B6<-Lannpastec Farming, Saturday, April 19, 2003
State Alternate Dairy Princess Thrives On ‘Busyness,’ Humor
LOU ANN GOOD
Food And Family
Features Editor
BLAIRSVILLE (Westmore
land Co.) “I thrive on busy
ness,” said 17-year-old Rachel
Ebert.
Almost in the same breath, she
adds, “I’m the oldest and have
three brothers.”
Their mischievous antics kept
her scrambling when they were
younger, but her brothers are
now targeting their energy to
ward “picking up the slack.”
This became necessary when
Rachel was crowned Pennsylva
nia’s alternate dairy princess last
September. She embarked on a
whirlwind tour of dairy promo
tion that requires her to crisscross
the state many times to represent
the dairy industry.
Her brothers, Josh, 14; Jona
than, 10; and Jacob, 8, enjoy
Calves are Rachel’s forte on the family farm. She owns
nine dairy animals.
“My sense of humor comes from my dad (Richard
Ebert),” Rachel said.
being in the bams, and despite
her exciting “new” life, Rachel
said that she misses the barn
work. Her parents Richard and
Diane Ebert own the 395-acre
Wil-Mar-Re Farm in partnership
with Rachel’s Uncle William and
Aunt Martha. They raise 140
Holsteins with a 75-head milking
herd.
Recently, they built a solar
greenhouse bam for the calves.
The sides raise up and down, and
the bottom is sand covered. Ra
chel said the calves are much
healthier because of the good air
flow. Coro, soybeans, and alfalfa
are raised on the acreage.
“I was never out of the area
(Westmoreland) before. This is a
completely different life for me,
but I’m really enjoying it,” she
said.
Poised, articulate, and confi
dent, Rachel recalls that her
image is quite different than the
-one presented during the first
milk toast she made during the
All-American Dairy Show.
“I stuttered. I couldn’t remem
ber names,” she said.
Despite her humility, Rachel
impressed the audience during
competition at the state pageant
with her comical skit based on
the popular television program
“Blue’s Clues.” She received first
place for the skit, and her answer
to impromptu questioning show
ed that she indeed could perform
under stress.
Her sense of humor played a
role in capturing the audience
and the judges’ attention.
“I get my sense of humor from
my dad,” Rachel said.
That sense of humor injects a
comfortable aura when traveling
with Pennsylvania Dairy Princess
Raechel Kilgore and Second Al
ternate Ashley Chapman.
“We share a lot of little inside
jokes with each other,” Rachel
said.
Rachel’s knowledge of the
dairy industry was enhanced by
serving as county dairy maid for
three years. She’s grateful for the
assistance of one dairy maid in
helping her with county promo
tions.
“I love being around people
and talking I’m always willing
to answer questions,” Rachel
said.
“I‘ve learned to appreciate not
only people who work in the
dairy industry but also many who
are connected with it. It’s given
me a bigger picture of the dairy
industry in the county, state, na
tion, and in the world.”
At Derry' Area High School,
Rachel has been active in the var
sity swim team, class play, the
school musical, and filling an in
ternship writing grants for high
school classes.
In church, Rachel is active as a
member of the youth group,
Campaign for Human Develop
ment committee member, youth
council for the Diocese of
Greensburg, a lector, and altar
server.
She also is active in the Sug
arloaf 4-H Club. She owns nine
dairy animals that she enters in
Working in the barn isn’t
just feeding calves for this
alternate dairy princess.
Here she carries a bag of
silage to the growing
calves.
Celebrating Rachel Ebert’s coronation as First State Al
ternate Dairy Princess are her parents Richard and Diane
Ebert and brothers, Josh, 14; Jonathan, 10; and Jacob, 8.
competition at the Westmoreland being the only girl with three
Fair. Rachel has also served as a brothers is that I never had to
gardening volunteer at Keystone sharearoom ” she said.
State Park and at a summer .. fl . ~ ■
camp for kids. Here 18 one of the Ebert faml '
Although it’s sometimes a bit ly’s favorite recipes.
hectic to ftilfill lugh school stud- CHEESE POTATOES
tes, Rachel is philosophical about . . ...
the trade-off She said, “I’m 1 bag hash browns
learning so much more school 16-ounces sour cream
will always be there.” 'A cup butter
After high school graduation, Vi cup milk
Rachel plans to pursue ag science 2 shredded Cheddar
and ag communications at Penn .
State. cncesc
“The hardest thing about being 1 can cream of chicken soup
a dairy princess is learning to bal- Place hash browns in
ance home and promotional re- 9x13-inch pan. In separate bowl,
sponsibilities.” mix remaining ingredients.
She’s grateful for her brothers’ s d mixture on hash bf
willingness to assume her farm F ", . ‘“ , * ’
chores while she travels. cover and bake at 350 degrees for
“Another great thing about 40 minutes. Serves 8-10.
Milks Make Healthy Diets
• New research suggests that
flavored milks may be an ideal
weapon to help battle the wide
spread calcium deficiencies
among children and teens. Re
searchers at the University of
Vermont studied the beverage
patterns of nearly 4,000 children
and adolescents in this country.
They found that those who drank
flavored milk had a higher total
milk intake and a lower soft
drink and juice drink intake
compared to the children who
did not consume flavored milk.
Drinking flavored milk helped
increase their calcium consump
tion, but it did not increase over
all added sugar or fat
• Researchers conclude that
flavored milk can play a role in
changing recent trends in chil
dren and teens’ sugar-sweetened
Create Chocolate Milk Specialties
In a microwave or small sauce
pan, heat 1 cup chocolate fat free
skim or 1 percent lowfat milk
until hot. Stir in one of the follow
ing:
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee
crystals
• 2 or 3 peppermint or butter
scotch hard candies, crushed
• 1 or 2 small chocolate-cov
ered peppermint patties, broken
up
• 1 tablespoon caramel or but
terscotch ice cream topping
• Several shakes of ground
cinnamon
• Several drops of peppermint,
coconut, almond or vanilla ex
tract
Or, start with one cup of milk,
either hot or cold, and take your
pick of fruit or dessert-flavored
additions.
beverage intake and offer a nutri
tious alternative. Like unflavored
milks, all versions of flavored
milks provide about 300 milli
grams of calcium per serving, or
about one-fourth to one-third of
the daily calcium recommenda
tion.
• About nine of out 10 teenage
girls and seven out of 10 teenage
boys do not get the calcium they
need potentially setting the
stage for the bone-crippling dis
ease osteoporosis, which current
ly affects nearly 28 million Amer
icans. Children and teens ages 9
to 18 need 1,300 milligrams of
calcium, or about four 8-ounce
glasses of milk a day, while chil
dren ages 4 to 8 need 800 milli
grams, which is the equivalent of
about three 8-ounce glasses of
milk each day.
• A splash of vanilla, almond,
or maple extract
• 1 tablespoon of fat-free fudge
ice cream topping plus 'A cup
spariding mineral water or club
soda
• Vz cup fresh or frozen straw
berries, pureed
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
concentrate and Vi teaspoon va
nilla extract
• 2 teaspoons instant malted
milk powder and 1 teaspoon
chocolate syrup
• Vi cup root beer and a small
scoop of vanilla lowfat ice cream
• Pureed banana with 'A tea
spoon honey and l A teaspoon va
nilla extract
• 1 tablespoon chocolate syrup
and a dash of cinnamon