Four Wynds Farm To Host Farm-City Day In Tioga County
WELLSBORO (Tioga Co.)
The 11th Annual Farm-City Day
for Tioga and Bradford counties
will be conducted Saturday, July
13 at Four Wynds Farm, owned
by Elwin and Charlene Fitch be
tween Ogdensburg and Canton.
This event is designed to have
something for everyone while
being educational and fun for all
ages.
For the youngsters, there will
be a pedal tractor contest which
uses tractors specially designed
for pulling. All youth four years
of age through 12 years old are
A determined youngster
competing in the pedal
tractor pulling contest, a
popular kid’s event at the
Tioga/Bradford Counties
Farm-City Day. This picture
was taken at the 1999
Farm-City Day at the Ogden
Farm in Lawrenceville.
invited to participate and try this
“feet” at pedaling a tractor gear
ed to move weights on a sled be
hind the tractor. Also, the ever
popular “Children’s Bam” will
feature a variety of animals
brought by 4-H youth. There will
also be a hay maze for kids to
walk off some of their energies.
For the adults, there will be
modem as well as antique ma
chinery displays, demonstrations
involving sheep shearing, wool
spinning, and horseshoeing. A
veterinarian will be on hand to
discuss bio security issues along
with countless other exhibits and
displays.
Food stands include: Ogdens
burg Church of Christ Youth, hot
dogs, sloppy joes, ice tea, lemon
ade, and coffee; the Blossburg Ki
wanis, barbecue chicken halves;
the Tioga County Fair Associa
tion, homemade pies; and the
Bradford County Dairy Promo
tion Committee, milkshakes, ice
cream, and milk.
One of the first things visitors
will notice at the Four Wynds
Farm is the breeze, even if the
sun is out and the temperatures
are typical of July weather. Four
Wynds Farm got its name from
the winds that continue to blow
from all four directions. On any
given day, there is a breeze blow
ing across the farmstead.
The original farm was pur
chased in 1899 by Elwin’s great
grandfather and consisted of 80
acres. Elwin grew up on this very
farm whereas Charlene grew up
on a farm not too far away. They
were married in 1976. That same
year, Elwin and Charlene pur
chased the farm from Elwin’s fa
ther, making them the fourth
generation to farm here. Four
Wynds Farm has been designat
ed a Century Farm (meaning it is
a farm owned consecutively for
100 years by members of the
same family).
Their present farming opera
tion consists of 259 acres. They
rent an additional 300 acres from
Charlene’s mother, Phyllis Clegg.
Their son, Bryan,
is currently milk
ing cows at the
Clegg farm while
helping his father
with cropping
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here at home.
Elwin and Charlene have 85
Holsteins and 10 Jerseys in then
present herd. They raise corn and
oats in rotation with alfalfa and
mixed hay. Com is harvested as
silage and stored in their 16-foot
by 50-foot concrete stave silo.
Hay is harvested as small square
bales. Their feeding ration con
sists of silage hay plus grain pur
chased as mixed feed from both
Rockwells and Pennfield.
Cows are milked two times
each day in a 48-stanchion bam.
The Fitch family raises their own
dairy replacements which is one
of the reasons Bryan is milking at
the Clegg farm today. Elwin and
Charlene had a large number of
heifer calves approximately two
years ago. They were then faced
with the wonderful “problem” of
selling off these heifers, culling
their own cows to make room for
the new animals at their home
bam, or setting Bryan up at his
grandmother’s farm and allowing
him to milk his “own herd.”
Elwin and Charlene have their
cows tested by the Dairy Herd
Improvement Association
(DHIA) each month. During the
test, each cows’ milk is sampled
and weighed. The results of this
testing helps Elwin make deci
sions regarding feed and health
issues for each animal. There will
be a station at Farm-City Day
where you can learn more about
DHIA.
Elwin and Charlene Fitch have
three children and one grandson.
Bryan is the youngest of their
three children and their only son.
He graduated in June from Can
ton Area High School and plans
to be the fifth generation farmer
to own Four Wynds Farm. Bryan
enjoys collecting farm toys and
wUI have a large model farm for
you to see at Farm-City Day.
Their daughter Laura is mar
ried to Brett Taylor and currently
lives in Allen wood. She served as
the 1993 Tioga County dairy
princess and was the 1995 Tioga
County fair queen. Laura is em
ployed by Whitedeer Run but
helps her parents on the farm
when needed.
Daughter Lisa is married to
James Driscoll and currently
lives on the next road over from
the farm. She served as the 1996
Tioga County dairy princess and
was the 1997 Pennsylvania alter
nate dairy princess. She is em
ployed by Guthrie Clinic and
helps on the farm when possible.
