sulting tender spot reminded me of just how irascible old farm houses can be in the struggle to bridge their historic charm to modem technology. When rural electrification fi nally “volted” into farmsteads, the convenience of having one, or at daring extreme perhaps two, electrical outlets per room was surely luxury beyond imagina tion. Like most residents of old farm homes, we’ve wrestled with original electric layout for several decades, rewiring, remodeling and buying extension cords in bulk. Most of our rooms sported sparse and inconveniently locat ed outlets. At least one upstairs must be accessed though a closet added to compensate for history’s lack of storage space. Maybe it’s that antique wiring that lends our old farmhouse to being thunderstorm target-prone. Or maybe it’s our location, at the end of our rural electric coopera tive line, that attracts lightning bolts like flies to a nightlight. Whatever the reason, the slight est hint of thunder rumbles send me racing around the house yanking plugs. Some time ago, on the recom mendation of a television repair man’s counseling over the latest storm-zapped tube outtage, I purchased a good quality surge protector. Wasn’t too long until a lightning zing not only got the television again, but fried the surge protector in the process. Reading the fine print, I found a phrase about not being guaran teed against acts of God. So, what is the point, I pon dered? Still, I wouldn’t have a com puter system without one. And it was that surge protector that ren dered me a head-banger last week. Unable to access the com puter desk telephone or connect to e-mail following a storm, I began plugging and unplugging and replugging various phones around the house. Turned out not to be any of the phones, but the surge protector’s phone “sec tion” which The Farmer heard “sizzle” during one too-close lightning crack. Plugging the phone direct into the wall jack, bypassing the surge unit, works fine. Never mind that this original house phone jack * Repels deer both by taste and smell. * All organic...made from fish & beef-by products. * Ideal for tomatoes, peppers, and strawberries at transplant time. * Prevents late season damage to sweet corn, pumpkins, and melons. * Long lasting (up to 2 months with one application) * No phytotoxcity...does not burn the foliage. * No petro chemicals...needs no special handling. * Exempt from ERA registration under FI FRA 25-B. * Concentrated (10:1)...1 gallon makes 11. Can be dilutedl 5:1 on special applications. $ lB4 P ius shipping. 5 gallon pail. (Makes 55 gallons) Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 15, 2002-B3 sits squarely behind a leg of the office desk, hemmed in by file cabinet and printer table the one with the sharp-edged corner. The Farmer promises when he has a few moments during this super busy season to install a more convenient phone jack, freeing me from a duck-crawl plug operation currently neces sary to access e-mail. But, that may have to wait while we deal with a concurrent gliche, a stopped-up drain pipe leaving the house. This major drain clog not only generated installation of new-shiny-white, under-sink plumbing, but cleaner-than usual, and well-mopped kitchen and basement floors. In process of tackling our drain backup, turned out the kitchen sink plumbing wasn’t the original problem. It just basically fell apart from old age during the investigative process. And we had to keep searching. Old farmhouses not only have charm, personality and tales to tell. Ours is a practical joker to boot. Prevent deer damage to sweet orn and pumpkins. All organic deer epellent effective ip to 8 weeks...will ot wash off in rain. Bobbex Ca/I:(800) 555-9634 www.deercontrol.com
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers