WV Ve vy Rv — ey 9 YE. EM August 20, 1980 A tale of two insects (cont.) [continued from page 7] following summer, destined perhaps to meet the offspring of Sphecius, who would emerge at the same time. For two years he would tunnel in total darkness—two, possibly ten feet deep—eating and growing till one night, providing that in the meantime nobody had slapped down a parking lot overhead or chopped down his source of sap, he would dig his way once again into the realm of light. The full moon alternately appears and disappears behind flying banks of low, tattered clouds, and when it shines it shines blue and still on the frozen drifts that cover the earth for as far as one can see. The biting night wind, sweeping unchecked across the open countryside, rattles the leafless limbs of the twisted apple tree. The only evidence that anything is alive in all the world is found in the rapidly-filling tracks of some small animal. But life does go on in this seemingly sterile landscape—or rather beneath it. Two feet into the red clay of the road cut, within a silken cocoon within an earthen chamber, the blood still flows in a tiny form; among the intertwining roots of the old apple tree another small creature tunnels in darkness. And both are waiting—waiting for the earth to swing slowly through space, waiting for snow to melt, for buds to open, for flowers to bloom—and for the moon to rise on another sultry summer evening. The curtain falls... About the author Ken Wolgemuth, Har- vestview Apartments, Mount Joy, has been contributing articles to the Susquehanna Magazine on a regular basis for the past several years. The Susque- hanna Times and Magazine staff always delights in the arrival of a new ‘‘Wolge- muth manuscript,”’ for we know it will contain a delightful description of our neighbors from the animal world. A 1976 graduate: of Donegal High School, Ken spent his early years in both Mount Joy and California. He spent time in Cupertino (San Francisco Bay area), Redondo Beach, and Palos Verdes, located on the 40° a quart TOMATOES for canning and eating $3.25 2 bushel 1/8 mile west of Maytown on Stackstown Road (Maytown to Bainbridge Road) Phone 426-3992 coast, south of Los Angeles. He has, except for college years, lived in Mount Joy since 1974. Ken is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Wolgemuth. Ken graduated Phi Beta Kappa and ‘“‘with distinc- tion’ with a B.S. degree from Colorado State Univer- sity, Fort Collins, CO, this past May. Beginning his college program as a wildlife biology major, he quickly switched to Zoology after one semester ‘‘because I was more interested in basic sciences than in game management.’’ He studied, on purpose, a broad range of both science and non-science subjects, including ornithology, mam- malogy, herpetology, ento- mology, ecology, genetics, animal behavior, physics, chemistry, atmospheric sci- ence, math, anthropology, primatology, icthyology, re- ligion, speech and liter- ature. During his last two years at CSU he worked in the university's insect reference collection, sorting, mount- ing, labeling, repairing and shipping insect specimen. His supervisor was Howard E. Evans, a world authority on wasp behavior. Ken worked one summer as an intern with the Lancaster County Central ~ Park; leading nature walks, helping with interpretive canoe trips, designing na- ture displays, along with various other jobs. In his leisure time Ken likes to ‘‘write a bit,” for which we are quite thankful, and read. “I love to read,” he says. ‘‘My favorite authors are too numerous to mention, but my favorite book, one I read at least once each year, is Thoreau’s Walden. Ken also dabbles in photography, using nature as his subject. He is quick to tell us that what he loves most is walking. “I love to walk and explore, including backpacking in the Colorado mountains, the Utah canyon land and along the Virginia shore, but also simply turning over rocks and logs (in search of crawly things) in the front yard.” Ken is presently pre- paring for a two-year stint with the Peace Corps. He will, sometime in late September, leave for Sierra Leone, West Africa, to raise fish in ponds for food. His training will take ten weeks, a time in which to learn the local culture and language (Krio, a kind of Pidgin English), and the techniques of fish-farming. “Ideally I am to get ten to twenty ponds going during my two year stay, trans- ferring what I’ve learned to the Sierro Leonians so that they may take over when 1 leave.” Sierro has two seasons: six months hot and dry; six months hot and rainy. Ken will be living in a village with no electricity or running water, with dirt roads sometimes made im- passable during the rainy season. He will be issued a trail bike for work-related travel. Having just returned from a one-week orientation, Ken was quick to fill us in on all of the dangers of the area. They include: malaria, a very common disease for which medication must be taken once each week; rabies, which are rampant; roundworm; hookworm; Tumba Fly, an insect which lays eggs in clothes hung to dry, and whose larvae burrow in skin; funguses; hepatitis; cobras, mambas, vipers; and schistosomiasis, a disease caused by a type of fluke and contracted simply by touching infected water. 85% of the local people contract schistosomiasis and the treatment is almost worse than the disease. After we listened to Ken relate all of the dangers of the area, the obvious question presented itself. Why go? “I've lived too comfort- able for too long,”’ he explained. ‘‘It’s high time to challenge myself a bit. “lI feel that no matter what happens in Africa— whether I get sick or stay well, whether I succeed or fail—I can’t help but grow personally as a result.” We at Susquehanna wish Ken lot’s of luck, and we have confidence in his ability to succeed. SUSQUEHANNA TIMES—Page 9 MARIETTA CITGO CITGO GAS—GROCERIES OPEN 5:30 AM — 8:30 PM DAILY SUNDAY 8:00 AM — 6:00 PM Ed Reeves, Prop. Phone 426-3863 East End—Route 441 Marietta 2%, IBBERSON'S | gt CARPET FOR HOME AND CAR ‘e 1660 SOUTH MARKET STREET ‘A ELIZABETHTOWN, PA 17022 Open Monday through Friday 9 am to 5:30 pm { Saturday 9 a:n to 12 noon Thursday and Friday evenings by prescheduled appointment only. Call 367-2724. SENIOR CITIZEN CARDS HONORED Send them the Susquehanna Times 4* nine months They don’t want to leave home completely behind. While they're away at school, they'll want to keep up on how the old high school teams are doing. They'll want to know when their friends, relatives and neighbors are promoted at work, when they get married, when they receive awards, when they have new babies, and so on. Keep them up to date with a student subscription to the Susquehanna Times. (We have a special low student rate.) SEE EEE EEE SEEEEES YES, please rush the Susquehanna Times ® the student listed below. I pay only B® = $4.50 on this subscription which is good #® ® through May, 1980. ® B Send to: . @ & ® INBINIB. oo sins sisiosnvisssvnssrspvuinnsnssiavunsssssenis % RTE ee Ca ee # ® 5 2 eee6800000000000000s00ctcscessettstccesentens Zip escesssces i 8 Bill te: # n N & % BIC cccscncsscsssssnrssasssnnsrasssncrsasecsssconsses % BB AQUIRES: cision srormmrsitionssnsisisasonassansars # ® : a UUme EID ovens % ® Send coupon to - Susquehanna Times, Box " u 75-A, R.D. 1, Marietta, PA 17547. ® MT EEE EER BENE NER ERENT
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers