The Valley - August 2012

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Serving Mifflin County and the surrounding area.

The Valley A free newspaper dedicated to agriculture, self-reliance, frugal living, and modern homesteading.

Tomorrow’s Media - A Day Early Volume 3, No. 8

THANK YOU!

Basically, in its simplest definition, that is what “A Day of Community in The Valley” is all about. I have relayed to everyone quite often how gratifying publishing The Valley is. Oh don’t misunderstand, we have our “days,” in fact, probably as much as any other job. The big difference is, quite often I will be stewing about something while going about my daily routine and someone will stop me and thank us for a great paper and tell us that they don’t miss an issue and look forward to our new issue each month. That kind of random expression of appreciation can pull you out of the deepest of funks and amazingly, it happens almost daily. I am truly blessed.

Every time someone expresses these kinds of feelings, all I find myself saying is, “we really appreciate our readers,” and we really do. Somehow though, that just seemed awkward and not really enough. We had been trying to think of some way that we could express our real appreciation, to the readers as well as the advertisers, and my awesome friends, the other writers for The Valley.

Our best idea was to throw a party, for everyone. We knew we wanted to make this an event that anyone could come to, so it had to be FREE! We also knew that it would be nice if the people attending the event could be able to meet and talk with some of the personalities that make up The Valley. I get many requests and phone calls requesting many of our writers time, this will be your chance!

We also wanted to find a

Complimentary

The Valley, August 2012

way to include our wonderful advertisers, your neighbors, who make our publication possible.

We invited them to attend and provided them booth space so that you could talk with as many of our advertisers as we can gather at once. Talk with them one on one about their products and services.

Many will have special deals in place for this day only.

Having the advertisers and writers assembled still wouldn’t ensure a successful day, so to make it a real party, we have scheduled live music for the entire day at the outdoor stage. The music will be American Rural, Bluegrass, Blues and some more contemporary tunes as well—all family friendly, so bring the kids! And speaking of the kids, there will be activities taking place throughout the day specifically for the kids, that way, parents can enjoy the music, stroll

through the booths, or attend a demo and know your children are having fun as well. There will also be animals to keep their interest piqued.

As for demos, we have something for everyone. The Master Gardeners will hold a demo on Composting and possibly other demos too. Our resident beer expert, Kevin Morgan, will hold a demo that is sure to attract the guys. Kevin will take you through the process start to finish in mak-

ing your own beer at home. We won’t be dispensing beer, just showing you how to make your own favorite brew.

Mary Anna Chenoweth from “The Pen and Thread” will be showing the process of making yarn, from collecting the fibers to spinning, and will have one of her students there demonstrating her skills on the spinning wheel.

Another highlight to the day will be an Art Exhibit by local artists presented by the Mifflin/ Juniata Arts Council. Be sure not to miss the works of talented local artists that will be on display.

What about food?

Yep, there will be food vendors present to cure your hunger pangs.

The 4-H juniors will have their concession stand open, Billy’s BBQ will have pulled pork sandwiches, there will be vendors with pizza, kettle corn, fries, as well as Lewistown Creamery’s event truck dispensing your favorite ice cream. With food and drink

Lighting Brush Fires in People’s Minds

covered, you can plan to spend the entire day with your neighbors celebrating “Community.”

So make sure to mark your calendars for August 18th. “A Day of Community in The Valley will kick off at 11:30AM with music starting around noon. Gates will be open at 10:00AM so you can pick out a good spot to enjoy the music. Bring your lawn chairs or a blanket. Dancing is encouraged, so plan to let your hair down and have a good time.

While attending the Remington Ryde Bluegrass Festival in July we learned the sad news that their festival has outgrown Reedsville and so they will move the event to Centre Hall next year.

While totally understanding that the success of their festival is going to cause us to lose a 4-day event for our local area, we have to wish them luck in continuing to grow their event and keep on picking that Bluegrass. This does however, create a negative economic impact on Reedsville, and I don’t believe it is a coincidence that we decided to try something similar this season to learn the ropes. Hopefully, next year we can grow our event a little more and eventually fill the void that Remington Ryde’s moving will cause. In fact, if all of you make this year’s event a success, it will result in a net gain. Instead of one festival in July, folks can take in two festivals a month apart, sound like fun?

We hope to see you all on August 18th at Reedsville Youth Park for “A Day of Community in The Valley.” We hope everyone has fun, and most of all, that you accept a huge THANK YOU from all of us at The Valley! a

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Editor’s Corner

The Valley, August 2012

Wayne Stottlar

Well the news channels have pretty much gone silent on the matter. The critics from “other” colleges seem to be satisfied somewhat. So let’s all move on, right? The case is settled, judgement has been handed down and penalties have been levied. The truth is just a casualty of the way the herd mentality works these days. We have the perpetrator in prison. Thank God for that! We have had charges levied, WITHOUT PROOF, against a hero that is no longer here to defend himself. In fact, this whole episode probably robbed us of several more years with Joe.

What happened was a tragedy, no doubt about it. Bad things happen and will continue to happen, but we CANNOT cleanse the human spirit of occasional bouts of evil. In this case, the man is paying the price for his crimes.

But in outrage and competition for who can be more offended, there was a complete over-reaction to a situation that has now caused there to be MORE victims. JoePa for one. People can say whatever they want in hindsight. “He should have done more, I would have done this, or I would have stopped it this way.” BS! Joe did what the protocol of the university called for. In an environment such as a university, a big corporation, or even the military, there is a

protocol that is followed. Joe followed that protocol! Also in this kind of environment, you report, and then it is up to others to invesTrustee’s rear end? If there was a tigate. With the allegations in this single Trustee with any courage at case being so sensitive, I do not all, when this whole thing started, find it strange that once reported, they would have told the media the person who reported it would there was an investigation taking feel as if there was an ongoing place and NOTHING would hapinvestigation or a recognition that pen until its completion. the charges couldn’t be proven.

Speaking of investigations, is Everyone needs to remember, Joe it strange to anyone else that Penn was a FOOTBALL COACH! He State, the NCAA and the general was not a cop or a social worker, he was paid to be a coach.

PERIOD! Should Penn State be punished?

If there was a cover up, I suppose they should. I find it highly suspicious though, that if there was a cover up, it seems to have left the Trustees blameless. Was feeding Joe’s reputation, and eventually his life, to This photo circulated on the internet shortly after the the media at ESPN a means NCAA verdict. It couldn’t be more true, the NCAA, the Penn State Board of Trustees, and ESPN can stick it, to save some THESE are the numbers.

media accepted and reported the Freeh report without any question or verification of its truthfulness?

In those last few days, things seemed to move along at a pace unheard of before. Each report and announcement seemed to come hours, or in some cases days, before its reported release date. Then the Board of Trustees snuck in under the cover of darkness on a Sunday night and tore the statue of Joe down because it would “cause hard feelings for some.” Really? How about me and the biggest majority of the area residents who now have been caused stress and anxiety over the statue’s removal? Oh, we don’t count, because somehow the seriousness of the crime gives any potential victims MORE rights than the rest of us? Ever since the beginning of this tragedy all the way to the end, the Trustees have proven to me that acted cowardly just to remain politically correct. In my estimation, THEY, along with Sandusky, are the ones that will be responsible for the negative economic impact this may have on the area. While they were trying to save face over at the Board, they flushed every local business that depends on the University down the toilet. This isn’t just about Penn State, it is the livelihoods of thousands of people in the area, the Board of Trustees should be ashamed. They just gave the agenda-driven reporters at ESPN everything they wanted in an attempt to silence the story.

They even fed the school to the NCAA by accepting without comment the punishment handed down based on a report whose validity is hugely in question. The

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Contact Info Editor/Publisher Wayne Stottlar Ad Designer/Co-Publisher Lynn Persing Associate Editor Colleen Swetland The Valley PO Box 41 Yeagertown, PA 17099 (717) 363-1550 E-mail: thevalleynewspaper@gmail.com Web: www.thevalleynewspaper.com ©The Valley. All Rights Reserved.

NCAA can say and think what it wants, their word is of little value to people that have values. Joe Paterno is STILL the winningest coach in history, he is still a larger than life hero to people who have their own minds, and will not be swayed by a politically correct herd mentality.

After watching this unfold it became very clear to me how it was possible that dozens of people were accused, tried and HUNG for witchcraft in Salem Massachusetts in the late 1600s. That was the same kind of rush to accuse and believe without any proof, because the charges are just so awful. Still, those Trustees seems to have emerged unscathed, does this make anyone else wonder and say Hmmmmmm. a

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The Valley, August 2012

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PA Cleanways of Mifflin County

PACleanWays, an all volunteer nonprofit group, was organized in 2001 in Mifflin County

by Don Baker and a group of volunteers concerned about illegal dumping throughout the county especially in the rural area. We work with people who want to clean their communities and help them find the resources needed for the job. The original state PACW chapter was formed in Westmoreland County in 1990 for the same reason. In 2010, PACleanWays and Keep PA Beautiful combined and is now known as Keep PA Beautiful. We had the choice of keeping our name and we are now an affiliate of Keep PA Beautiful. To find out more, you can go online to www.keeppabeautiful. org.

In 2004, we partnered with Juniata Clean Water Partnership to take a survey on the number of illegal dump sites in the county and 56 dump sites were recorded.

This was a helpful tool for us to decide which areas needed to be cleaned first. The first few years we worked mainly on sites near streams with the Susquehanna River Basin Commission.

Another survey was completed in 2010 and we were down to 31 dump sites.

Between each spring and fall, our dump committee would pick out which sites we would do that year. Some sites could be done in a day, while others could take as long as five Saturday mornings to complete. We also do roadside cleanups when a road is heavily littered. One thing we have learned; never think a roadside cleanup will only take a of couple hours. Once you start walking along the road you find there is more in that ditch than you can see from your vehicle.

Some of our areas are steep and we use a winch and super sacks to pull 4 or 5 bags of trash

or tires and big items up all at once from the bottom.

In 2010, we were asked if we would consider cleaning up a cove area along the Juniata River in Mcveytown that had a lot of tires settle in that area after years of flooding. In August of that year we went in and removed 111 tires in 4 hours.

We also do educational events such as: a recycle poster contest with the schools, Litter IQ Board, and our Green Expo the second Saturday in June where we promote recycling and the green initiative that we do with the Mifflin County Solid Waste Authority.

We are currently looking for volunteers with or without boats to do another river clean up at the Lewistown Victory Park area on August 11, 2012 from 9-3. If you don’t have a boat, you can always help put trash in the dumpster or keep track of everything that is

Fifty Years Ago August 1962

Following an exhaustive push to register voters across Mifflin County, the Republican Party registered 110 new voters, while the Democratic Party garnered 107 new members. In the 1960 presidential election, the GOP held a 1,109 voter edge. During the 1962 May primary, there were 16, 845 total registered voters from both parties: 8, 841 Republicans and 7, 912 Democrats.

Playoff games in the TriCounty Baseball League went into extra innings during late August playoffs. A home run by Denny Young with one out in the bottom of the eighth gave Yeagertown a 4-3 victory over Milroy at Yeagertown, tying their best-of-five series. Bob Allgyer’s bases-loaded single, which also came with one out on the last of the eighth, enabled McVeytown to squeeze out a 5-4 triumph over Belleville at McVeytown.

One Hundred Years ago August 1912

J. A. Muthersbough’s store on Market Street advertised: “Worner’s Famous Rattlesnake Oil – Stands alone in the treatment and cure of all aches and pains.” “Many who have had hospital treatment and doctored with specialists for years, spending dollar after dollar without getting benefit, ” the Snake Oil ad continued, “give Mr. Worner their testimonials.” The treatment was recommended for rheumatism, stiff joints, paralysis, lumbago, pulled out.

We will also be having our annual Tire Recycle on September 15th at the Lewistown Borough Refuse Yard on Washington Avenue from 8-12. Our tires are taken

by Mahantango, a tire recycler in Perry County who grinds them up for mulch to use on play grounds and horse arenas among other things. Over the years between all the dump cleanups and tire recycling we have sent over 10,000 tires to be properly disposed of.

If you want to be a volun-

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sprains, bruises, asthma, hay fever, catarrah, deafness, sores and wounds. The store offered the $1 bottle for just 50c. A free exhibit on the courthouse corner was advertised: “See the handling, feeding and killing of rattlesnakes.” A “monster” rattlesnake was put on display in the Market Street window of the store.

Civil War Echoes August 1862

From the Lewistown Gazette: George W. Soult had been authorized to receive enlistments for the celebrated Bucktail Rifle Brigade.

He opened his office next door to Mrs. Mary Mark’s drug store on East Market Street. In a related story, H. J. Walters, secretary of the committee enlisting volunteers from Mifflin County, called for the immediate payment of pledges toward the fund to be used to pay bounties to young men volunteering.

The Oliver Township School Board advertised for teachers for the five-month winter term to open October 20. “Liberal” salaries were promised, although mention of amounts did not appear in the report.

William H. Woods, principal of the Lewistown Academy advertised that room and board for the five-months term would be $65, while day students would pay $3 to $5 per quarter, with 25 cents for incidentals. Extras in the course of study included music, French, painting, drawing and ornamental needlework at no extra cost. a

teer or find out more about these events, please call me at 717-8996701 or email me at pammiff@ verizon.net.

You ask why our volunteers do it? Someone has to see that our forests remain beautiful and our rivers, streams, and drinking water can run clean and clear for future generations to enjoy.

Pamela H. Sechrist Affiliate Coordinator PACleanWays of Mifflin County 717-899-6701 Cell 717-348-3534 a

The Valley, August 2012

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Every New Beginning is Another Beginning’s End

by Wayne Stottlar

Late last year there was a collective GASP throughout Big Valley when news started spreading that The Olde Hatchery was closing. No one could quite believe it.

Why? It was always so busy there, I know, I spent lots of time there either finishing, or in one case, doing ALL of Lynn’s birthday shopping. The Olde Hatchery was like a security blanket for me—I knew I could walk in there any time and Staci or Jayne would fix me up with something Lynn would love.

Secretly, I think they were all in cahoots with each other and I was just a playing piece, but that’s another story.

I was sad to see an old friend go away, and felt like we had lost something forever. I was WRONG!

Rumors started circulating last spring that a new shop was opening in Lewistown with the same type of items as The Olde Hatchery carried. I didn’t know where or when, but my interest

was piqued.

A few weeks ago I got the call I was anticipating. It was my

old bud Staci Deamer from The Olde Hatchery and she was opening the store in Lewistown, which would be called Olde Thyme Reflections.

The rumors were true! Better yet, Jayne Kanagy also from the Olde Hatchery, will be helping Staci the same as before. She will bring her creative touches to the shop with her handcrafted one of a kind floral wreaths and arrangements as well as her sharp eye for decorating.

Olde Thyme Reflections will carry many of the same lines that became your favorites from The Olde Hatchery, but they will also incorpoStaci Deamer, new owner of Olde Thyme Reflections with some of the many unique items that can rate the new as well. be found there.

One of the new items

is a one-of-a-kind, hand made furniture that is created by re-purposing old lumber.

The wood from the siding of that 200 year old barn has now been transformed into the most unique table top, hutch or stand. Most all of the wood they have salvaged is between 100 and 200 years old, and has come from old While shopping at Olde Thyme Reflections Pennsylvania Barns and the answer to your sweet tooth is only outbuildings. These types steps away at Asher’s Chocolate. of structures are disappearing fast and there will come

Olde Thyme Reflections will a day when they are all gone, so be open Wednesday and Thurssave a piece of history in your days from 10:00am - 5:00pm, own home with one of these “old Fridays from 10:00am - 8:00pm, wood” pieces. and Saturdays from 10:00am Some of the items you’ll 5:00pm. remember from The Hatch Olde Thyme Reflections will ery include Amish made wood be holding the 1st Annual Harvest furniture, curtains, table toppers, Gathering (Fall Open House) on wood signs and framed prints.

Thursday thru Saturday, August Olde Thyme Reflections will also 9-11. Staci is also holding their carry tinware, wreaths, potpourri, “Grand Opening Celebration” scented rose hips and all types of on Saturday August 11th, so stop decorative light bulbs. by and enjoy a hand-dipped treat

Olde Thyme Reflections is with something from Ashers located on Susquehanna Ave in on top and take in all that Olde Lewistown in the same building Thyme Reflections has to offer. as Asher’s Chocolate. What’s Don’t forget while you’re there even handier is that there is a conto enjoy the warmth and charm necting hall between Olde Thyme of a simpler time. Staci’s love Reflections and Asher’s, so as you for hand-crafted items and home are shopping and trying to take in decor as well as the pleading everything Staci has brought into from everyone missing The Olde her business, you can sneak next Hatchery, has brought a new door to satisfy your sweet tooth in beginning to another beginning’s between purchases! end. a

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The Valley, August 2012

Looking out my Back Door Life on my Mifflin County Homestead

by Mary Anna Chenoweth

Growing the Good Grains: Corn

Part One: Amazing (Pun Intended) Things from the Field “All over the world, staple foods are the thing that gives us life, enables us to go on, creates and sustains the world. That we in the industrial culture have lost the notion of the sustaining staple should be an indicator of our failure to remain connected to the roots of our humanity” -from A Nation of Farmers by Sharon Astyk & Aaron Newton

Throughout the existence of the human race, of all of the products carried, traded or sold around the world, at any given point in time, foods top any list. Centuries ago, maize – the grain of the ‘New World’ - was included in the first shipments of edible riches sent back to the ‘Old World’. Five hundred or so years later, it has become common fare in Asia, a basic food in many areas of Africa

and, on Italian tables, it appears as polenta, a tasty refinement of our own humble, yet delicious, corn meal mush.

Ask most people if they eat corn and the majority of them will probably say yes. This generally means sweet corn kernels, frozen or from a can, alone, as part of a vegetable mix, or as an ingredient in soup. Most of us try to have corn on the cob when it’s in season. Then there’s the widely POP-ular (sorry - had to do that) popcorn. Every so often some form of corn bread may be served and that’s often as far as corn gets in the average American diet. Which is fine - as far as it goes.

But corn offers so much more. Since there ARE places where the many varieties and uses of corn play a larger part

in the local food culture, these scrumptious and nutritious treats are seeping out into the American food scene - sturdy, filling foods like New England’s Anadama bread and Indian Pudding or the mush, scrapple and dried sweet corn that many of us in Mifflin County enjoy. Our southern cousins have their grits and hushpuppies and hominy. To the southwest, we get even closer to our corn roots with tamales and tortillas and pozole.

Anybody hungry yet?

Now, when I say our corn roots, I mean OUR corn roots.

Whether or not your ethnic make up includes Native American genes, as members of the human race we are collective inheritors of all human wisdom and few things unite us as much as food; wise people keep pointing out

this undeniable truth – WE ALL EAT. Because maize is a uniquely American staple it behooves us to get to know it better so let’s take an introductory look at what it is, where it came from and some of the different varieties that should have a mouthwatering year-round role in our kitchens.

Like most grains, corn is a grass – Zea mays of the family Gramineae. That’s what corn is.

Where it came from - well, the quest for the origins of corn reads like a detective novel with a plot that stretches over millennia. Occasionally, headlines will trumpet a new ‘definitive’ discovery, but what we ‘ know’ changes constantly with improvements in our knowledge of genetics and the occasional ‘Indiana Jones’ type discovery out in the real world.

One thing we know for sure is that corn, as we know it, originated and exists because of human beings. It would seem that we domesticated its most likely ‘direct’ ancestor, a seed bearing grass called teosinte, about five or six thousand years ago. Still growing wild in parts of western Mexico, teosinte has small kernels, each wrapped in its own husk, on a short, fairly brittle stalk that tends to grow towards the top of the plant. Our savvy, plant breeding ancestors saw its potential and

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started to adapt it to human needs, patiently selecting seed from those plants that made for easier use and more abundant production. As it traveled the ancient American trade routes (and they were many) from its west Mexican homelands, corn lost the individual husks, developed a cob, increased the number and size of the kernels and developed into a major foodstuff, from the Andes in South America through Central America, over most of North America and up into southern Canada. Archaeological evidence suggests that it made it to the southern parts of New England about one thousand years ago.

Which was lucky for the Pilgrims who came along in 1620.

Those intrepid English settlers would have starved their first winter in the ‘New World’, as all school children are taught, had it not been for the largess of a few Native Americans who shared their corn – and other edibles – along with their knowledge of how to grow, gather and prepare it.

Of course, maize had been on the ‘Old World’s’ radar almost from the time Columbus made it to the Caribbean in 1492. But, whether English, Spanish, Italian

Continued on page 19

The Valley, August 2012

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Thots on...Genesis

A Bible Study for the Lay Christian

by Lydia We accidentally scrambled Lydia’s Thots on column in the July issue, so it is reprinted below, now in the correct format. Sorry Lydia!

In 2 Timothy 3.16, Paul tells us, “Every inspired scripture has its use for teaching the truth and refuting error, or for reformation of manners and discipline in right living…” [NEB*] *Unless otherwise noted, all Scriptures are quoted from the New International Version.

Genesis 14.18-20

Then Melchizedek king of Salem [Jerusalem] brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram…. Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

On his way home after rescuing his nephew Lot, Abram had to pass by Jerusalem, for Hebron was farther south, and he was met

by Melchizedek. There has been much discussion about exactly who Melchizedek was, whether he was Jesus or some other supernatural representation of God. For the sake of our discussion, let’s assume that Melchizedek was exactly who the Bible says he was: the king of Jerusalem and a priest of God Most High.

From that, we perceive that others knew of the existence of the God who called Abram to Canaan. God is able to reveal himself in many ways. Paul writes in his letter to the Romans, “For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature— have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” [Romans 1.20]

So that men are without excuse. You know, when I was

an atheist, I claimed to see no proof of God’s existence—yet that proof was all around me! We can see God’s hand in the details of a flower, the perfect design of a hummingbird, the artistic patterns in an animal’s fur. That’s not evolution; that’s God!

The bread and wine mentioned in verse 18 are a foreshadowing of the sacraments of communion, which represent the sacrifice of the Son of God in atonement for our sins. Think about this: God is timeless, eternal and omniscient. He knows not only the past and present, but the future. Before He created man, He knew that man would disobey Him and that it would be necessary to provide a means to atone for that sin. Throughout the Old Testament, we see references to the Messiah, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The Messiah would be born of a descendant of Abram, which is the reason God told Abram, “All peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” [Genesis 12.3]

Let’s talk a little about God’s omniscience and the way it concerns us personally. We measure time by the earth’s rotation and by its revolution around the sun. God created the solar system by which we measure time but, as the Creator, He exists outside time and space. That’s why we’re reminded, “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” [2 Peter 3.8] You were created with a free will and are free to make your own

Perspective on Worry

by Pastor Pat Roller

This seems to be a summer of concern—dare I say, worry. We had hoped that the economy was getting better; then we discover that friends, family and even ourselves are sitting on the brink of being unemployed. Graduates of 2012 are having great difficulty finding jobs anywhere, much less in their fields of study.

Then, we look at the weather.

It is very hot in places we think should be, at least, cooler. Good-

ness, it has been hot in our little valley—hotter than any of us expected. It is the kind of heat that this transplant experienced in the South. And, no rain! Our crops are thirsty; our grass is brown too soon; some of us (Maybe just me, I don’t have much patience there anyway.) have given up on flowers. Farmers farther west of us have been on the television and Internet reporting on the damage this summer’s drought has taken

choices. However, God your Creator, who exists outside time, knows what your decision is even before you make it and He directs your life accordingly. This is NOT the same as predestination.

Predestination infers that your path has already been chosen for you and that you are powerless to change the course of your life.

That’s not the case. You are free to choose the direction of your life; the omniscient God simply knows what those choices will be.

Abram recognized that Melchizedek was a representative of God and gave him a tenth of everything he owned. This is the origin of tithing, which means giving a tenth of our income to God.

The Word of God has quite a bit to say about giving. In Malachi 3.8-10, God told Israel they were robbing Him and said, “’Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this… and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit.’” (Now there’s real organic pest control!)

Have you tested this promise?

Have you faithfully given a tithe to the Lord, only to discover that your money stretches farther and, somehow, you have enough and to spare? If not, why don’t you try tithing and see what happens?

Sadly, some of today’s televangelists have perverted this message. They exhort their listeners to give a “seed gift” and promise that, in return, God will make them rich or give them a new Cadillac. Suppose you decide to give that “seed gift”? What is your motive? Are you giving to that ministry because you want

to advance the kingdom of God or because you want a new car?

Is the televangelist glorifying Jesus or has he redirected your focus away from God and toward money? I think we all know the answer. He’s appealing to your greed. God will not be manipulated like a genie in a bottle! Paul said that the love of money is the root of all evil [1 Timothy 6.10] and Jesus warned that we cannot serve both God and money. [Matthew 6.24, Luke 16.13] If we are focused on the kingdom

of God, do you think money will be even a blip on our radar? No. Our focus will be on pleasing God, not on trying to manipulate Him. In Matthew 6.33, Jesus taught us, “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” a

on their crops and predicting our food will be more expensive this fall and winter. Isn’t that what we need to follow up on concerns about our economy?

Finally, we are bombarded with political advertisements that call for us to be frightened about this situation or that event, worried about this candidate or that candidate.

So, maybe there are some reasons to be concerned/worried over our lives this summer.

Maybe not! The people of Jesus’ day obviously faced some of the same concerns we have this summer. And, Jesus addresses these fears and worries in his Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 6: 25-34 (NRSV) says, “Therefore I tell

you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? 28And why do you worry about clothing?

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and

tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’

32For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

34“So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

The key here is not that there

Rev. Dr. Henry G. Covert

hgc7@verizon.net Dr. Henry Covert is an ordained minister with the United Church of Christ. After a tour of duty in the military, he worked in law enforcement for twenty years as both a patrol sergeant and county detective.

Toward the end of that career he began his studies for the ministry.

He has served several parishes, worked in therapeutic communities, was a state prison chaplain, and acquired adjunct faculty status in the criminal justice department at Penn State University. Dr. Covert was the chaplain for Pennsylvania’s first execution in thirty-three years. He has a doctorate from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and has authored six books.

• Ministry to the Incarcerated (ISBN 0-8294-0860-6) International market -paperback • Discovering the Parables: An Inspirational Guide for Everyday Life (ISBN 978-0-313-34962-1 ) International market – hard cover & e-book • Spiritual Reflections: A Journey Through the Scriptures (ISBN 978-0-313-35901-9) International market - hardcover & e-book • Christian Beliefs and Prayers (ISBN 978-0-692-01101-0) International market – paperback, e-book & Amazon Kindle • The Crucifixion of Jesus (ISBN 978-0-9833359-0-0) International market – paperback, e-book & Amazon Kindle • The True Church of Jesus Christ (ISBN 978-0-9833359-4-8) International market – Paperback, e-book & Amazon Kindle Lowest Prices: bookfinder.com, bookfinder4U.com, alldiscountbooks.net, cheapbooks.com, Amazon.com Please Visit: https://sites.google.com/site/christianbooksbyhenrycovert

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Continued on page 35

7

The Valley, August 2012

Adventures on Our Nourishing Journey

by Sue Burns

Setting Ourselves Free From Fat Free

Recently I attended a lovely social event. I was totally emerged into the summer evening, enjoying the warm weather, great food and good company when a guest noticed I was eating her pot luck contribution. With glee and delight she walked toward me and proudly uttered, “Oh, I see

you are eating the salad I brought.

You will be SOOO happy to know the dressing is totally fat free! I politely smiled, yet caught myself quickly glancing at my name tag for fear that somehow the words “food police” had been added. She went on to explain that she tries to “eat healthy” and is certain that “I must work very hard to educate my clients about the health dangers that can haunt us when we eat fat.” I told her that she is right in being concerned.

No doubt, many of our modern day foods are certainly scary and a cause for alarm, but for the most part (with the exception of trans fats), fats are actually an essential part of our diet including the most aligned villain of them all—saturated fats. It was then that I got “the look.” It never fails when I talk about saturated fat. A tilt of the head, a wrinkle of the brow and a “you have got to be crazy” expression flows from their eyes.

Yes, even in this day and age when Dr. Oz says coconut oil is awesome, I am still getting “the look.” In fact, here is what the good doctor himself has to say about “fat free” food products.

“Since the ‘cut down on fat’ food craze began roughly 30 years ago, the obesity rate in America has

more than doubled. Of course, many other factors are at play in fueling this health crisis, but what many people don’t realize is that ‘fat-free’ does not mean low in calories. In fact, to make up for lack of flavor, manufacturers tend to add more sugar, flour and thickeners to fat-free products,

which boosts calorie content. The fats in these foods are replaced with low-performing white carbs that digest quickly and are rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream.

This causes the classic sugar high and crash followed by a hunger rebound. Lastly, studies show that people often view a low-fat label as a green light to eat much more than they normally would, unaware that low-fat versions of foods are usually not much lower in calories than the regular versions.” Read more: http:// www.oprah.com/health/The-Top5-Habits-That-Make-You-Fat-DrOz#ixzz1z7P41nOu

About this time last year, I wrote about being cautious when choosing vegetable oils. The bottom line when it comes to oils is that for the most part olive oil and coconut oil reign supreme. At the risk of being redundant, I am diving into the grease pit again.

This time my focus lies solely on the myths surrounding saturated fats. Keep in mind that together with protein and carbohydrates, fat is one of the three essential nutrients. The good news is that most of us have started trusting monounsaturated fats primarily in the form of olive oil, so I now propose that the time has come

to stand tall and embrace safe amounts (10%) of saturated fat in our daily diet as well.

Of all the foods that we have been told to avoid, I believe saturated fats have received the worst and most damaging press.

The very word causes us to shutter. Excess body fat is unhealthy, right? Obesity rates are epidemic.

And we all know saturated fat “makes” us fat. Isn’t that what we all have been told and many of us continue to believe? My acquaintance at the summer picnic certainly planned her meals around this premise, as do some of my clients. They are quick to proudly remind me that they only drink skim milk, use margarine instead of butter and choose fat free mayo, sour cream, cream cheese, yogurt and paper towels.

Okay, not paper towels, but seriously, this ban on saturated fat craze must stop before somebody gets hurt. In fact, that is my fear. Our bodies ARE in fact getting hurt when we totally cut out saturated fat. How so? In a nutshell, saturated fats are critical in strengthening our immune system, promoting healthy bones, providing energy, strengthening our cell structure, protecting the liver, and helping our body to metabolize essential fatty acids, all the while playing a key role in helping us to absorb the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. As if that is not enough, the short and medium chain fatty acids

from coconut oil have antimicrobial properties that protect us from dangerous microorganisms in the digestive tract.

Okay, so I think some of you are starting to produce “the look.”

Does it help to know that I understand how it feels to be a saturated fat phobic because I lived that life for many years? And yes, excess dietary fat of any kind can stress the liver and contribute to health challenges, but what is often overlooked in this debate is that the baby has been thrown out with the bath water, meaning that most fats when consumed in moderation are health promoting, while only a few (trans fats and heated, bleached and deodorized oils) are health depleting. Yet for years, we have been told to avoid ALL fats. Most of what is being fed to us by universities and conventional news media is based on dated nutrition research that lump saturated fat AND transfat together, without separating the two when they refer to “bad”

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fats. Trans-fat, a man made fat, is very harmful, while saturated fat, a natural fat, when eaten in moderation isn’t. Jon Herring, author of The Greatest Medical Scam in History (http://www. healthiertalk.com/greatest-scammedical-history-1385) explains, “Today’s gospel truth is that excess saturated fat in the diet clogs the arteries and causes heart disease. The only problem with this medical “fact” is that it isn’t a fact at all. It is a fraudulent and faulty hypothesis from the 1950s that has never been proven.” I encourage you to go to the above listed site and read the article in its entirety. It is one of the best and most concise explanations I have seen in debunking the diet-heart hypothesis.

For additional confirmation here is what Dr. Andrew Weil has to say on the subject. “From 1958 to 1970, nutrition researcher Ancel Keys surveyed populations in seven countries then published a study suggesting a strong correlation between diets high in saturated fat and increased risk of heart disease. The study was controversial from the start, and its methodology has since been criticized by many (had Keys used available information from

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The Valley, August 2012

Julie Mac’s

Wisdom from the Kitchen, Home, and Garden Julie MacConnell

The Dog Days of Summer

With canning season in full swing, I took a moment to pause yesterday to think about the drought conditions in most of the U.S. I have heard anecdotal stories of neighbors watching neighbors in their fields with insurance agents, and the next day, that person was out plowing under his fields. I have heard of army worms invading the corn crops in New York, totally shredding what was supposed to be “worm proof” GMO corn. Soybeans and wheat are right behind corn for crop failures. Most farmers can’t afford to water extensively, or there are places that the aquifer is down enough to make that an impossible task to begin with. The main stream media is barking words like “Food Shortages” and “Spiking Grocery Prices.” I have to wonder though—is anyone listening? It is only mid-July and there is no end in sight for the heat and lack of rain. If things don’t turn around soon, the media’s hair-on-

fire reporting might be accurate.

I know everyone is probably having similar issues in their own gardens because the crummy weather is so widespread. In my own garden, yields are way down from what they were last year. I am trying to “put up” all that I can from my own piece of land, but so far I have been disappointed. I did have an excellent crop of potatoes and they are all downstairs in the cool basement for curing. I may can a few, but for now, they are safely tucked away for the summer. I did plant a few more rows for fall harvesting, but the temperature has been hot so I am not sure they will grow correctly.

I have a friend here who manages to get three separate crops of potatoes every year—granted they are new potatoes every time, but that’s what he likes. This is not your typical New England summer so far, so I wonder how he will fare this year.

I am hoping that the weather will turn around and that all that I have planted will go on to produce. I am seriously getting concerned, not only for myself but for all of the families in this country that are already struggling with high prices. I also hope that folks who were able to, have taken the advice of others and have bought ahead to help insulate themselves from what I fear is coming. Put up what you can from your garden or from the sales at the grocery store.

OK, I have said my piece, so back to canning. I have made several batches of jams and jellies so far. Strawberries from my patch and raspberries picked and frozen until I had enough to do

something with, have made great starters. I also made my first batch of dilly beans. Today I am trying something new. I have been sitting at night and looking through my recipe books, and last night I came across the idea for pickled garlic. I have a thing for garlic—I think everyone does. The idea for this recipe sounds so yummy that when I went to the store today I was thrilled that the bagged garlic (5 heads) was on sale. I grabbed several packages. I have pulled all of the heads apart. I am waiting now for the dishwasher to go off so that I can take my half pint jars out. I’ll let you know how it comes out, but I’m going to give you the few recipes that I have found and encourage you to try it for yourself! Oh, just to let you know, garlic may turn green or blue when pickled, but it’s just fine! Also, it is only safe to pickle garlic in half pint jars.

PICKLED GARLIC Makes 3 half-pints 3 cups peeled garlic cloves 1 1/2 cups white vinegar 5% acidity 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 tsp. canning and pickling salt Add the garlic cloves to a pan of boiling water. When it returns to a boil, boil 1 minute. Drain and pack the cloves into hot half pint jars. Leave 1/2-inch headspace.

Heat the vinegar, sugar and salt to a boiling. Pour the hot liquid over the garlic in the jars. Leave 1/2-inch headspace.

Remove air bubbles.

Wipe top of jars and

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threads clean. Seal with hot lids.

Process in a water bath for 10 minutes.

Allow to sit in sealed jars for a few days before opening to allow flavors to develop.

Pickled Garlic 2nd Version 1 3/4 lb garlic bulbs 2 1/2 cups white vinegar 1 cup dry white wine 1 tbsp pickling salt 1 tbsp sugar 1 tbsp oregano 5-6 dried whole chili peppers (optional) Separate bulbs into cloves. Peel.

Combine vinegar, wine, salt, sugar and oregano in saucepan. Bring to a boil. Simmer one minute.

Remove from heat. Add garlic cloves. Stir for one minute. Put one pepper in each half-pint jar.

Fill jars to within one inch of top with cloves. Add hot liquid, leaving 3/4-inch headspace. Process in a boiling water bath for ten minutes. a

The Valley, August 2012

Invitation to Bid

For sale: Rustic, country church plus contents including church building and adjoining lot consisting of .388 of an acre. Sealed bids can be mailed to: Aaronsburg Charge UCC ATTENTION: St. John’s UCC Committee 232 W. Aaron Sq. Aaronsburg, PA 16820

Sealed bids will be accepted until Wednesday, September 5, 2012 at 12:00 Noon.

Telephone inquiries may be directed to Wendell Royer at (814) 349-8348.

Bids will be opened at: St. John’s UCC 117 N. Street Millheim, PA 16854

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The Valley, August 2012

10

The Horse Scoop

by Traci Hanna Yoder

Cozee Vallee to the Rescue

The subject of unwanted horses is very controversial. There are many ugly sides to this issue, but one place in our area that is trying to have a positive impact is Cozee Valee. Located in Hartslog Valley in Huntingdon, Pa, Cozee Valee Rescue & Santuary (CVRS) is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit and GFAS (Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries) verified facility. They are committed to helping keep farm animals, mainly horses and ponies safe from neglect, abuse and slaughter. CVRS,

founded in 2008, is a small rescue headed by Beth Hearn. Their motto is “Our place does not have to look the best, as long as we give our best!” Beth and her volunteers work to improve the health and condition of unwanted and neglected horses, with the hope of finding them homes where they will be loved, appreciated and cared for. The rescue currently has one horse and eight ponies, some of which stay in the sanctuary part of the rescue. Not every horse is going to be able to be adopted.

Some are there for the rest of their life. Many of those are older or have health issues such as blindness, founder or other lameness.

At CVRS, education is a very vital part of what they do. Proper care and management is key to keeping your horse healthy. Uneducated owners are not always aware of the expense of proper care such as feeding, vet bills, and training. After they realize they cannot sufficiently care for the horse and they lose interest, the horses are the ones to suffer. CVRS encourages hands on experience prior to buying a horse to help someone interested in owning horses realize what is involved. The organization can also offer advice on options for the older, hard-to-care-for horse that is no longer as useful as he once was. CVRS obtains their funding through fundraisers, grants and donations. Anyone interested in knowing more about horse rescue, or possibly volunteering or making a donation to this type of organization can contact Beth Hearn at Cozee Valee Rescue at 814-599-3023, Beth@cvrescue. org or visit www.cvrescue.org. a

Ponzee and baby Indee, shortly after being born at Cozee Valee.

Indee, now 2 yrs old ready for a loving home.

Indee is an approximately 12.2 hand two year old pinto mare that was born at Cozee Valee Rescue. Her mother Ponzee had many issues with trust as well as a deformity to her neck. Ponzee had arrived at a local sale barn with a foal by her side. The foal was sold, but Ponzee took more time to find a home. When her issues were more than that owner could deal with, CVRS came to her aid. Beth and the volunteers have put many hours into working with Ponzee’s problems. Several months after she arrived at the rescue, Indee was born. Luckily this adorable little mare has not had the life that her mother did. She has been handled and worked with from the day she hit the ground. Indee has tons of personality and is an “in your pocket pony.” She has been lunged with a saddle on and a rider has sat on her. She is good for farrier, vet, and every day handling. Indee would make an excellent English hunter pony, but with her looks and disposition, this pony could do just about anything. She is still looking for her special person to make many memories with.

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The Valley, August 2012

LIbrary Lines Your Mifflin County Library

Reading: Who? What? Where?

When? Why? How? By: Carol J. Veitch, Library Director

Libraries exist because there are readers. Readers of all ages.

Readers who want to read more than they can afford to purchase.

Readers who want to keep up with the latest books or magazines.

Readers who only want to read the classics. Readers who do their reading with an e-reader or computer screen. Readers who read by listening to audiobooks.

An endless variety of readers with specific reading tastes or wideranging curiosity.

Readers are the people Mifflin County Library, or any other public library, serve. Part of the library’s mission is to get people excited about books and reading. That excitement is most evident in the preschoolers coming to the library for story time, but the seed is planted earlier than that with the Books for Babies born at Lewistown Hospital project and those special readers to young children.

Books for Babies is a joint project of Mifflin County Library and United Way’s Success By 6.

Every baby born at Lewistown Hospital received a gift bag with a board book, bath thermometer, bib, and pamphlets about the library, developmental stages of children, and other useful information.

Then there is that special group of readers: parents, grandparents, other adults (or oldersiblings) who choose to spend reading time with infants through pre-schoolers. They are the ones who bring children to the library to get books, then spend more valuable time reading to these pre-readers. They are the ones who can often recite word-forword the text of We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, Chicka, Chicka Boom, Boom, Hop on Pop, or any of those other books that their audience cherish.

These are the people who make memories for both their listeners and themselves. Memories of time spent with a child or children snuggled close to see the pictures, help turn the pages, point to objects in the pictures, and yell out some of those phrases every

time. It’s a time for developing new readers who come to love reading as much as you do.

My “special reader” was my grandfather. I remember long hours on the front porch – the two of us in a big rocking chair.

He was always willing to read to me. I’m sure we had to have read the same books over and over because I was able to read by the time I was four. The family story is that I began to correct him if he didn’t read the “right” word before turning the page. Everyone thought I had memorized the book especially those page-turning words. Then they started testing me first with the books, then the newspaper. Finally I was able to convince them that I really could read – and I never stopped reading. Fortunately we were within walking distance of the public library where we were frequent visitors.

Summer Reading programs at the library attract people of all ages. Parents, grandparents, and other adults earn prizes by reading to children or reading their adult books they have checked out of the library. It’s that time of year when kids can read for fun, not just what they have to read – textbooks or research material. It’s a time for exploring new things and keeping reading skills sharp.

Traditional readers value the feel and smell of a printed book, newspaper, or magazine. “It’s about holding a book in your hands – that anticipation of opening it, turning the pages, and being drawn into the story” is how many of these readers describe it. Traditional readers like their books with a mug of a favorite beverage, feet propped up, or curled up in bed. They also like to read on the porch swing, hammock, lounge chair in the garden, or while waiting anywhere. These are the people who read anything, anywhere.

Large print readers are often traditional book people who have to use large print because their vision isn’t what It used to be.

Some readers who really need large print use a page magnifier to

increase the number of books they can borrow from their library.

Many large print readers are senior citizens who value the comfort of the book format they grew up with. Book format can become difficult for some older people as large print books are heavy and difficult to hold with arthritic hands. The non-traditionalists in this group can be enthusiastic e-book readers.

E-book readers, whether downloading onto a Kindle, Nook, or tablet, like the convenience of having the book in a lighter weight format. My sister uses her Kindle especially when going on vacation. She normally took at least eight or nine books with her for a week away from home.

Now she has a dozen or more waiting on her Kindle. Other e-book readers value the ability to increase the print size on any book. Library collections of large print are limited so voracious readers can now read more of what they want thanks to technology.

Audio book readers often choose this format because they are long-distant truckers, people who travel as part of their job, or have a long commute to work.

Families have found audio books the perfect way to keep everyone entertained during car trips.

Others find it the perfect way to make time on the treadmill or other gym equipment more fun.

Walkers often enjoy reading while walking. Many audio book fans have found that the book can be enhanced with the right reader/ narrator. Jim Dale, the narrator of the Harry Potter series made the books come to life. Those of us who read Harry Potter in audio lived in fear that something would happen to Mr. Dale before J.K. Rowling completed the series.

No matter what the format, readers have a wide range of interests.

These are the fans of westerns, romances, thrillers, “faith fiction,” true crime, vampires and other paranormal phenomena, local history, space.. . The list could go on and on. These are the people who would be happy if a library contained only that genre or subject matter. Genre readers like Inter-Library Loan (ILL) so they can read titles our library might not have.

Readers and libraries do go together. Readers depend on libraries to feed their reading habits. Libraries depend on readers and their business. Libraries also depend on their funders.

Two of Mifflin County Library’s major funders are the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Online Reader Seeks Help

My great grandmother was Sarah Catherine Graybill. She was raised in Juniata County and in 1870 she married Joseph G. Seaman. They moved to Kansas in 1879, and their son John G. Seaman was my grandfather. My mother, aunt, and uncle grew up listening to Grandma Sarah’s stories about Pennsylvania. One of their favorite stories was about the ghost of Pete Mitterling. According to Sarah, Pete Mitterling was a Mennonite man who had an improper relationship with a woman in the community. Supposedly, they met quite often in an orchard. After Pete died he haunted the woman’s house. Sarah said that if any man came in the house Pete would start making noise. He would run up and down the stairs and stomp around. Also, if any man spent the night in her house (which apparently some of Joseph’s relatives did) Pete would “yank off the bed sheets and blankets”. One of the Seaman boys reported that he had to hold the blanket in his teeth to keep Pete from yanking it off. He also reported that if you would slam the door at the bottom of the stairs about the time Pete got to the bottom, the ghost would be quiet for a while. Of course, this story thrilled and frightened Sarah’s grandchildren. The grandchildren then passed this story on to their children (me, my brother, and my cousins) and whenever there was an unexplained noise in the house, my mom would say, “Oh, it’s just Pete. Don’t worry about it. He won’t hurt you.” My cousins had the same experience. We have also told this story to our children.

Any time the floor creaked or a door blew shut, I told my daughter, “It’s just Pete. He won’t hurt you.” Recently, my cousin’s son called me and asked me, “How did Pete die?” The son is an accountant in Kansas City and was standing in an elevator when the doors opened and shut but no one was there. He looked at his co-workers on the elevator and said, “It’s just Pete.” Then he got curious and wanted to know all he could about Pete Mitterling.

Many of Sarah’s descendents now have “Pete Mitterling’s ghost” living in their houses, and we want to know who he was.

What did he do for a living? Who was the woman? How did Pete die and how old was he? Is this ghost story recorded or repeated anywhere else?

I assume Pete was either from Richfield or Mifflintown. I also assume that he lived during the 19th century because Sarah talked like this had happened during her lifetime or one generation before.

However, I may be completely wrong. On an ancestry website I found a Peter Mitterling born in 1832 to Balthazar and Elizabeth Mitterling, but I don’t know if that’s him.

If you have any information please email me at loenglish@ sbcglobal.net. Or you can write a letter to the following address.

Any information would be appreciated. Thank you!

(state aid) and Mifflin County government (our direct appropriation and services that go beyond that direct appropriation).

United Way, the Friends of Mifflin County Library, and the current annual fund drive are three other important funding sources.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania recently passed the 2012-2013 state budget. State aid to public libraries was level funded. Mifflin County Library will receive the same amount of state aid for its 2013 budget as it did for 2012. In this time of slow economic recovery and a still high state unemployment rate, that was a strong statement of state government’s belief in the importance of public library service. Please take time to thank your legislators

for their support of level funding.

Mifflin County is represented in the state senate by Jake Corman and John C. Eichelberger, Jr. Our state representatives are Kerry Benninghoff, Mike Fleck, and Adam Harris.

Also, please take some time to let our county commissioners – Kevin Kodish, Otis Riden, and Mark Sunderland – know how much their support of the Mifflin County Library means to you. United Way works hard for Mifflin and Juniata county residents. The programs they support, including the Mifflin and Juniata County libraries, enrich all our lives. These members of our community deserve your thanks as well. a

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Sincerely, Lora Wade Watson 123 W. 12th Concordia, KS 66901 a

The Valley, August 2012

12

Roads Less Traveled...

by Lynn Persing

Wow, has it been hot enough for you lately? It has for me! I am not a fan of hot, humid weather.

I’d rather be shivering than sweating—maybe that’s why I enjoy our trips to New Hampshire so much. Well it’s been about a month since I started the Blackstrap Molasses quest that I wrote about in last month’s column.

I’ve almost finished my first jar of Blackstrap. I’ve been adding one teaspoon to my morning cup of coffee and then another teaspoon to my travel mug of coffee that I sip on my way to work and throughout my morning. Remember, you can overdo it, and two teaspoons a day is the recommended dose. I haven’t noticed any significant physical changes yet, except maybe a bit more energy, but I get satisfaction in just knowing that I’m fueling my system with good vitamins and

minerals. And, since I’m using the Blackstrap as a sweetener, I’m no longer using artificial sweetener in my coffee in the morning.

That’s another added bonus. I’m still watching my gray hair and hopefully I’ll have some good news to report on that front next month.

I’m not so good at doing anything ‘cold turkey’ so that’s what I plan to write about this month...gradual changes. If you are like me and don’t relish the thought of jumping into things full boar, then consider the benefits of gradual changes. I have difficulty completely eliminating sweets from my diet, but I can cut back. I have difficulty starting an exercise regime that requires a

workout 4 or 5 days a week, but I can start with one day and work my way up. I’ve made a lot of gradual changes in my life over the past few years and they seem to be sticking. A couple years ago, I started taking a multivita-

min and, wow, what a benefit that has been for my health. After the multivitamin became habit, I decided that I should supplement the dosages

in my multivitamin with a few extra things. Oh, I still have a long, long way to go in healthy eating and full knowledge of the benefits of vitamins, but I’m taking gradual steps toward a goal.

(Please don’t judge when you see me belly up to the bakery in the grocery store or visiting The Little Cupcake Shoppe on a regular basis. I’m probably buying those sweets for a friend....or not.)

Now, back to gradual changes...

I have a problem with hanging on to things. I’m not a hoarder, but I definitely have difficulty throwing things away, mostly because I feel wasteful.

So, it’s no surprise that I find it difficult to purge my closet of all my unused clothes and shoes, but recently I decided that when I bring home new clothes, I will look into my closet and drawers and purge at least a few things to

make room for the new additions.

After a very successful shopping trip with my mother this past week, I decided to do just that. I fully intended to purge just one or two items, but by the time I was finished, I had about 19 or 20 items in my “bin” to stash in the attic for an upcoming yard sale.

No, I couldn’t just throw them out or donate them (remember, gradual changes....). Maybe after they have been in the attic for a couple years in that bin, they will make it to the trash or Good Will. It sure does feel good to see the extra space in my drawers and closet (although Wayne would argue that removing a few grains of sand from the beach, does not create extra space.) It’s the successes of those baby steps that create motivation to move forward. Now, if I could just purge about 20,000 emails from the 33,000 that have accumulated in my inbox! By next issue, I’ll try to eliminate 5,000. How does that sound? Once again Wayne is chiming in and saying that this “gradual changes” thing sounds an awful lot like procrastination to him. Hey, mind your own business mister!

See you next issue, and friends, please don’t send me any email for the next month, I’ve got 5,000 to trim already, so I don’t need any extras. a

Upcoming Events...

Aug 4 - Saturday Morning Market and Pancake Breakfast: Fresh, organic produce and a delicious breakfast, all at one stop! 8am-11am (no rsvp required, just stop by)  Aug 24 - Perry County Council of the Arts Coffeehouse: Open mic poetry reading, storytelling and music. Café opens at 6pm with delicious local, farm-sourced food. BYOB.  Consider renting the FoodShed for your next event, party or meeting. A comfortable atmosphere at an affordable price.

Catering is available: we specialize in seasonal meals using organic produce, grown on the farm. Kitchen is also available. 

Hungry for fresh, local produce? Visit our website for information on our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program! Onfarm pick-up; State College, Lewisburg, Lewistown & Harrisburg.

Village Acres Farm & FoodShed

717-436-9477  info@villageacresfarm.com 229 Cuba Mills Road, Mifflintown www.VillageAcresFarm.com thevalleynewspaper@gmail.com

13

The Valley, August 2012

Understanding the Constitution

by David Molek

Overcriminalization

This month’s column may seem rather odd coming from a District Attorney – the chief law enforcement officer in Mifflin County. However, I hope that after reading it you understand my thoughts and thinking.

It is a fundamental constitutional tenet that every law enacted

by Congress must be based on one or more of the powers specifically enumerated in our Constitution.

Congress does not have a general federal police power to criminalize conduct. As such, Congress lacks constitutional authority over the vast majority of violent, non-economic activity that is or should be routinely governed by state criminal law and state law enforcement. We should remember that the power to punish criminally, including the deprivation of a person’s liberty and even

his life, is probably the greatest power that government regularly exercises with respect to its own citizens.

Keeping in mind our Founders’ concern of how best to protect individuals from the unfettered power of government, the problems reserved to the federal government in our Constitution are treason, currency counterfeiting, military activities and specific offenses in interstate commerce.

The past 40 or 50 years have witnessed essentially an avalanche of new federal criminal laws. The result of this avalanche is a problem known as overcriminalization.

Federal criminal law’s size and scope far exceed, in my opinion, constitutional and prudential limits.

Over these past 50 years or so, government at the federal

level has succeeded in convincing Americans that the criminal law is whatever legislators define it to be. There are now over 4,450 federal criminal offenses on the books. In addition, there are many more thousands of criminal offenses defined in government regulations. Some estimates are that the addition of regulations into the mix increases the number of potentially relevant criminal provisions in excess of 300,000.

Certainly, that puts the lie to the proposition that every person is presumed to know the law. Although the threat of punishment is a deterrent, we can no longer say with confidence that ignorance of the law is no excuse in federal criminal law areas.

The unchecked growth of the federal criminal law and regulations has led to a dangerous reallocation of power from elected representatives in Congress to unelected bureaucrats.

Executive agencies composed of unelected political appointees and career bureaucrats have been given broad authority from Congress to impose criminal sanctions.

Overcriminalization is not a partisan issue.

It is a grave threat to our citizens’ rights and liberties.

Federal criminal law is a rapidly growing hodgepodge. Much of it creates a scheme of dual or concurrent federal and state jurisdiction.

Also, there has been an enormous expansion

of federal law to cover subjects (like street crime or carjacking) that were previously the exclusive province of state law. Then there are federal laws which criminalize trivial conduct such as removing the tag on a mattress, which should be dealt with by civil provisions or perhaps left to the good sense of the individual.

Overcriminalization describes this trend in the US, and in Congress, to use criminal law to solve every problem and punish every mistake. Many federal criminal laws today make it possible for the government to convict a person even if he acted unknowingly or without criminal intent (or mens rea). Federal criminal law should be trimmed back to eliminate offenses that could best be handled by the states. The answer to the conundrum of criminalization lies in one word – politics.

The proliferation of federal criminal laws undermines the moral force of the law itself. When everything becomes a crime, then nothing, in the end, is truly wrong.

A few things need to happen to start a resolution of this problem. Congress needs to justify all new federal criminalizations. Bureaucrats should never be making new crimes. So, Congress should not delegate its power to criminalize to unelected officials in federal agencies and departments that it

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has created. Both common sense and constitutional principles hold that the decision as to whether something is important enough to send a person to federal prison should be made by the American peoples’ elected representatives.

Congress should also repeal unjust laws. Something it has seemed to forgotten is that Congress can repeal bad laws. It can and should do so.

The proliferation of federal criminal laws that cover local (not interstate) conduct and overlap with or duplicate existing state laws disrupts the proper balance among state and federal powers.

Congress’ overcriminalization expands the power of the federal government beyond its constitutional limits. This unprincipled expansion of federal criminal law runs afoul of the fundamental constitutional principle that the federal government is a government of limited and enumerated powers. If there are no real limits on Congress’ power to criminalize, there would be no limits on the power of the federal government to coerce and control Americans.

Because the public has become so used to the federal government attempting to fix every social problem, federalism arguments often sound like a cop out.

Hopefully, a new administration will take over next January and it is currently and will be, important to remind that new leadership of the importance of federalism. The need remains to make central to American politics the recovery of the Founders’ Constitution and the recovery of their appreciation for the moral foundations of originalism. a

The Valley, August 2012

14 Free from Fat-Free from page 7 22 countries, rather than the seven he chose, no correlation would have been seen, leading to charges that his data set was “cherry-picked”). But by 1977, the Senate’s Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs went all in. Its “Dietary Goals for the United States” perfectly reflected Keys’s dodgy findings, urging Americans to eat less fat and more grains. The notion went mainstream when an avalanche of supermarket products engineered along these lines soon followed. The reason? Pure profit. Relative to fats, commodity grains and grain-based products such as high-fructose corn syrup are cheap to produce, especially when they are subsidized.

In the 1970s, American agribusiness set out on one of the most successful ad campaigns of all times. Its mission was to lure the public away from traditional saturated fats consumed for centuries by our ancestors such as butter, lard, and coconut oil.

Instead, they wanted consumers to turn to domestically produced unsaturated fats such as soy and corn oil, which were promoted as being “healthier.” Around this time, hydrogenated trans-fats were created by vegetable oil manufacturers whose mission was to promote their new creation and in so doing, pushed hydrogenated trans fats as a healthy alternative to saturated fats. They backed their claims with flawed research and were successful in reducing consumption of saturated fats while increasing consumption of hydrogenated trans-fats. The medical establishment jumped on board and the rest is history.

More recently, the flaws in this research have been revealed.

Hooray! Current studies have linked hydrogenated trans-fats, not saturated fats, with cancer and heart disease. These studies have also revealed that hydrogenated trans fats have no nutritional benefit. Remember that trans fats include not only margarine, but are also a by product of any food that is deep fried. See http:// wellnessmama.com/2193/whyyou-should-never-eat-vegetableoil-or-margarine/ for a complete run down on safe cooking oils.

Joseph Mercola MD states “I think it’s safe to say that one of the biggest myths recently sabotaging many Americans’ diets is the idea that low-fat and fat-free foods are healthy. It first started in the ‘50s and was largely a result of seriously flawed research

by Ancel Keys. Fortunately most people are recognizing the fallacy of this myth, but many still believe it. In a recent Consumer Reports survey, 51 percent of Americans said they are limiting their consumption of fat. It’s not clear what type of fat was being limited, but chances are this lumps ALL fats into one evil category, when in reality the only types of fats you should really be limiting are man-made varieties like trans-fats and rancid, refined polyunsaturated fats in vegetable oils. Unfortunately, fats in general are considered the dietary villains by many people, even though natural fats, like the kind found in full-fat raw dairy, are very good for you.

What Are Traditional Saturated Fats?

Non-industrialized societies went to great lengths to include healthy saturated fats in their traditional diets. These are the kinds of saturated fats recommended in Eat Fat, Lose Fat written by Sally Fallon and nutritional biochemist Mary Enig: • butter from cows that graze on pasture, • whole fat dairy products from cows that graze on pasture, • grass-fed meats like beef and lamb, • eggs from chickens who are free to roam outdoors, • cod-liver oil, • tropical oils, especially coconut oil.

The reason they emphasize coconut oil is because it is easier to digest. Many saturated fats are composed of longer-chain fatty acids that require bile salts (secreted by the gallbladder) for digestion. If you’re not accustomed to eating saturated fats, your gallbladder might not produce adequate amounts of bile salts to digest them. This will improve in time as your body adjusts to the change in diet. However, coconut oil is composed of medium-chain fatty acids that do not require bile salts for digestion.

One “fat fact” that we are constantly bombarded with has to do with the correlation of eating saturated fat and an increase in blood cholesterol. I concur. Saturated fat does raise cholesterol, but it raises our HDL cholesterol, while keeping our LDL cholesterol relatively low. This is a very critical and pivotal piece of information that is often not highlighted. Take a look at this interesting article that explains the cholesterol and diet link in more in detail, “What if Bad Fat

Isn’t So Bad?” http://www.msnbc. msn.com/id/22116724/ns/healthdiet_and_nutrition/t/what-if-badfat-isnt-so-bad/.

Obesity researcher and neurobiologist Stephan Guyenet provides a summary, “The diet-heart hypothesis is the idea that saturated fat, and in some versions cholesterol, raises blood cholesterol and contributes to the risk of having a heart attack.

To test this hypothesis, scientists have been studying the relationship between saturated fat consumption and heart attack risk for more than half a century.

To judge by the grave pronouncements of our most visible experts, you would think these studies had found an association between the two. It turns out, they haven’t...the diet-heart hypothesis ends here. It’s been kept afloat for decades by wishful thinking and selective citation of the evidence. It’s time to put it out of its misery.”

It has been over 50 years since we have been lead down this greasy path. It is my hope that the American mindset is beginning to recognize, embrace and trust the nutritious and healing properties of the traditional foods of our ancestors including those with a small amount of saturated fat.

New research has now demonstrated an old truth. Saturated fats, eaten in moderation are not to be feared. Yes, I know it is hard to swim up stream. It takes en-

ergy and focus. No doubt, going with the flow is easier. But our health is worth it!

Let’s ban together and just say “No” to fat free anything…. even paper towels! I think Dr. Oz would agree. Here is a yummy way to get started:

It is peach season. If you love peaches as much as I do, you have got to try this.

FULL FAT 10-Minute Peach Cobbler What You Need: 4-6 fresh, ripe peaches 1 tablespoon butter or coconut oil (per peach) or 1/4 cup for 4-6 peaches 1-2 tablespoons whole wheat or gluten free flour (per peach) or about 1/2 cup for 4-6 peaches dash of vanilla extract If making the cream: 1 cup heavy whipping cream, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 4 drops (or more to taste) of Stevia tincture: Put in blender or immersion blender and blend until creamy. Don’t over-blend or you’ll get butter!

What To Do: If the peaches aren’t organic or if you don’t like the skin, peel the peaches and cut into slices (about 8 slices per peach).

Melt the butter or coconut oil in a skillet.

Add the peach slices and cook approximately 5 minutes or until just starting to soften.

Add the flour and vanilla and stir to coat peaches.

Cook an additional 1-2 minutes

Hellgramites from page 18

the information, most won’t make the effort, but you will right?).

First you will need to make a frame to which you will attach screening. Some folks use window screen, I prefer 1/4inch hardware cloth (less turbulence created) for the screening, and 3/8 inch steel rod for the frame. I then add a few “extras” as were taught to me by my mentors. I had a friend cut and weld up the steel rod that would become the frame. There is no need to have any particular size here, whatever is comfortable for you to lean over and be able to handle the rocks that will be upstream of your screen which rests against your legs. YES, you are standing in the stream, so you are going to get wet while obtaining your bait, which is either a good or bad thing, depending on air temperature at the time you collect. It may be a welcome respite from the heat, or could have you singing soprano upon exiting the water under the right conditions. It is all worth it, the fish will almost jump onto you stringer when Hellgram-

gies early in the morning before opening the shop. Herb sometimes would be gone for a couple days and return with thousands. Did I mention I had two good teachers?

Hellgramites live two to four years in the stream before climbing out and morphing into its adult form that mates, lays eggs, and dies within about 10 days. Some of the life cycle facts may seem mysterious to some, but what is clear to any fisherman is that Hellgramites are considered the BEST live bait for smallmouth bass, but what a lot of folks don’t know is that they are excellent bait for trout, walleye, and large panfish as well. Not that you would want to feed $14/dozen bait to the panfish, but since yours will be free....yeah let’s get to the catching part.

Catching Hellgramites is ridiculously easy, although the effort is indeed strenuous and likely to keep a lot of folks from giving it a try (another reason I am not particularly worried about sharing

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and serve.

Top with cream if desired.

Enjoy!

Recipe from http://wellnessmama. com/5294/10-minute-peachcobbler/ Resources: “The Dirty Little Secret of the Diet-Heart Hypothesis” by Stephan Guyenet http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/ search?q=saturated+fat The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition March 2010 vol. 91 no.

3 535-546 Despite Recommendations for Total Ban, Trans Fats Stick Around’ http://timigustafson.com/2012/ despite-of-recommendations-fortotal-ban-trans-fats-stick-around/ http://www.westonaprice.org/ know-your-fats/skinny-on-fats by Sally Fallon http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ andrew-weil-md/processedfoods_b_1474570.html Sue is a holistic nutrition consultant and holistic health educator. Her office is located at 54 Chestnut Street in Lewistown.

To learn more about her services go to www.mynourishingjourney. com. She can be reached by email at sue@mynourishingjourney.com or give her a call at 242-3132. a

An adult Hellgramite, which is called a Dobsonfly, lifespan, about 10 days

ites adorn the end of your line.

Where were we?...oh yeah, the screen is resting against your legs and you are reaching over your screen and turning over the rocks while using your hand to sweep any clinging Helgies off the bottom of the rocks, the cur-

Continued on page 41

15

The Valley, August 2012

Our Environment Our Culture Local Producers Help Close the Food Desert Gap

By Melissa Piper Nelson, Outreach and Marketing Manager Community Partnerships RC&D

Mention the word desert, and we can all picture a vast, empty place where few or no people live, there are no services, and food must be carried a long way. Many community leaders have started talking about “food deserts” or places within a town, state, region, or nation where buying fresh foods is not an easy task.

You may be surprised to realize that food deserts exist in even the most populated towns and cities – sometimes more so than in rural communities. Pockets exist within towns where the disadvantaged and elderly cannot buy fruits, vegetables and other fresh foods without finding transportation to and from larger grocery stores, or must choose between fresh foods and rent, clothing, utilities, and other living costs.

Many farmers’ markets are choosing to bring fresh foods to these food desert areas and give people the opportunity to enjoy berries, tomatoes, vegetables, fresh meats, dairy products, local tree fruits and other foods that

they might otherwise not be able to afford or find at stores closer to their housing.

The new Rec Park Farmers’ Market which opened in June in Lewistown serves an identified food desert area and provides a variety of residents with nutritious, locally-produced food for all to enjoy. “The Rec Park Farmers’ Market was established to bring fresh produce and other products to a population who may feel that shopping at farmers’ markets is too expensive or inaccessible for them,” says Patty Neiner, PA Women’s Agricultural Network (PAWAgN) and market coordinator.

Later this season, and to assist shoppers with purchases, the market will provide an EBT (electronic benefits transfer) machine at the market’s Welcome Booth.

This will allow SNAP and other assistance card users, the opportunity to purchase $1 tokens toward food shopping. Debit and credit card users will be able to purchase $5 tokens. The market will

charge a $1 token fee for debit/ credit transactions only, according to Neiner.

Farmers’ markets in food desert areas are not just for those who live in the immediate area, however. The Rec Park Market was located to serve a variety of shoppers – those commuting and coming back into town, families using the community pool and recreational fields, visitors to the Compass and Community centers, and the public at large.

Local foods do more than nourish the body; they connect shoppers with the people who actually grow their food. This builds a sense of community.

When you get to know the person who grows your sweet corn, you develop an appreciation for how your food actually gets to your table… and, in the process; you get to know your neighbor-farmer on a one-to-one basis.

The Rec Park Farmers’ Market is open each Tuesday from 3 to 7 p.m. until late fall. Other farmers’ markets, roadside stands

Jennifer and Patty at the Rec Park Farmers Market

and pick-your-own operations are also available to shoppers throughout this region. When you plan to visit one of these local food outlets, why not invite your neighbor or a senior friend who might need transportation, to enjoy this shopping experience.

Farmers’ markets are about community, and community is about

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building relationships with our neighbors and friends.

More information about the market is available at 814-8657031 or http://agsci.psu.edu/wagn or https://www.facebook.com/ pages/Rec-Park-Farmers-Market.

Happy shopping and eating! a

The Valley, August 2012

16

Splitting Hares

by Julianne Cahill http://oakridgerabbitry.weebly.com

Housing Rabbits and Bunny Gold!

One of the more important considerations when planning a rabbit project is housing. After owning rabbits for 11 years, I’m confident in saying that the quality of your animals’ housing is in direct proportion to the amount of enjoyment you will get out of your hobby.

Outdoor housing is arguably the most common choice for homesteaders who are focusing on raising their own meat. Wooden hutches can be used all year around and are a very affordable option. They can be constructed using scrap wood and a roll of small gauge wire. While building the hutches, remember to include at least three solid wooden sides to shelter rabbits from weather conditions. Wire can be used for

the floor and remaining walls for added ventilation and ease of cleaning.

It is generally recommended that wooden hutches sit at least four feet off the ground. Since rabbits are prey animals, even a barking or snarling dog could put them into shock. Even worse, most predators (wild and domestic) are strong enough to pry open a wood and wire construction.

Height may not prevent a “break in” but it will certainly help your rabbit feel more secure. Elevated hutches also offer protection from ground-dwelling insects and parasites.

Of course, there is always an exception! In the summer, some homesteaders use rabbit tractors to graze their animals, which cut

down on feed costs. This way, rabbits are able to graze in the yard. Rabbit tractors can be of the same construction as chicken tractors, but be mindful of potential predators. The tractor should be heavy enough that it cannot be tipped and include a hide-away portion where rabbits can run if they feel threatened. It is also wise to put wire on the floor of the tractor, large enough to allow grazing but small enough that rabbits can’t fit through. Rabbits are burrowers and you may have escapees if the tractor is left stationary for too long with no protection.

Rabbit tractors should also be moved often to maintain the health of both your rabbits and your lawn. Grass can quickly become overgrazed if it’s nibbled for too long, but moving the rabbits around also helps fertilize grass and improve soil quality. We’ll discuss this more in-depth later in the article.

For larger breeding herds or indoor projects, stacking cages are often more efficient than hutches.

These units are constructed entirely of wire and cages are stacked 3-4 tiers high. Between each cage,

A four week old sable point Holland Lop doe enjoys a warm summer day at Oak Ridge Rabbitry.

a metal or plastic drop tray collects waste. The trays slide in and out of the unit for easy cleaning.

Wire cages make cleaning much easier in a large operation, but stacking cages also allow more rabbits to live in a smaller area.

When this option is being considered, breeders should also be mindful of natural and artificial ventilation through windows, doors, fans, etc. With more rabbits dwelling in one area, proper ventilation and sanitation practices become even more important to maintain good air quality and rabbit health.

A great option for barn-dwelling bunnies is the hanging cage.

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Hanging cages are usually 10-12 ft. long, or more, and are divided into individual “holes” with wire or solid dividers. These cages can be suspended from a low barn ceiling or mounted on the wall over a dirt floor. This setup could be considered the best of both worlds because hanging cages offer housing for a larger number of animals without the inconvenience of cleaning drop trays several times a week. In fact, it also cuts the cost of bedding since waste can be collected directly from the ground.

Speaking of cleaning- that is

Continued on page 22

17

The Valley, August 2012

Sojourner Perspectives by Mark Ostrowski

Anointed by History II

As we pick up our look at the Nation of Israel from last time, we recall that Israel lays claim to what is essentially the oldest title deed on record; the granting of all the land from the Nile in Egypt to the Euphrates in Iraq by God to a man named Abraham and to Abraham’s offspring through his son Isaac and grandson Jacob. This deed is recorded in the Bible and includes the entire Arabian Peninsula. Jacob was re-named Israel by God and it was his descendants through his twelve sons that were given possession of the land after they were led out of Egyptian captivity by Moses. Each son became the namesake for a tribe and the land was distributed among the tribes according to tribal size.

The family didn’t always get along well as we learn accounts of sibling rivalry. These rivalries carried through into the Promised Land where time and again, we read about Israel (the northern

ten tribes), opposed to Judah (the southern two tribes). These two kingdoms became united under King David and were known collectively as Israel. Interestingly even while united, there seems to be an acknowledgement that they were still looked upon as separate entities. For example, David had a census taken of all the fighting men under his command, the numbers were given as 800,000 from Israel and 500,000 from Judah. David is still loved very much in Israel even to this day.

The kingdom remained untied under David’s son Solomon, who ascended to the throne after his father. Later in life, Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. Because Solomon did not keep God’s commandments, God told Solomon that He would tear the kingdom from him. However, God would

The author on the MT. Gilboa Biblical Trail

reserve one tribe and Jerusalem, which He, God, has chosen. He would do this for the sake of David, and this would happen when Solomon’s son took the throne.

Just as the Lord spoke to Solomon, it happened. The United Kingdom of Israel was once again ripped into two separate nations; the Northern Kingdom, which retained the name Israel, and Judah, the Southern Kingdom.

The Northern Kingdom of Israel immediately fell to apostasy, forsaking the commands of God and never adhering to the true worship of the Lord as instructed by Moses. Judah, on the hand, waxed and waned in their allegiance and fidelity to God depending on their king at the time.

At Mount Sinai, when God gave the law to all Israel, He vowed that if they forsook His

commands that He would remove them from the Promised Land for a season of chastisement. That’s exactly what happened. The Assyrian army over ran the Northern Kingdom of Israel and took the Israelites into captivity in approximately 722 BCE. To this date, the northern Kingdom has never been restored to The Land, although God elsewhere in His word has promised to do just that.

The Southern Kingdom of Judah remained in the land a little over a hundred years longer, until they too were taken into captivity at the hands of the Babylonians.

The people of Judah were later permitted to return to the Promised Land and retained possession of it until 70 CE (AD). At that time Jerusalem fell to the Roman Emperor Titus, who totally destroyed the Holy Temple that stood in Jerusalem, and which was the focus of life and culture for the Jews ,and at one time, all of Israel under King Solomon.

Eretz Israel (the land of Israel) became desolate. Both kingdoms, all twelve tribes, were dispersed due to their disobedience and unbelief in the God of their Fathers; Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. One tribe, however, fervently longed to return to the land of promise. From the time of their conquest and for nearly

Golden statue of King David in the Old City of Jerusalem.

1900 years, the Jews maintained their identity while scattered throughout countless nations, even while suffering great persecution in many of those countries.

The tribe of Judah held to God’s decrees as given to all of Israel on Sinai and observed His Sabbath and Feast days to the point that they have become known as the “Jewish Feasts.” Each year at the observance of Passover, the meal concluded with the rallying cry; “Next Year in Jerusalem!”

A distinction must be noted here, the Jews take their name from Judah, the fourth son of Jacob (Israel) and the Jewish family patriarch. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, his fathers, could therefore

Continued on page 25

MEAT. WILSON’S MEATS AND GROCERIES

Fresh Meats, Full Line of Groceries, and Produce

Open 7 Days! 7am - 9pm

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A hometown grocer you can trust.

The Valley, August 2012

18

Woods, Water and Wildlife

by Wayne Stottlar

When It is time for Live Bait Hellgramites Rule!

Hellgramites! “What the hell are they?” I remember asking my boss Jim Waldron a couple centuries ago (ok, not actually, but since we are both old now, it seems like it) when I first started working for him in the family sport shop in Meredith, NH. In his typical short “Yankee” style he replied, “Bugs.” Ok, not a lot of help coming there. His father Herb laughed at the exchange and proceeded to tell me more than anyone really needed to know about the life cycle and fantastic fishing opportunities of the larva of the Dobson Fly (Corydalidae), how to catch them, a little about where to catch them, and when to catch them. It was a lot for a novice bait dealer to learn in ten minutes, but I needn’t have worried. Both Jim and his dad Herb schooled me for the next decade

on the fine art of dealing, catching and selling live bait. Those years of knowledge have come in handy in being able to save myself a good chunk of change by providing my own bait. Now granted, this was a while back, but at the time, we charged $6.00 per dozen and could not keep them in stock at the sport shop. When I moved to PA and saw them selling for $14 in places, I thought, “hmmm, I believe there is some money to be made here.” Upon checking the prehistoric fishing regulations concerning live bait, I began to see the bigger picture. Pennsylvania only allows a person to catch native Hellgramites for their own use, so catching and supplying bait shops was out of the question.

A neighbor at the time and an avid bass fisherman was wondering the reason for all the questions

Although lengths of 4 to 4.5 inches aren’t uncommon, the majority of the Hellgramites you harvest will be in the 3 to 3.5 inch range.

and when I told him what I had been thinking his eyes lit up, “You know how to catch Hellgramites?” Right away my crushed dreams were of little concern to him anymore, he had a Derby to fish in on the upcoming weekend

and would just really appreciate it if I could catch him some Hellgramites. I noticed that nowhere in his request was the word “we.”

That actually made me feel a little better. Like morel hunters in the spring, Hellgramite catching, was always pretty secretive; methods and locations were well kept secrets, so going alone was what I was used to, unless one of my boys came to help, as they often did.

I went to what I thought looked like a decent stream for catching the prized bait and within about 45 minutes had close to two dozen nice specimens and returned home and gave them to my forever grateful neighbor. He thought it was a big deal at the time, but I said, “yeah, cool, go have fun.” After that and because of the disappointing attitude of the state toward bait in general, I forgot about Hellgramites, until now.

It still isn’t going to be a money maker, but, for you fisherman who read The Valley, it just may become a MONEY SAVER, for YOU!

Since the knowledge and secrets I possess will never be of any value to me monetarily, I might as well teach you enough to be able to harvest your own, for your own use, just as the law allows.

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Hellgramites are the larval stage of the mature Dobson Fly that many of us have seen and hardly noticed. Almost none of us have seen a Hellgramite ever, unless of course you fish and have had to purchase them. The Hellgramite lives in sand- and gravel-bottomed streams (I will not conform and use the term all you Keystone staters use...Crick!).

Silty or muddy-bottomed streams will produce little if any results.

The stream also must possess moveable boulders and rocks, preferably those not totally buried in the creek bed. The Hellgramites need to be able to crawl around and position themselves to ambush prey that the current brings within their reach. Speaking of that, you need to watch out for the business end of larger Hellgramites, they can and do draw blood and it hurts like the dickens. Some folks opt for dish washing gloves for collecting or handling purposes. With the right conditions, Hellgramites can be fairly plentiful, although Jim always cautioned us against over-harvesting any particular area. We never had to, as there were plenty of places to go, but there also never seemed to be any decline in their numbers either. It would be common to go out and gather 300-400 Hel-

Continued on page 14

19

The Valley, August 2012 Growing the good grains, Corn from page 5 or French, once the Europeans entered the scene, it didn’t take long for them to figure out that this was really something to write home about and corn sailed around the world, and onto their plates, in record time.

