Penn Lines September 2012

SEPTEMBER 2012

The face of Main Street Pre-fabricated storefronts part of national heritage

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SEPTEMBER Vol. 47 • No. 9

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Peter A. Fitzgerald EDITOR

Katherine Hackleman S E N I OR E D I T O R / W R I T E R

James Dulley Janette Hess Barbara Martin Marcus Schneck

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KEEPING CURRENT News items from across the Commonwealth

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TECH TRENDS

The speed of light(ing)

C ON T R I B U T I N G C O L U M N I S TS

W. Douglas Shirk

Co-ops help blaze trails for efficient lighting technology

L AYOU T & DESI GN

Vonnie Kloss A D V E R T I S I N G & CI R C U L A T I O N

Michelle M. Smith

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Penn Lines (USPS 929-700), the newsmagazine of Pennsylvania’s electric cooperatives, is published monthly by the Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association, 212 Locust Street, P.O. Box 1266, Harrisburg, PA 17108-1266. Penn Lines helps 165,800 households of co-op consumermembers understand issues that affect the electric cooperative program, their local coops, and their quality of life. Electric co-ops are not-for-profit, consumer-owned, locally directed, and taxpaying electric utilities. Penn Lines is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts. The opinions expressed in Penn Lines do not necessarily reflect those of the editors, the Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association, or local electric distribution cooperatives.

Subscriptions: Electric co-op members, $5.42 per year through their local electric distribution cooperative. Preferred Periodicals postage paid at Harrisburg, PA 17107 and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes with mailing label to Penn Lines, 212 Locust Street, P.O. Box 1266, Harrisburg, PA 17108-1266.

Advertising: Display ad deadline is six weeks prior to month of issue. Ad rates upon request.

Acceptance of advertising by Penn Lines does not imply endorsement of the product or services by the publisher or any electric cooperative. If you encounter a problem with any product or service advertised in Penn Lines, please contact: Advertising, Penn Lines, P.O. Box 1266, Harrisburg, PA 17108. Penn Lines reserves the right to refuse any advertising.

F E AT U R E

The face of Main Street

M E D I A & M A R K E T I N G S P E CI A L I S T

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Pre-fabricated storefronts part of national heritage

12

E N E R G Y M AT T E R S

Picking the right heat pump 12A C O O P E R AT I V E

CO N N ECT I O N

Information and advice from your local electric cooperative

13

POWER PLANTS

Volunteers, the pleasure and the pain 14

18

TIME LINES Your newsmagazine through the years

16

COUNTRY KITCHEN

Relish this!

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O U T D O O R A DV E N T U R ES

From a tiny seed…

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RURAL REFLECTIONS

Final days of summer

Board officers and staff, Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association: Chairman, S. Eugene Herritt; Vice Chairman, Kevin Barrett; Secretary, Lanny Rodgers; Treasurer, Leroy Walls; President & CEO, Frank M. Betley © 2012 Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association.

All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited.

Visit with us at Penn Lines Online, located at: www.prea.com/Content/ pennlines.asp. Penn Lines Online provides an email link to Penn Lines editorial staff, information on advertising rates, contributor’s guidelines, and an archive of past issues.

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CLASSIFIEDS

22

PUNCH LINES

Thoughts from Earl Pitts– Uhmerikun!

Earl encourages a trip out to where lawnmowers have never been — but leave your spouse at home

19 ON THE COV E R Attendees at Wyalusing’s annual street fair visit in the shadow of a Mesker storefront at 415 Main.

(Photo by Kathy Hackleman)

SEPTEMBER 2012 • PENN

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KEEPINGcurrent Beware of electric bill scams Some rural electric cooperative members have reported a new scam targeting cooperative members.

The scammer begins by telling the member their electric cooperative is providing a rebate or a “free” month’s worth of electricity because of a recent outage.

The caller has the member’s name, telephone number, address and the information that they are served by a cooperative.

The caller then requests the member’s cooperative customer number. If the member cannot, or will not, provide the customer number, the caller turns the call over to a “supervisor” who tries to get more information from the member.

In some cases, the caller has stated he or she will call the cooperative to get the additional information. When members call the phone number the scammers called from, they are informed the number has been disconnected.

Please note — this is not a legitimate call; it is a scam to obtain personal information from members. If you have any question at any time that a call said to be from your local cooperative is a legitimate call, hang up, look up the number of your local cooperative and dial it yourself (do not call the number listed on your caller ID).

State reports West Nile cases The Pennsylvania Department of Health has reported the state’s first two human cases of West Nile Virus this year.

They were in Franklin County and Lancaster County. West Nile Virus symptoms

WATCH OUT FOR MOSQUITOES: The greatest risk for catching West Nile Virus from an infected mosquito is between now and the first hard frost.

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include fever, headache, muscle ache and skin rash. Spread from birds to humans by mosquitoes, it can cause encephalitis or meningitis.

Department officials report that due to last year’s mild winter, the number of mosquitoes carrying the West Nile Virus is unprecedented. They are strongly urging Pennsylvanians to minimize their exposure to mosquitoes, especially between now and the first hard frost, when the risk for infection is greatest.

Mosquitoes that transmit the West Nile Virus breed in areas with standing and stagnant water. Standing water that cannot be eliminated can be treated with products containing Bti (a naturally occurring bacteria) that are sold at outdoor supply and home improvement stores.

Mosquitoes can bite any time, but they are most active at dawn and dusk. People can avoid bites by properly and consistently using products containing DEET. For more information, visit www.health. state.pa.us and click on “West Nile Virus Fact Sheet” under “What’s Hot.”

RESCUE, 10 YEARS LATER: This miner is one of several displays at the Quecreek Mine Rescue Foundation’s visitors center in Somerset County.

ers from certain death.

For information about the center, its hours and directions to the site, visit www.quecreekrescue.org. l

Quecreek mine observes 10th anniversary of rescue Quecreek Mine Rescue Foundation recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of the successful rescue of nine miners from the Somerset County mine.

Lori and Bill Arnold, owners of Dormel Farms on Haupt Road, didn’t seek the spotlight that came to them on July 23, 2002, when nine men were trapped under their farm for three and a half days before all were pulled out alive in a dramatic televised scene. “Nine for nine” they call it — nine men were trapped and nine men were rescued.

But so many people came to see the site where the rescue took place that the Arnolds eventually set up a non-profit foundation. An educational visitors center and permanent monument at the site celebrate the successful rescue and honor the rescue workers who saved the trapped min-

THANK YOU: New Enterprise Rural Electric Cooperative member Kristin Clark took this photo of cooperative crews working near Wells Tannery during a storm on July 17, 2012. She says, ‘This photo shows the crew that responded immediately to help restore our power. I do not know them by name, but I believe this photograph shows the dedication these men have for their job and I would like to thank them.’

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TECHtrends The speed of light(ing) Co-ops help blaze trails for efficient lighting technology AFTER maintaining a steady pace for a century, lighting technology has begun to leap forward, fueled by tightening energy efficiency standards and hefty incentives for manufacturers. And despite a bit of price shock on some lighting products, cooperative members — especially large commercial and industrial accounts — are working with their local, not-forprofit, consumer-owned power providers to see if emerging lighting options can curb rising costs.

Shifting standards Congress first enacted improved energy efficiency standards for incandescent bulbs under the federal Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. But when new lightbulb rules began to take effect in 2012, they were met with confusion.

Under the law, by 2014, lightbulbs using between 40 and 100 watts (W) must consume at least 28 percent less energy than traditional incandescents, which will save Americans an estimated $6 billion to $10 billion in lighting costs annually. The measure also mandates that lightbulbs become 70 percent more efficient by 2020.

In June, the U.S. House passed an amendment to stop enforcement of these standards, mirroring a funding freeze for enforcement efforts adopted in late 2011.

Yet even if the provision becomes law, very little will change. Congress has not repealed or adjusted existing lightbulb efficiency standards or changed the timeline for implementation. Major lighting manufacturers like General Electric, 6

PENN

LINES • SEPTEMBER 2012

COOPERATIVE RESEARCH NETWORK

B y M e g a n M c K oy- N o e , C C C

LET THERE BE LIGHT: The T-Bar M Dairy Ranch, outside of Durant, Okla., normally uses 250-watt metal halide lights in its barns. CRN exchanged those bulbs in 10 fixtures with 120-watt LEDs. After six months, the dairy had cut energy use by 55 percent and boosted brightness by 30 percent.

Philips and Osram Sylvania continue working to comply with the 2007 law.

As the next wave of standards kicks in, traditional 75-W incandescent lightbulbs will no longer be available as of Jan. 1, 2013, and 40-W and 60-W versions will no longer be available as of Jan. 1, 2014. In the race to fill the nation’s growing need for efficient lighting comes a new breed of illuminators, led by lightemitting diodes (LEDs).

color blue — the foundation for white LEDs — was unlocked in the mid-1990s.

Originally used in remote controls, exit signs, digital watches, alarm clocks and car signal lights, LEDs quickly gained momentum for large-scale lighting.

By 2030, the U.S. Department of Energy estimates solid-state lighting technologies could reduce the amount of electricity used for lighting (currently 13.6 percent of the nation’s total) by half, saving up to $30 billion a year in energy costs.

‘Solid’ lighting Incandescent bulbs create light using a thin wire (filament) inside a glass bulb — a delicate connection that can easily be broken, as frustrated homeowners can attest.

In contrast, LEDs are at the forefront of solid-state lighting — small, packed electronic chip devices. Two conductive materials are placed together on a chip (a diode). Electricity passes through the diode, releasing energy in the form of light.

Invented in 1960 by General Electric, the first LEDs were red — the color depends on materials placed on the diode.

Yellow, green, and orange LEDs were created in the 1970s and the recipe for the

Farming LEDs Electric cooperatives are supporting LED studies through the Cooperative Research Network (CRN), an arm of the Arlington, Va.-based National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. Recently, CRN worked with Western Farmers Electric Cooperative, a generation and transmission cooperative based in Anadarko, Okla., and the Oklahoma State University Animal Science Department to evaluate LEDs at a farrowing operation and a dairy farm in the Sooner State. The project measured the effectiveness of LEDs in (continues on page 17)

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PENNlines

The face of Main Street Pre-fabricated storefronts part of national heritage

By J i m Wi n n e r m a n Penn Lines contributor

THROUGHOUT rural Pennsylvania, there are existing storefronts that were ordered out of a catalog over 100 years ago. The detailed Victorian ornamentation incorporated into each storefront is unusual as it is actually galvanized metal pressed to appear like intricately carved wood, stone or terracotta.

“The period when ‘gingerbread’ mailorder storefronts were popular was an unusual time in American architecture,” says Bob Cain, the architect who was in charge of a total renovation of such a building at 415 Main in Wyalusing in the Wyalusing Borough Historic District.

Wyalusing is located in Bradford County, a few miles southeast of Wysox, where Claverack Rural Electric Cooperative (REC) is headquartered.

Now the facilities architect at Penn State University, Cain recalls the renovation work took place in the mid-1990s when the building was already being

Most Mesker nameplates have disappeared from the front of the Mesker buildings. This is one of four still located on the front of the building at 415 Main in Wyalusing.

PROOF OF ORIGIN:

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used for the administrative offices for the Wyalusing school district, which still occupies the building.

“Because the front was galvanized metal and had been painted and preserved since it had been built in 1889, it was in excellent shape,” Cain reports.

“Our only mission for the façade was to ensure it remained as it was originally, and to repair some small damaged sections. We did not want to do anything that would have taken away from the character of the outside appearance.”

“I knew it was unusual in that it was a metal-clad building,” says Mary Skillings, president of the board of

TYPICAL MESKER STOREFRONT: This building at 415 Main in Wyalusing is an example of a Mesker façade, an architectural element often used in the late 1800s through the early 1900s. It houses the administrative offices of the local school district.

directors of the Wyalusing Valley Museum Association. “My father worked there so I was often in the building. Also, it still has four plates on the front identifying the façade as a product of the Mesker Brothers Front Builders in St. Louis, Mo.” Mesker storefronts were erected in every state between 1880 and 1915, reports Darius Bryjka, a national expert on historic metal building façades.

approach has been to accentuate the multiple design patterns using different colors of paint.

“We consulted a book on Easy elegance Victorian houses to select the colors for the Wyalusing Budgets were tight, particularly in smaller towns, and architectural services school administration building to ensure it had colors were limited, but Mesker storefronts appropriate for the 1889 were competitively priced. Also, since period,” Cain recalls. “It is a the product was thinly pressed metal, it beautiful building with a lot was lightweight and could be shipped inexpensively. Once they were onsite, the of character.”

In 2009, the Wyalusing building was fronts were easily installed with local labor in just a few days at approximately featured in the Wyalusing Rocket-Courier under the headline “A look back at the one-fifth the cost of a brick or cast-iron people and places of the Wyalusing area façade. The front on the Wyalusing over time.” The article included a photobuilding would have cost approximately graph taken in 1936 when it was the $370 when it was built, Bryjka reports.

Allis Pharmacy, just as it had been when In addition to being relatively inexthe building was built in 1889. pensive, the elaborate detail of the Some brick buildings in territories pressed metal allowed merchants to give served by Pennsylvania cooperatives their businesses an imposing and fashhave pieces of Mesker façades incorpoionable appearance. A contemporary rated into a brick façade.

A multi-million dollar renovation of the 1889 Union Hotel in Everett was recently completed, and owner Travis Collis recalls being surprised to learn the elaborate decorated cornice that spans the front top of the hotel and the pediment was pressed metal from the Mesker Brothers factory in St. Louis, Mo. Everett is located near the headquarters of Bedford REC and New Enterprise REC. “When we looked up at the top while planning our renovation, everyone assumed the cornice and pediment were wood,” Collis explains. “But when the contractor got on the roof for a closer look, he discovered it was pressed metal and said he had never seen anything like it before. After that, we were very careful to not damage it. Instead of FEW CHANGES: This 1936-era photo reveals the building at 415 Main sand blasting the paint, in Wyalusing has changed little over the decades.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY MARY SKILLINGS

“The west was rapidly expanding while eastern and southern states were still rebuilding after the Civil War,” Bryjka explains.

The intricate brick detail of the C.H. Hardware building in Huntingdon incorporates a Mesker cornice and Mesker window hoods into the design.

MESKER ARCHITECTURAL ITEMS:

we cleaned it manually and repainted.”

Annette Brown has a sole Mesker panel with a floral motif midway across the 1897-era, two-story brick building she owns at 242 South Main in Cambridge Springs where her Olde Tyme Café is located. Northwestern REC is also based in Cambridge Springs.

“I had no idea the ornamental panel had such an interesting background,” she relates after being informed it was manufactured by the George L. Mesker Company of Evansville, Ind., a competing company operated by another Mesker brother. “It looks like one continuous piece of metal, but I know it is six, four-foot sections joined together.”

“The ability of the Mesker brothers to produce their façades in manageablesized pieces and in a way they could be joined together so no one could tell it was not solid wood or stone was important for the most impressive façade,” Bryjka says. “The pieces were actually nailed to an intricate wood frame, and then each piece was overlapped so the seam is almost invisible from a distance.”

Dale Docter, president of the Cambridge Springs Historical Society, was equally surprised and interested to learn about Mesker façades.

“Annette’s building was erected shortly after a fire swept through town,” he says while looking through old records. “A lot of buildings went up fairly quickly after the fire. It is possible the panels were rescued from another building and reused.”

SEPTEMBER 2012 • PENN

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PENNlines

So far, historical building expert Darius Bryjka has discovered over 2,500 of the “house fronts” manufactured by the two Mesker firms, and he accumulates a few more each month. He is certain there are more Meskers in the territories served by the Pennsylvania rural electric cooperatives, but he does not know where they are.

If you think a building in your area is possibly a Mesker, email a photo and address of the building to Bryjka at: darius@bwpreservation.com. If you have found a new Mesker, he will add your photo to the national database.

These characteristics can help identify Mesker storefronts: 1. Cast-iron nameplates with the Mesker name allow for the easiest identification, but are often missing.

Look for them at or below eye level along the building front.

2. Morning glory and fleur-de-lis repetitive patterns were used frequently.

3. Historic 1892 and early 1900s Mesker catalogs online are an excellent reference and can be seen at: http://www.illinoishistory.gov/gotmesk er/Mesker_Catalog.pdf.

4. Elements common to Meskers and other storefronts of the time include: columns, cornices and cornice bracket ornaments, window hoods and panels featuring stone or brick designs.

For more information on recently discovered Meskers, visit the Mesker blog at http://meskerbrothers.wordpress.com/ or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/ 160561813959150/.

INTRICATE WORK: Only portions of an original

Mesker building, including this intricate pressed metal design, remain at the Old Tyme Café, 242 S. Main, Cambridge Springs, in Crawford County.

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IMAGES PROVIDED BY DARIUS BRYJKA

Help find a Mesker

vania and across America have disappeared due to redevelopment, fire or neglect. Often, however, if the façade has been painted and maintained as in Wyalusing, they remain as architecturally interesting and significant buildings and often are the most noticeable building in a block.

Over 500,000 Mesker catalogs were mailed each year in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This page, above, shows multiple choices of designs used in Pennsylvania.

MESKER CATALOG:

For strength, most Mesker buildings used cast iron columns and window frames and door jams supplied by the Mesker companies on the first floor.

However, when those buildings still standing were remodeled, the columns and other decorative first-floor cast iron items were eliminated or covered. The result is that many building cornices and window hoods remain on the second and third floors of Mesker buildings without evidence of what existed at street level.

Bryjka reports that other firms produced pressed-metal façade storefronts, but the Mesker family was by far the largest supplier producing a wide variety of motifs on an unprecedented scale.

Early beginnings The business origin can be traced to about 1844 when German immigrant John Bernard Mesker settled in Cincinnati and trained as a “tinner” working with tinplate. By 1850, he was producing stoves, and copper and tinware in Evansville, Ind., and soon after, he was teaching his sons the trade.

Eventually John Mesker’s sons began their own iron works, concentrating on the production of storefronts. George continued the family business in Evansville, Ind., while Bernard and Frank Mesker opened the competing Mesker Brothers Iron Works in St. Louis.

Many Meskers throughout Pennsyl-

Both Mesker businesses in St. Louis and Evansville identified their marketing niche as small-town merchants, and decided to reach even the most isolated customers by mailing a catalog similar to the approach being taken at the time by retailers Montgomery Ward and Sears, Roebuck and Company.

The catalog pages provided detailed drawings of the full line of storefronts and other products the firm could supply, and left little to the imagination of a distant business owner. Any merchant hesitant about ordering only needed to peruse the catalog pages.

Not only were drawings of standing buildings included, but the copy was enticing. A 1905 George L. Mesker Company catalog contains a drawing of a building and this testimonial: “Gentlemen. We will say right here more than eight years ago you made for us a galvanized front more than three stories high and we will say right here we put it up in less than two days with inexperienced hands who never saw a galvanized iron front before. All we went by were the drawing and instruction that you furnished. We gave it two good coats of paint and it stands today as good as the first day it was set up and we therefore recommend your fronts to

anyone contemplating building for there is nothing that can compare with them.

R. Wingreen, Burlington, Kansas”

Face of a nation The same 1905 catalog contains a map that shows the numbers of store fronts sold in every state. The number shown for Pennsylvania in 1905 is 173, seventh nationally behind Indiana (1,126), Illinois (711), Kentucky (905), Ohio (231), Michigan (197) and Wisconsin (187).

It is thought over 1,500 Meskers were erected in Pennsylvania by 1915. To date, only 37 façades have been rediscovered in 26 Pennsylvania communities.

Other pages listed the business name and city of Mesker customers, including a two-page list of the satisfied buyers of all 173 Pennsylvania Mesker buildings.

More than 50 storefronts were erected in almost every state, so a prospective purchaser just needed to travel to a nearby town to see a constructed façade.

The back page had a map of the United States with the number of sold storefronts listed within each state’s border. If a customer was still unsure, he or she could request a catalog consisting of

nothing but testimonials.

“Ultimately, it was the sheer number of catalogs and great market recognition leading the Meskers to target their products primarily to small towns where the competition was either minimal or non-existent, and that had an enormous impact on company sales,” Bryjka says. “At the height of their popularity, 500,000 catalogs were being mailed yearly just by the Mesker Brothers in St. Louis.”

The company also sold other architectural items. A 1902 Mesker letterhead lists pressed tin ceilings, fire escapes and balcony railing, along with columns, window sills and lintels for brick buildings among the other products. It is estimated that at one time there may have been as many as 45,000 buildings with some type of Mesker components.

Despite their popularity, there was criticism of the façades from architectural purists who were not enamored with the imitation materials. However,

DECEIVING APPEARANCES: The pediment and cornice at the Union Hotel in the Bedford County community of Everett appear to be made of stone and wood, but they are thin pieces of pressed metal made by the Mesker Brothers of St. Louis, Mo.

store owners felt otherwise, as this 1902 testimonial shows: “Our new building is now completed and furnished and presents a most handsome appearance. It is considered the most elegant block in town. We are pleased with the entire transaction with you. (Signed) Cambria Mining Company, Cambria, Wyoming” Pressed-metal storefronts began to lose popularity by 1910 when building design shifted away from the use of pressed-metal façades toward less ornamentation and the use of brick and stone. It was the onset of Modernism, and the abundance of architectural detail was falling out of favor.

However, many people, including Bob Cain, believe the Mesker buildings remain as a piece of memorable architecture.

“After we repaired a small section of the Wyalusing façade, I must admit I kept the damaged part and it is still in my office,” he states. “That was an enjoyable project. I am a big believer in architectural restoration to maintain our heritage. It is something we must not destroy, and that building MESKER CORNICE: This building at 405 Allegheny Street in Hollidaysburg, Blair County, is brick with a Mesker cornice at the top. The building houses the offices of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and the Hollidaysburg Laundromat. is a perfect example.” l SEPTEMBER 2012 • PENN

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ENERGYmatters Picking the right heat pump

By B r i a n S l o b o da

BECAUSE heat pumps are the most efficient electric heating and cooling technology, they are an excellent choice if your home needs a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) upgrade.

While electric resistance heaters are about 100 percent efficient — meaning all the electricity that goes into the pump is used to generate heat — heat pumps can claim efficiency of 200 to 400 percent.

But the proper heat pump for your home depends on a variety of factors.

Following are some tips when considering air-source and ground-source heat pumps:

Air-source There are two main types of airsource heat pumps: ducted and ductless.

Both provide heating and cooling, and they can also create hot water.

In cooling mode, these appliances function similar to an air conditioner by moving heat from inside to outside your dwelling. In heating mode, the refrigerant flow is reversed and it delivers warm air indoors.

When outdoor temperatures drop, the efficiency of air-source heat pumps decreases. As a result, these devices are more commonly used in areas of the country that do not experience extremely cold weather for extended periods. A good rule of thumb for airsource heat pumps is that they are effective until the thermometer hits the 35 F to 42 F range.

For residents in the northern U.S., dual fuel setups — which combine an airsource heat pump with a natural gas-, propane- or heating oil-fired furnace — are often employed. During fall and 12

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DELTA-MONTROSE ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION

Cooperative Research Network

LOOPY: Geothermal systems use underground coils filled with water or a special solution that work with a heat

pump unit to heat and cool a home or business.

spring months, the heat pump warms the home. When a prolonged cold snap hits, the supplemental furnace takes over.

Ducted systems have been the traditional air-source heat pump route, but ductless systems are picking up steam because they require an estimated 50 to 60 percent less electricity than electric resistance heating. In addition, air-source heat pumps that achieve Energy Star designation — meaning they meet or exceed federal energy efficiency standards — can be up to 9 percent more efficient than standard air-source heat pumps.

Ground-source Ground-source heat pumps, also called geothermal heat pumps, use relatively stable underground temperatures to heat and cool a home, and even to supply hot water. They come in two types: a groundwater (open-loop) heat pump uses well water, while an earthcoupled (closed-loop) model moves a water-and-antifreeze solution through underground pipes to disperse heat. The choice depends on local conditions.

Ground-source heat pumps tend to be

the most efficient heating and cooling technology available, but the up-front cost is significantly higher than air-source heat pumps. The final price tag depends on where you live and what kind of system you have. A typical residential consumer selecting a geothermal system will save 30 to 60 percent on an average heating and cooling bill, with a payback period varying from two to 10 years, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

How to choose Choosing a heating and cooling system for your home is a big decision with lots of variables. Be sure to call your local electric cooperative for advice on what type of unit will work best for your area, and ask if your co-op offers any incentives for installing a heat pump.

Then, contact a reputable and knowledgeable HVAC contractor to discuss your options. l Brian Sloboda is a senior program manager specializing in energy efficiency for the Cooperative Research Network (CRN), a service of the Arlington, Va.-based National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

POWERplants

by Barbara Martin

Volunteers, the pleasure and the pain EVERYBODY loves a good, old fashioned “volunteer” in the garden, until that volunteer turns up in the wrong place — and instantly becomes a yank-able weed. A volunteer (flower) is a selfsown seedling. Depending on your approach to gardening, you may welcome these blooms wherever they grow, or transplant them to more suitable spots, or you might remove them altogether. The choice is yours.

Self-seeding flowers bring a serendipitous and timeless beauty to the garden. They may appear singly or as accents. They may spread into free-form carpets of short-term color, or bloom lustily all summer long.

Flower gardeners find volunteer annuals, biennials and perennials handy for filling in between permanent plantings or for adding masses of color.

If you have a big space to fill but limited funds or time to work on it, or if you enjoy BARBARA MARTIN , who says she began gardening as a hobby “too many years ago to count,” currently works for the National Gardening Association as a horticulturist. A former member of Gettysburg-based Adams Electric Cooperative, her articles appear in magazines and on the internet.

happy surprises, consider encouraging volunteers.

Basically, any open-pollinated plant is a potential volunteer. To introduce volunteers in your garden, set out transplants in spring and allow them to grow and go to seed naturally, then look for seedlings the following year.

Some gardeners consistently raise bumper crops of reseeders, while other gardeners have trouble. Results depend on which plants you grow, dead-heading (removal of spent flowers) and garden clean-up procedures, mulching and weed prevention routines, the growing conditions in your garden, and of course the weather.

For self-seeders to prosper, let them go to seed — literally — so seeds mature and disperse. Mulching over top of fallen seeds or disturbing germinating seeds cuts down on volunteers. Any unwanted or errant seedlings can be pulled or raked out while small.

Plants in your garden are probably setting seed right now! Let them seed down naturally, or help them along.

Select a small area. Harvest ripe seeds; plant some of them now and save some to plant later. To plant, mimic nature by sprinkling a generous quantity of seeds over prepared bare ground or atop decayed organic mulch. Do this now in the fall, but also sprinkle more of the same seeds in the same area atop the last snows of winter and once again in mid-spring as

added insurance.

Keep track of where you (or your plant) scattered the seed and check back periodically for seedlings — you don’t want to accidentally destroy them.

Do your best to learn to recognize them because the seeds may sprout in the fall and/or spring or summer, depending on the weather and on their need for cold stratification.

Good volunteers usually yield abundant seedlings. But where and when those seedlings appear may vary. For example, daffodil seedlings typically grow at a flower stem’s distance from the parent bulb, because the flower stem falls over and deposits all the seeds in one spot. Others, such as Johnny-jump-up violas, may appear in spring or fall over quite a wide area.

Weather and soil conditions affect germination. Some seeds only sprout in warm soil, some need to undergo chilling first. An extra wet or dry spring, a late freeze or early heat wave, or hungry

DAFFODILS SPREAD: Daffodils are among the types of flowers that self-seed if conditions are right.

chipmunks might destroy some of the seeds or seedlings, leaving only a few stragglers.

Yet some years everything seems perfect: the garden is packed with every plant possible blooming all at once in a volunteer chorus of delight.

Volunteers remind us that nature works in mysterious ways. You may be pleased to discover a surprise seedling from a plant that apparently died out long ago. It returns courtesy of the soil seed bank.

Seeds may endure in the soil for many years and then, if brought to the surface and conditions are favorable, suddenly germinate.

This phenomenon also explains how tilling or disruption of the soil brings old, buried weed seeds up to the soil surface where they sprout and cause you grief. So much for the miracle of volunteers. l

SEPTEMBER 2012 • PENN

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TIMElines

Yo u r N e w s m a g a z i n e T h r o u g h t h e Y e a r s

1992 MENTION logging and many people will conjure up images of vast tracts of virgin forest in the Pacific Northwest where steel-helmeted men topple huge trees using gigantic chain saws.

Felling timber for lumber and fuel, however, began in the eastern United States, with Pennsylvania being a major lumbering site. America’s lumbering industry began in New England where large sawmills converted timber into masts, beams and planks for the shipbuilders along the coast. By the mid 1800s, logging activity moved into New York, but mills there were smaller than those in New England. Within a few years, Pennsylvania’s lumbering business outpaced New York’s as the Susquehanna River became the highway for logs and lumber headed for Baltimore, where the shipbuilding industry flourished.

The coming of the railroads signaled the end of the lumber industry’s dependence on the rivers and spurred a new logging boom. Thomas T. Taber III, a historian who co-authored a series of books chronicling Pennsylvania’s logging history, found 370 logging railroads that once operated in Pennsylvania. Owned and operated by logging companies, the railroads laid more than 4,500 miles of track ranging in length from a two-mile line with a single locomotive to the system owned by Central Pennsylvania Lumber Company, which operated 16 lumber mills in the north-central part of the state.

Early loggers preferred white pine and hemlock for lumber, pulp for paper, mine props, and chemicals, including tannin for the leather industry.

1972 The Otelia Schoolhouse near Mt. Union in

1982 Chambersburg becomes the first

Huntingdon County, built in 1900, provides memories for many area residents who received their early education there.

Pennsylvania borough to invest its citizens’ assets — $10,000 in 1889 — to provide lighting for the streets of the town from dusk until midnight.

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2002 The Pennsylvania Conservation Corps provides on-the-job training for unemployed young adults while beautifying public areas across the Commonwealth.

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COUNTRYkitchen

by Janette He ss

Relish this!

AS GARDENS and produce stands begin to wind down for the season, we all need to make one last effort to thoroughly enjoy the fresh vegetables, fruits, and herbs of summer. What better way to relish these flavors than with — you guessed it — freshly prepared relishes, salsas and tapenades? Highly versatile, these plate-enhancing concoctions may be served as dips, sides and toppings.

Hot and Sweet Corn Relish relies on a fresh peach to amplify the subtle sweetness of the corn. Red Pepper Salsa offers a slight change from normally tomatointensive salsa and, with only 8 calories per tablespoon, is an excellent choice for health-conscious eaters.

Olive Tapenade offers an intense Mediterranean flavor experience. Serve it with pita bread and hummus for a satisfying, Mediterranean-style snack, or simply use it to perk up your next sandwich. Please note that shoppers finally have more options in the olive section of their supermarkets. Reduced-sodium Spanish olives are now generally available, as are canned, pitted green olives packed in water and sea salt. Both offer a nice respite from traditional, exquisitely salty Spanish olives. l

HOT AND SWEET CORN RELISH 2 ears sweet corn, husks and silks removed 1 medium fresh peach, peeled, pitted and diced 1 fresh jalapeno pepper, diced (seeds and ribs discarded) 2 tablespoons diced red onion 2 tablespoons lime juice 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt Fresh cilantro, if desired

Wrap corn in waxed paper; place in microwave oven. Cook at high power for 3 minutes; plunge into ice water to cool quickly. When corn is cool, drain and pat dry. Cut corn from cobs; set aside. In medium bowl, combine diced pepper, diced onion, lime juice, sugar and salt. Add corn and diced peach. Toss and stir. Add finely chopped cilantro, if desired . Refrigerate until serving time. Best if used within 12 hours. Makes approx imately 1 1/4 cups relish.

Serving suggestions: Use as a dip for corn chips, as a relish with grilled chicken or seafood, or as a condiment with Mexican or Southwest food.

A trained journalist, JANETTE HESS focuses her writing on interesting people and interesting foods. She is a Master Food Volunteer with her local extension service and enjoys collecting, testing and sharing recipes.

FETA CHEESE OLIVE TAPENADE WITH RED-ON-RED SALSA 1 large red bell pepper, cut in half and seeded 2 Roma tomatoes 1/4 cup diced red onion 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar 1/4 teaspoon chili powder 1/8 teaspoon salt

In food processor, blend 1/2 pepp er and both tomatoes. Hand-dice remaining 1/2 pepper. Combine all ingredients in medium bowl.

Refrigerate until serving time. Mak es approximately 1 cup salsa.

Serving suggestions: Use as a dip for chips or as a topping with Mexican or Southwest cuisine.

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olives with pimiento 1 cup reduced-sodium Spanish es oliv a mat 1/2 cup pitted kala d 1 clove garlic, roughly choppe e oil 1 tablespoon extra virgin oliv e 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juic il 1 teaspoon fresh, chopped bas ano oreg d ppe cho h, fres n poo 1 teas ese che feta 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese l. Place all ingredients except Thoroughly rinse olives; drain wel essor sevproc spreadable mixture, stopping . Refrigin food processor. Process into ese che in fold and l bow s. Transfer to eral times to scrape down side e. nad approximately 1 cup tape erate until serving time. Makes d or hummus, a dip with pita chips, pita brea Serving suggestions: Serve as dwiches. or spread on ham or turkey san

TECHtrends LEDs actually outperformed the CFLs.� “The initial cost of LEDs is significantly higher than conventional lighting,� notes Scott Williams, Western Farmers Electric commercial & industrial marketing manager. “Like all modern technology, you can expect the price to come down as the product develops. However, when you consider all the factors over the life cycle of a light, LEDs have already proved they save money.�

Shedding light on LEDs Curious to know if LEDs are right for you? Homeowners can visit www.energysavers.gov/lighting to compare LEDs to new energy-efficient incandescent bulbs and CFLs. The Touchstone EnergyŽ Cooperatives free app, “Save Energy, Save Money� for iPhone, iPad and Android devices, includes a lighting calculator showing the potential savings from replacing incandescent lamps with either CFLs or LEDs. Learn more at www.togetherwesave.com/Energy-Saving-App-Smartphones. For more in-depth information about LEDs and other types of solid-state lighting, visit www.eere. energy.gov/buildings/ssl. l Sources: U.S. Department of Energy, Cooperative Research Network, Philips, Energy Star, U.S. Energy Information Administration Megan McKoy-Noe, CCC, writes on consumer and cooperative affairs for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the Arlington, Va.-based service organization for the nation’s 900-plus consumerowned, not-for-profit electric cooperatives.

Rob Holt contributed to this article.

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(continued from page 6) harsh environments and looked for any influence on animal behavior.

T-Bar M Dairy Ranch, outside of Durant, Okla., normally uses 250-W metal halide lights in its barns. CRN exchanged those bulbs in 10 fixtures with 120-W LEDs. After six months, the dairy had cut energy use by 55 percent and boosted brightness by 30 percent. “Utility costs go up every year — that’s reality,� explains Tami Tollenaar, who manages the dairy. “To move forward in your business, you have to look for ways to be more efficient. LEDs are one of the things we can do to help us move forward.�

CRN also worked with Robinson Family Farms, a 380,000-head hog operation in Holdenville, Okla. The farm already used compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) but had problems because those bulbs didn’t work well in harsh conditions. “Lighting for a swine facility is pretty important,� explains owner Rich Robinson. “We try to convince the sows it’s spring year-round to improve their eating habits.�

CRN switched 25 fixtures from 26-W CFLs to 15-W LEDs. After six months, Robinson slashed his energy use by 54 percent. “I was worried because normally when you see an LED it doesn’t seem to put out as much light as a 150-watt incandescent bulb — it’s a different type of light,� Robinson admits. “But, after installing the lights, I was surprised at how well they lit up the area. I think the

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OUTDOORadventures

by Marcus Schneck

From a tiny seed…

THE FIELDS and forests and streams and ponds and rivers and lakes, even the air, are currently packed with the most potential life that will never see fruition right now than at any other time of the year. It’s the season of the seed.

A stroll through any meadow of wildflowers/ weeds will release clouds of the intended next generation of dozens of species of herbaceous plants. A trek across the forest floor beneath a canopy of oak or beech will crunch with the destruction of lost-tree wannabes. Waters across the state float full of countless never-to-germinate fields and forests.

Beyond falling on fallow spots or being cracked open underfoot, the seeds and nuts — actually just another form of seed — are nibbled, munched and even burrowed into by a host of species from fungi through mammals.

So much bright promise will be converted to sustenance, mulch, litter and dentritis. is outdoor editor for The (Harrisburg, Pa.) PatriotNews and a contributor to many outdoor publications and websites, and author of more than two dozen books..

A guide to his writing and photography appears at www.marcusschneck.com.

MARCUS SCHNECK

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But that’s all in the grand plan. Seeds are produced by the hundreds and thousands beyond the levels needed to create a new generation.

There’s a built-in super-surplus to the production of most plants in even an average year, generally more so in those species that need to generate a completely new growth every year.

A web of factors determines if it will be a poor year, a good year or a boom year for each seed-producing species. These include weather, insects, diseases and the genetic programming of the plant itself.

A long-term study of several pine forests found annual seed production among the trees over two decades to range from nearly zero to more than 2 million pine seeds per acre, with

LINES • SEPTEMBER 2012

about half of the years seeing good seed production and the other half being nearly equally split between poor production years and bumper-crop years.

Regardless of year-to-year variation, a seed is an amazingly simple and bewilderingly complex mechanism.

It’s basically an embryo, from which the new plant will grow; a store of nutrients to support that embryo; and a seed coat, which protects the embryo from injury and desiccation. It can be anything from a paper-thin coating to a nearly rock-hard helmet. Nuts and fruits sport additional layers around the seed.

The seed also is the dispersal mechanism for the plant, enabling it to spread to new locations of favorable conditions despite the limita-

GRAND PLAN: Nature’s plan is to disperse far more seeds than will ever grow.

tions of its relative immobility. Wind is a key dispersal agent for many smaller seeds, including those with special adaptations for the trip, such as dandelion and milkweed seeds with their featherlike parachutes. Animals are the prime dispersers for other seeds, including those that are eaten and then spread in the droppings of the animals, as well as those with hooks and barbs to catch onto the fur of passing animals. Other seeds, such as those inside nutshells and some dried fruits (sunflower), have evolved to encourage animals to attempt to store them in widespread and far-flung spots. l

RURALreflections Final days of summer THE DAYLIGHT hours are growing shorter and soon the leaves will begin to turn colors, but for now, the grass is green and the days are still warm, so enjoy the final weeks of summer even as you begin to prepare for autumn.

And, as you amateur photographers are enjoying the final days of summer, please remember to send us your favorite photographs for inclusion in our “Rural Reflections” photo contest. Winners in each of our five contest categories — most artistic, best landscape, best human subject, best animal and editor’s choice — will receive a $75 prize.

Send your photos (no digital files, please) to: Penn Lines Photos, P.O. Box 1266, Harrisburg PA 17108-1266. On the back of each photo, include your name, address, phone number and the name of the electric cooperative that serves your home, business or seasonal residence. (The best way to include this information is by affixing an address label to the back of the photo. Please do not use ink gel or roller pens to write on the photo.)

Remember, our publication deadlines require that we work ahead, so send your seasonal photos in early. We need winter photos before mid-September. Save your spring, summer and fall photos for the 2013 contest. Photos that do not reflect any season may be sent at any time during the year. Please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope if you want your photo to be returned. l

Teri Kerr Northwestern REC

James Roscoe Bedford REC

Alice Stickler Tri-County REC

Paul Fedornak REA Energy

SEPTEMBER 2012 • PENN

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PENNLINESclassified ISSUE MONTH: AD DEADLINE: Penn Lines classified advertisements reach more than 165,800 rural Pennsylvania households!

November 2012. . . . . . . Sept. 19 Please note ads must be received by the due date to be included in the requested issue month. Ads December 2012 . . . . October 19 received beyond the due date will run in the next available issue. Written notice of changes and cancellations must be received 30 days prior to the issue month. Classified ads will not be accepted January 2013. . . . November 16 by phone, fax or email. For more information please contact Vonnie Kloss at 717/233-5704.

CLASSIFIED AD SUBMISSION/RATES: Please use the form below or submit a separate sheet with required information.

Electric co-op members: $20 per month for 30 words or less, plus 50¢ for each additional word.

Non-members: $70 per month for 30 words or less, plus $1.50 for each additional word.

Ad in all CAPITAL letters: Add 20 percent to total cost. Please print my ad in all CAPITAL letters.

PLACE AD IN THE MONTHS OF: .

WORD COUNT: I am an electric co-op member. Attached is my Penn Lines mailing label. Name/Address or Mailing Label Here: Enclosed is payment in the amount of $ .

I am a non-member. Address is noted or attached at right.

Enclosed is payment in the amount of $ .

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FREE Headings (Select One): Around the House Business Opportunities Employment Opportunities Gift and Craft Ideas Livestock and Pets Miscellaneous Motor Vehicles and Boats Nursery and Garden Real Estate Recipes and Food Tools and Equipment Vacations and Campsites Wanted to Buy SPECIAL HEADING: . SPECIAL HEADING FEE: $5 for co-op members, $10 for non-members. Applies even if heading is already appearing in Penn Lines. Insertion of classified ad serves as proof of publication; no proofs supplied. SEND FORM TO: Penn Lines Classifieds, P.O. Box 1266, Harrisburg, PA 17108. Please make CHECK/MONEY ORDER payable to: PREA/Penn Lines.

ALPACAS

CHURCH LIFT SYSTEMS

GRASS FED BEEF

ALPACAS FOR SALE — Bully Hollow Alpacas, 11 left, multiple colors, breeding bloodlines or fiber/pet quality, selling prices negotiable. 814-484-3260.

Make your church, business or home wheelchair accessible. We offer platform lifting systems, stair lifts, porch lifts and ramps.

References. Free estimates. Get Up & Go Mobility Inc. 724-7460992 or 814-926-3622.

100% GRASS FED BEEF. Our holistic management produces the highest quality meat. Animals graze on a natural diet, are never fed grain, growth hormones, antibiotics or pesticides.

McCormick Farm, LLC 814-472-7259.

AROUND THE HOUSE “COUNTRY COOKING,” Volume 2 — $8, including postage.

“RECIPES REMEMBERED,” Volume 3 — $12, including postage.

Both of these cookbooks are a collection of recipes from men and women of the electric co-ops of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Payable to: Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association, P. O. Box 1266, Harrisburg, PA 17108. Write Attention: Cookbooks.

Volume 1 of “Country Cooking” is SOLD OUT. CLOCK REPAIR: If you have an antique grandfather clock, mantel clock or old pocket watch that needs restored, we can fix any timepiece. Macks Clock Repair: 814-421-7992.

CONSULTING FORESTRY SERVICES

HANDCRAFTED FURNITURE

NOLL’S FORESTRY SERVICES, INC. performs Timber Marketing, Timber Appraisals, Forest Management Planning, and Forest Improvement Work. FREE Timber Land Recommendations. 30 years experience. Call 814-472-8560.

COUNTRY CRAFTED bentwood oak/hickory rockers. Swings, gliders, double rockers, coffee/end tables, bar stools, kitchen sets, cedar log outdoor furniture, log bedrooms, SPECIAL queen log bed, $599. 814-733-9116. www.zimmermanenterprise.com.

CENTRE FOREST RESOURCES. Maximizing present and future timber values, Forest Management Services, Managing Timber Taxation, Timber Sales, Quality Deer Management. FREE Timber Consultation. College educated, professional, ethical. 814-8677052.

Beautiful AMISH-BUILT, cherry entertainment center holds 32” flat-screen TV, media portion holds six units, three large storage drawers. Excellent condition. 814-715-0069. jimdon@windstream.net.

HARDWARE/LUMBER RETAIL

GRANITE STICKS — 137 pieces 6” x 16” by varied lengths of 4’ to 9’. $12 a foot or $6,800 for all. 717-776-7228.

BUILDING SUPPLIES STEEL ROOFING AND SIDING. Corrugated sheets (cut to length).

Our best residential roofing $2.25/lineal foot. Also seconds, heavy gauges, odd lots, etc. Located in northwestern Pennsylvania. 814-398-4052.

FACTORY SECONDS of insulation, 4 x 8 sheets, foil back. Also reflective foil bubble wrap. 814-442-6032.

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES PIANO TUNING PAYS — Learn at home with American School of Piano Tuning home-study course in piano tuning and repair.

Tools included. Diploma granted. Call for free brochure 800497-9793.

20

PENN

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FENCING Building a fence? Find hydraulic post drivers, high-tensile wire, electric fence, electric netting, rotational grazing supplies, tools and more from Kencove Farm Fence Supplies. FREE Fence Guide/Catalog – Call 800-536-2683! www.kencove.com.

LEE’S Hardware — CRESSON 814-886-2377. Plumbing, electrical, hardware, paint, tools, wood pellets. PATTON 814-674-5122.

Lumber, roofing, plywood, windows, doors, shale, sand, blocks, delivery, boom lift trucks, estimates. Full service hometown stores.

GIFT AND CRAFT IDEAS

HEALTH AND NUTRITION

“COUNTRY COOKING,” Volume 2 — $8, including postage.

“RECIPES REMEMBERED,” Volume 3 — $12, including postage.

Both of these cookbooks are a collection of recipes from men and women of the electric co-ops of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Payable to: Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association, P. O. Box 1266, Harrisburg, PA 17108. Write Attention: Cookbooks.

Volume 1 of “Country Cooking” is SOLD OUT.

Tired of all those medicines — Still not feeling better? Do you want to feel better, have more energy, better digestion, less joint stiffness, healthier heart/circulation and cholesterol levels? Find out how to empower your own immune system — start I-26 today! It’s safe, affordable, and it works. Call 800-5578477: ID#528390. 90-day money back on first time orders or call me 724-454-5586. www.mylegacyforlife.net/believeit.

PENNLINESclassified HEALTH INSURANCE

RECIPES AND FOOD

WANTED TO BUY

DO YOU HAVE THE BLUES regarding your Health Insurance? We cater to rural America's health insurance needs. For more information, call 800-628-7804 (PA). Call us regarding Medicare supplements, too.

“COUNTRY COOKING,” Volume 2 — $8, including postage.

“RECIPES REMEMBERED,” Volume 3 — $12, including postage.

Both of these cookbooks are a collection of recipes from men and women of the electric co-ops of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Payable to: Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association, P. O. Box 1266, Harrisburg, PA 17108. Write Attention: Cookbooks.

Volume 1 of “Country Cooking” is SOLD OUT.

QUALITY ANTIQUES — Fair prices, fast service. Single items to whole estates. All categories, 1960s and earlier: Textiles, Furniture, Industrial items, Vintage clothing, Medical, Advertising, etc. Call 570-994-2274 or email: oldcroakantiques@gmail.com.

INFRARED SAUNAS Removes toxins, burns calories, relieves joint pain, relaxes muscles, increases flexibility, strengthens immune system.

Many more HEALTH BENEFITS with infrared radiant heat saunas.

Economical to operate. Barron’s Furniture, Somerset, PA. 814443-3115.

USED PORTABLE Sawmills and COMMERCIAL Sawmill Equipment!

Buy/Sell. Call Sawmill Exchange 800-459-2148. USA and Canada. www.sawmillexchange.com.

I-TEC POWERING MISSIONS Think GLOBAL, Give LOCAL. For more information on volunteering or donating call 570-433-0777. Stop by at 23 Green Hollow Road, Montoursville, PA 17754 or visit at www.itec.org.

Farm • Industrial • Commercial

25 Year Warranty on Roof & Walls; Prices F.O.B. Mfg. Plants; Seal Stamped Blue Prints; Easy Bolt Together Design.

SAWMILLS

SHAKLEE FREE SAMPLE Shaklee’s Energy Tea. Combination red, green and white teas that are natural, delicious, refreshing, safe. For sample or more information on tea or other Shaklee Nutrition/Weight Loss Products: 800-403-3381 or www.sbarton.myshaklee.com.

30’ x 50 x 10’..........$7,999 40’ x 60’ x 12’.........$11,499 60’ x 100’ x 12’.......$22,960 80’ x 100’ x 14’.......$30,900 100’ x 150’ x 14’....$55,118

VISIT OUR WEBSITE

PRICES INCLUDE COLOR SIDES & GALVALUME ROOF

Arena Special (roof & frame) 100’ x 100’ x 14’...$33,992

(Local codes may affect prices)

VISIT OUR WEBSITE

LAWN AND GARDEN EQUIPMENT HARRINGTON’S SERVICE CENTER, Inc. is now located at 475 Orchard Rd., Fairfield, PA 17320. 717-642-6001 or 410-756-2506 for lawn and garden equipment, sales and repair.

LEGAL SERVICES WORKERS’ COMPENSATION: Injured and want to know your rights? Call us at 877-291-9675 for FREE advice or visit our website for your FREE book at www.workinjuryinpa.com.

LIVESTOCK AND PETS PEMBROKE WELSH CORGI Puppies — AKC, adorable, intelligent, highly trainable. Excellent family choice. Reputable licensed breeder guaranteed “Last breed you’ll ever own.” 814-5873449.

LOG CABIN RESTORATIONS VILLAGE RESTORATIONS & CONSULTING specializes in 17th and 18th century log, stone and timber structures. We dismantle, move, re-erect, restore, construct and consult all over the country. Period building materials available. Chestnut boards, hardware, etc. Thirty years experience, fully insured. Call 814696-1379. www.villagerestorations.com.

MEDICARE SUPPLEMENT INSURANCE Are you paying too much for your Medicare Supplement Insurance? You PROBABLY are. Keep all your current providers.

To see if you qualify for lower premiums call 717-738-3304.

SPECIAL SERVICES Residential access and safety consultation, home modification plans, aging in place and universal design. Also modify cabinets and furniture for special needs. 814-603-0016. nick@helpyourselfdesigns.com.

TIMBER FRAME HOMES SETTLEMENT POST & BEAM BUILDING COMPANY uses timehonored mortise, tenon and peg construction paired with modern engineering standards. Master Craftsman and owner, Greg Sickler, brings over two decades of timber-framing experience to helping you create your dream. We use highquality timbers harvested from sustainable forests for all of our projects. Visit our model home, located on Historic Route 6, Sylvania, in North Central Pennsylvania. For more information phone 570-297-0164 or go to www.settlementpostandbeam.com or contact us at cggksick@epix.net.

TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT MASSEY FERGUSON wide row corn head Model 1144 fits Model MF850 for sale, very good condition. Call 814-441-4187.

WANTED: LIVE BALD FACED HORNETS. Free removal – Huntingdon County and State College area. Insects used for potential life-saving allergy shots. Can not have been sprayed with insecticide. Andy 814-667-2136.

ARTHURS TRACTORS, specializing in vintage Ford tractors, 30years experience, on-line parts catalog/prices, shipped via UPS. Contact us at 877-254-FORD (3673) or www.arthurstractors.com.

TRACTOR PARTS – REPAIR/RESTORATION

TREE TRIMMING/REMOVAL TOM’S TREE SERVICE – Tree Trimming/Removal – Storm Cleanup – Stump Grinding – Land Clearing – Bucket Truck and Chipper – Fully Insured – Free Estimates – Call 24/7 – 814-448-3052 – 814-627-0550 – 26 Years Experience.

MOTORCYCLE-SNOWMOBILE INSURANCE

VACATIONS AND CAMPSITES

For the best INSURANCE RATES call R & R Insurance Associates from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 800-442-6832 (PA).

House rental at Lake Raystown. Sleeps 11, fireplace, four bedrooms, dining table for 12, central A/C, two Satellite TVs, two full baths, two half baths, linens/towels provided, large recreation room, large parking area, one mile from lake (Snyders Run). Minimum two nights. Call 814-931-6562. Visit www.laurelwoodsretreat.com.

RAYSTOWN LAKE FUN SEVEN POINTS MARINA offers houseboat vacations, daily boat rentals plus weekend public sightseeing cruises. Beautiful fall foliage, great time to fish! Operating until October 21st. Contact us at 814-658-3074 or tours@7pointsmarina.com.

1-888-320-7466

TAXI COMPANY FOR SALE

BECOME AN ORDAINED MINISTER, Correspondence study. The harvest truly is great, the laborers are few, Luke 10:2. Free info.

Ministers for Christ Outreach, 6630 West Cactus #B107-767, Glendale, AZ 85304. www.ordination.org.

80-85 U.C.C. CHURCH hymnals. Good condition — red covers.