Lisa and James are the parents of
a son, Corbin Driscoll.
Elwin is kept very busy with
his farm activities. All work is
done by the family making this
operation a true family farm.
Charlene is the postmistress at
the Morris Run Post Office. In
their limited spare time, Elwin
likes to do carpentry work while
Charlene enjoys working with
flowers and spoiling their grand
son. She has also been a 4-H
leader for 15 years and as such
has been at many of the previous
Farm-City Day events in the food
booth.
People attending Farm-City
Day at Four Wynds Farm will be
helping to make history as 2002
marks the joining of Tioga and
Bradford counties in their Farm-
City efforts. Bradford County
has previously held three events:
in 1993 and 1994 at Merle and
Leslie Wanck’s farm in Ulster
and in 1995 at Brackman’s
Guernsey farm near Canton. We
are looking forward to this rela
tionship as next year Bradford
County hosts Farm-City Day
with it returning to Tioga County
in 2004.
Special activities taking place
for the first time in 2002 include
the “Pennsylvania Wood Mobile”
a walk-through, traveling ex
hibit that provides information
on the state’s forest resource and
forest products industry. Rolling
Acres Lawn Garden Equipment
will be giving a demonstration on
4-wheeler safety. At the time of
this publication, a cookies and
milk promotion is being planned
with Mrs. Fields’ cookies and lots
of cold, fresh milk.
Activities planned each year
that have not been previously
mentioned are the wagon tours,
ice cream eating contest, milking
Guide To Virginia’s
Horse Country Available
RICHMOND, Va. Virginia
is for horse lovers residents
and visitors alike. “A Guide to
Virginia’s Horse Country” pro
vides a resource for the wide vari
ety of equestrian activities avail
able in the state.
The free guide offers informa-
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 6, 2002-813
demonstration, Christmas tree
exhibit and T-shirt sales. Tioga
County has a limited number of
Farm-City T-shirts still available
as souvenirs at $lO each. Pro
ceeds from the sale of these T
shirts will help to fund this event
in future years.
Farm-City Day is free and
open to the public. Concession
stands will sell food and souvenir
T-shirts. Activities will begin at
II a.m. with Tim Mcßride serv
ing as master of ceremonies. Sen
ator Roger Madigan will present
a brief message during the open
ing ceremonies. Activities will
conclude at 4 p.m. This event will
be held rain or shine.
Directions to the farm located
very close to the Tioga-Bradford-
Lycoming County lines:
From Wellsboro: Take Rt. 287
south to Morris. From Morris
take Route 414 east through Lib
erty. Follow Rt. 414 east through
Ogdensburg for approximately
two miles. Watch for signs taking
you straight off Rt. 414 to the
farm.
From Williamsport: Take
Route 15 north to the Trout Run
exit. Follow Rt. 14 north. Pass
the Our House Restaurant. Turn
left on Preston Road (first left
past the restaurant). Take the
second left-hand turn to the
farm.
From Canton: Take Route 14
south from Canton. Pass Land
on’s Cedar Ledge. Take third
road to right (Preston Road).
Take the second left-hand turn to
the farm.
For further information, con
tact Sherri Butters at (570)
724-4812, ext. 2 in Tioga County;
Wayne Pratt at (570) 297-4220 in
Bradford County, or the Fitch
family at (570) 673-3426. Persons
interested in having a display or
an exhibit should contact Earle
Robbins at the Tioga County Co
operative Extension Service at
(570)724-9120.
tion about sport and recreation
opportunities for horse lovers,
and much more. The guide cov
ers trail rides, races, shows, sales,
events, boarding, breeding, train
ing, camping, riding instruction,
equine medical care, riding ap-
parel, tack, publications, organi
zations, museums, and
hospitable accommoda
tions for both horses and
riders visiting the state.
In addition, there are
facts about the four-cen
tury history and rich
heritage of the horse in
Virginia, the substantial
impact of the equine in
dustry on the state’s
economy, and the work
that is under way to en
sure a bright future for
horses, owners and the
businesses which serve
them.
To obtain a free copy
of the guide, call
1-877-TROT2VA. To re
quest the guide in quan
tity (five or more), call
Andrea Heid, program
manager for the Virginia
Horse Industry Board,
at (804) 786-5842.
Learn more about the
Virginia horse industry
at the Website spon
sored by the Virginia
Horse Industry Board at
www.virginiahorse.com
/VHIB/vhib.html.