814-267-4872.

Toll Free

TURNKEY BUSINESS for sale in the Sayre/Athens/Towanda Pennsylvania area. Operational for over 50 years! Growing with increase in population due to the Marcellus Shale Industry.

Comes with 6 vehicles that are equipped with DriveCam cameras and installed GPS systems, two-way radios with FCC License, Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission License and more. Selling to operate another business! Serious business buyers only may contact us at 570-882-9130 and leave a message.

MISCELLANEOUS

RV REFRIGERATORS/Propane Repaired/Rebuilt. Leaks can be fixed. Used refrigerators and parts. Call for prices at up to 1/2 of new. 570-435-2210.

F a x : 9 4 0 - 4 8 4 - 6 7 4 6 e m a i l : info@rhinobldg.com Website: http://www.RHINOBLDG.COM

Farms are part of our electric cooperative.

SEPTEMBER 2012 • PENN

LINES

21

PUNCHlines

Thoughts from Earl Pitts, UHMERIKUN! Earl encourages a trip out to where lawnmowers have never been — but leave your spouse at home

Social commentary from Earl Pitts —— a.k.a.

GARY BUR BANK , a nationally syndicated radio personality —— can be heard on the following radio stations that cover electric cooperative service territories in Pennsylvania: WANB-FM 103.1 Pittsburgh; WARM-AM 590 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton; WIOO-AM 1000 Carlisle; WEEO-AM 1480 Shippensburg; WMTZ-FM 96.5 Johnstown; WQBR-FM 99.9/92.7 McElhattan; WLMI-FM 103.9 Kane; and WVNW-FM 96.7 Burnham-Lewistown.

22

PENN

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Here is what’s wrong with America today. An’ y’all can write this down.

Heck, you can even chisel it in stone. The problem with America today is that people ain’t outdoors enough.

This country was made great by people outdoors. Your pioneers in wagon trains, your mountain men, your soldiers an’ explorers. You think about it and you’ll get that pretty much this whole country was settled outdoors. Thomas Jefferson hired Lewis & Clark to walk across the dang continent. He didn’t tell them to “Google it.”

An’ somewheres when we got all these electro-gizmos an’ computers an’ iPods an’ such, we lost touch with nature. A little thing I like to call “outdoorsy-ism.”

Me, I like that fresh smell of juniper an’ wild honeysuckle. I like to travel the path that goes up around the lake, an’ back to where that old mill was. Where it’s just me and my thinkin’. An’ maybe ticks.

Here’s a little test y’all can take to see if you still got any outdoorsy-ism in you.

Number 1 — you’re walkin’ through the woods when a big black shape breaks through the brush 60 yards ahead and heads in your direction. You a) grab your binoculars or b) start cryin’ like a baby.

Number 2 — the last time you pulled a trigger, were you shooting a) bullets or b) water?

An’ finally, have you ever run away from an animal smaller than your knee high — well, one that wasn’t a skunk?

If your face is drippin’ with tears, you’re holdin’ a super soaker, an’ you’ve screamed when you’ve seen a chipmunk, we got some work to do.

Wake up, America! You need more than just bein’ outside, OK? You need to be where lawnmowers have never been.

We still got some really good weather comin’ this fall, so grab your big boy pants — an’ let’s get out there.

Fall’s acomin’ an’ that means it’s also the perfect time for y’all to go

campin’. I mean, if you’re a hard-workin’, God-fearin’, red-blooded, regular American, it’s the perfect time for campin’.

‘Cause that’s what we do.

But I did hear one interestin’ story about campin’ the other day. It said 78 percent a’ people say they like to go campin’ with their buddies. But only 50 percent said they like to go campin’ with their spouses.

Now, this statistic is not a surprise, especially to anybody that’s ever gone campin’ with their spouse. You spend a week in the woods with your better half, an’ it’s just like spendin’ a week in the house with them, only without a toilet or a TV. Every time I hear on the news where the police found a body in the woods, I figure it was a couple campin’. Lord knows me an’ Pearl have come close to only one of us walkin’ out of the woods before.

Fact is, I remember one campin’ trip when Pearl got lost in the woods for three hours. I didn’t know where she was. I was gettin’ frantic. Not really, but for the purposes of this story, let’s pretend I was. Finally she come strollin’ out of the woods, an’ I go, “Where in the Sam Hill did you go?”

She smiles an’ goes, “Lookin’ for places to hide the body, Earl.”

That right there made it difficult to sleep the rest of the trip.

See, you get to do campin’ with your buddies, an’ it’s all good. Cuttin’ up, drinkin’, fishin’ an’ messin’ with the wildlife. You get out in the wilderness with your spouse and it’s just two desperate people in new surroundings, each figgerin’ out how they might get away with it.

Wake up, America. In other words, then it’s the same way we live at home, but there’s no TV to distract us. Show me a man that camps with his wife, an’ I’ll show you a guy that’s definitely NOT a happy camper.

I’m Earl Pitts, Uhmerikun. l

U.S. GOV’T GOLD AT-COST TODAY - U.S. Money Reserve has scheduled the final release of U.S. Gov’t-Issued $5 Gold Coins previously held at the U.S. Mint at West Point. These Gov’t-Issued Gold Coins are being released on a first-come, first-served basis for the incredible markup free price of only $168.25 per coin. Please be advised: our at-cost U.S. Gov’t Gold inventory will be available at this special price while supplies last or for up to 30 days. Do not delay. Call a Sr. Gold Specialist today.

PURE COST - NO DEALER MARKUP!

$

16825

Own Gov’t-Issued Gold Coins DUE TO STRICT LIMITED AVAILABILITY, TELEPHONE ORDERS WILL BE ACCEPTED ON A FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVED BASIS ACCORDING TO THE TIME AND DATE OF THE ORDER.

EACH

PRICES MAY BE MORE OR LESS BASED ON CURRENT MARKET CONDITIONS. CALL NOW.

ED S TAT

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If you’ve been waiting to move your hard-earned money into precious metals, the time is now to consider transferring T your U.S. dollars into United GOLD C States Government Gold. The Gold market is on the move, up more than 400% over the past 10 years - outpacing the DOW, NASDAQ and S&P 500. Call immediately to order your United States Gold Coins direct from our Main Vault Facility, “at-cost”, for the amazing price of only $168.25 per coin. Special arrangements can be made for Gold purchases over $50,000. Order your Gold today!

IT

1 – Gov’t-Issued Gold Coin

$

168.25

( PLUS INSURANCE, SHIPPING & HANDLING $31.00 )

5 – Gov’t-Issued Gold Coins

$

841.25

( PLUS INSURANCE, SHIPPING & HANDLING $31.00 )

10 – Gov’t-Issued Gold Coins $ 1,682.50 ( PLUS INSURANCE, SHIPPING & HANDLING $36.00 ) THE MARKETS FOR COINS ARE UNREGULATED. PRICES CAN RISE OR FALL AND CARRY SOME RISKS. THE COMPANY IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH THE U.S. GOVERNMENT AND THE U.S. MINT. PAST PERFORMANCE OF THE COIN OR THE MARKET CANNOT PREDICT FUTURE PERFORMANCE. SPECIAL AT-COST OFFER IS STRICTLY LIMITED TO ONLY ONE LIFETIME PURCHASE OF 10 AT-COST COINS (REGARDLESS OF PRICE PAID) PER HOUSEHOLD, PLUS SHIPPING AND INSURANCE.

CALL TOLL-FREE (7 Days A Week)

1-855-894-5521 -!34%2#!2$ s 6)3! s !-%8 s $)3#/6%2 s #(%#+

Coins enlarged to show detail. © 2012 U.S. Money Reserve

Vault No. PA3-16825

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