Thanks to thousands of years of careful genetic manipulation, we have inherited hundreds of varieties of corn, with different traits, and they come in all the colors of the rainbow. There is corn that will produce in hot drought years and corn that will produce in cold, wet seasons, corn that tops out at three feet and corn that towers at twelve feet, tiny popcorns whose cobs are two inches long to flint corn cobs over a foot long. Maize can be yellow, white, black-blue, green, red or any possible combination of colors. (Almost) all corn is edible.

While some varieties have traits that make them ideal for certain uses – such as higher protein for feed, more starch for flour, less starch for meal, etc. – when the kernels are young, most types can also be eaten as we do sweet corn; those of us of a certain age have childhood memories of enjoying immature field corn roasted or boiled and slathered in butter.

To get a glimpse of some of what’s available when it comes to growing corn, and to put it into a bit of order, let’s take a look at the listings of the annual yearbook published by Seed Savers Exchange (see resources), which is used by the organization’s membership.

To begin with, there are the dent corns – 46 listed varieties so called from their combination of hard and soft starches which cause the tops of the kernels to collapse in, or dent, when mature.

Some of these corns have high protein levels, making them good food for humans and other grain

eating critters; hybrid field corns were developed from dent varieties. Dent corns are often used for corn meal, hominy, and roasting ears.

Flint corns are harder and have a translucent, almost ‘glassy’ appearance due to a lower starch content. Good for corn meal, some are particularly good for polenta and grits or tamales. There are 33 flint corns listed in the yearbook.

Popcorn, a particularly hard variety of flint corn, has been delighting people for thousands of years; can you imagine the look on the face of the person who stumbled onto this seed’s tasty propensity for bursting at the seams? Mentioned in the writings of European explorers from Columbus on, popcorn was used as decoration, both personal and religious, as well as for food. Archaeologists have discovered popcorn at a few sites, dating from about one thousand years ago. Guess what? THEY POPPED! There are 25 types of this amazing corn available in the SSE collection.

Next up is flour corn which contains a higher percentage of soft starch. While ALL dried corn can be ground for meal, corn meal from these varieties – 28 of them – would be more ‘floury’, cooking up into a bread-like pone. Some are recommended for ‘parching – dry roasting on a hot skillet’ which will add flavor to the resulting cornmeal and with some types can produce a healthy, corn nut type of snack.

At last we come to sweet corn -37 different varieties of sweet corn in the S.S.E. 2012 yearbook!

While most all Native American tribes that farmed grew corn, they did not all grow, nor appreciate, sweet corn. The fact that many eastern tribes did cultivate this sugary mutation fairly guaranteed its use and popularity among the European settlers – so much so that it is now a classic part of

Metal Detecting with Steve White

In 1881, when Alexander Graham Bell built the Induction Balance to try and find an assassin’s bullet in a dying President Garfield, he had no clue the trouble he would later cause countless millions of people now bitten by the metal detecting bug. Then if that wasn’t enough, in 1925, Gerhard Fischar had to add to the dilemma, by building the first

portable metal detector.

Crazy! I would never think that metal detecting got it origins from President Garfield’s assassination. We have come a long way from these origins and have exploded into the digital world.

We can buy some of the highest state-of-the-art machines that can separate targets from junk and tell us what it is before we even dig

summertime eating. Remember the old cartoon of the guy out in a corn patch with a pot of water on a portable stove putting the ear of corn, STILL ATTACHED TO THE STALK, into the pot? Amusing, but also not too far from the truth, since the moment you pick sweet corn the sugar begins to turn to starch - yet another • Reliable Propane & Heating Oil Delivery plus for growing • Budget Payment Plan your own or buyCall today ing local; you can to learn about our • 24/7 Emergency Service get it to the kitchen NEw CustOmER • Heating Equipment Service Plans faster! sPECiAls!

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King Corn While learning more Shumways Seed Company 334

Is ANYONE hungry yet? about the U.S. corn industry, this W. Stroud Street, Ste. 1 Randolph,

Then there are the breads, DVD takes a sometimes amusing, WI 53956-1274 1-800-342-9461 tamales, pones, puddings, tortillas, often times serious look at our www.rhshumway.com The folks hominy, snacks and all the other most important grain and how it with the really cool catalog, list good things to be made with corn figures in EVERYONE’S LIVES. over 50 different corn varieties, and enjoyed year round. That’s HIGHLY recommended. including the latest hybrid super WAY too much to cover in one sweets as well as classic open month! So keep an eye out for Seed Savers Exchange, 3094 pollinated sweet corns. Popcorns, more about this American origiNorth Winn Road, Decorah, IA non-hybrid field corn and a good nal* - maize… meal time to snack 52101 (563) 382 – 5990 www. selection of corn related gadgets. a

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a hole. There are several types of detectors out there which are single and dual frequency types called vlf’s (very low frequency) and multi frequency or bbs types called Broad Band frequency that can send out up to a hundred different frequencies at one time.

Why do I need all this? Well, a lot of detectors are smart and tell us what is in the ground. It could be iron (junk or relics), copper or silver. The older style detectors did not have a lot of target separation; that means you dig all signals good or bad. The old saying “You get what you pay for”

holds true even in the detecting field. However, with the advent of microprocessers we can get some good machines for a reasonable price. I am not going to burden you with a lot of technical details; it is all on the Internet if you want to learn more. Let’s move on to what you can do with these marvels of modern science.

A good detector will run in the 300-600 dollar range. Wow! I didn’t think I want to spend that much. My suggestion is to look at new ones and buy a good used one. EBay, the forums, Craigslist are all good sources for used ones.

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Most detectors that are used end up being sold because the person doesn’t like digging, perhaps they don’t have time, or maybe they are moving up to a better model.

I bought mine used on Craigslist, used it for a while, sold it and bought a better machine. I am not brand particular, however I like the Whites brand as a good starter that you can grow into. How do you grow into a detector? Well, you can go into programs and write a program that is specific to your hunting. We talked about the

Continued on page 30

The Valley, August 2012

20

Dairy Princess Memories

Cave Echoes from page 36

by Amanda Fisher Mifflin County Dairy Princess 2012-2013

Hi I’m Amanda Fisher the Mifflin County Dairy Princess.

I cannot believe that July is just about over, it has flown by. With July coming to an end that means the fairs are coming to life all around us. I love to show dairy cows so anytime I can have the chance to show, I will always try to talk Mom and Dad into letting me go and show. If I can’t show, I go to just wish the best of luck to all my friends. One of my friends, Kendra, also shows Ayrshires so we are always competing against one another, but we always know that someone will beat the other one. That’s the fun part about having friends that show with you, it doesn’t matter who is getting first or second, we can still be the best of friends. Kendra and I always make time for one night at the fair. We go down the midway and find the Dip n’ Dot stand. This is some time for us to catch up before school starts and we also get to enjoy a cold, frosty

treat. Dip n’ Dots can come in any flavor just like regular ice cream so they vary anywhere from one of my favorites, vanilla, to cotton candy. Usually I go every day to the 4-H food booth because it always has a full stock of chocolate milk in the cooler.

Chocolate milk is packed full of protein and carbohydrates, it helps you get fueled up for the day and can give you lots of energy. On any show day everyone needs that chocolate milk to get them going.

So I am sure to go and get my bottle of chocolate milk to get my day starting off on the right foot. I will definitely need it for the week that is ahead as I will be moving into the Huntingdon County Fair on the fourth and then I have a week filled with shows, but in addition to the shows, I have to be at the Mifflin County Fair two nights. On Wednesday I’ll be there to build the giant ice cream sundae and then again Thursday night for the dairy show to hand out ribbons, but be sure to stop by

our booth to get a glass of milk.

My little misses will be there to fix you up with a glass. Here are some fun fair foods that have a serving of your 3-Every Day in them.

Nachos • 1 ¾ cups (1 pound can) refried beans, warmed • 4 cups baked tortilla chips • 1 ½ cups shredded Monterey Jack Cheese • 2 tablespoons sliced Jalapenos • Salsa and sour cream for toppings Preheat the broiler Spread the beans over the bottom of a large ovenproof platter. Arrange the chips over the beans.

Then top with cheese and Jalapenos.

Broil for 1 to 1 ½ minutes or until the cheese is melted. Top with sour cream and salsa.

strips 2 tablespoons butter 1 pound of roast beef, cut into thin strips • 4 hoagie roles • ½ pound Provolone cheese

Sauté onion and bell pepper in butter in medium saucepan over medium-high heat until onion is transparent. Mix in the roast beef; heat until beef is warm. Evenly divide beef into four portions; fill each roll with the beef, onion and pepper mix. Top with cheese while it is still hot. *Reminder: Pizza is always a fair favorite. It has the melted cheese and is easy to take with you so you can keep moving to see the cows and the other animals. a • •

Philly cheese steak sandwich • 1 onion sliced • 1 green pepper, sliced into

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the benefits of massage therapy and the salt therapy all at once, or you could choose to attend a meditation class that is also offered weekly. All necessary products are supplied for any of the classes (yoga mats etc). To check for the respective times of these classes, please check our web-site at www. simplyhealth-calm.com or call 717-248-2000 for more information. Check back next month to learn more about Himalayan Salt therapy and how beneficial it is your TOTAL health and well being. a

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The Valley, August 2012

Modern Energy and Alternative Heating with Curt Bierly

Propane as a Fuel Source to Heat your Home

In May we discussed the savings realized if one were to switch from using Heating Oil (Oil) to Natural Gas (Nat Gas). If Natural Gas is not available in your neighborhood, what is the savings if one were to convert from Oil to Propane?

First some facts about Propane and Nat Gas. Whereas Nat Gas occurs naturally, Propane is mostly a by product of petroleum refining or Nat Gas processing. Propane is transported and stored in a tank as a liquid. To convert Propane to Liquid Propane Gas (LPG) it needs to be cooled to -46F degrees; whereas, to convert Nat Gas to Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) it

is necessary to cool it to -260F degrees; therefore, Natural Gas is usually compressed (CNG) for storage or transportation in lieu of cooling it. A gallon of Propane contains 2-1/2 times the energy of a gallon of Nat Gas. Propane is heavier then air and Nat Gas is lighter then air.

In conclusion, using Propane, more energy (btu’s) can be stored at your home in a smaller tank and at a lower pressure; therefore, it is more practical and safer to deliver and store Propane at your home then it is CNG.

The equipment costs to convert your oil system to a gas

system depends on if you have a hot air system (furnace) or a hot water system (boiler). A basic high efficiency gas furnace (95% efficiency) would be in the $5000 to $7000 area installed; whereas, a basic high efficiency Gas Boiler (95% efficiency) would be in the $10,000 to $12,000 area installed.

For the study, an equipment cost of $10,000 was used, which is the same used in the May 2012 issue.

Also, the same cost for oil was used.

What the price structure will be in the future is anyone’s guess as there is much discussion by the drillers relative to exporting Nat Gas and Propane to other countries that are currently paying much higher prices. In addition, there is a big push to move Electric Power Generating Plants from Coal to Nat Gas, which would tap heavily on Natural Gas Supplies.

All said, it will most likely be a number of years until it all settles

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out.

As opposed to Nat Gas and Propane, the price of heating oil has increased significantly in the same time period.

This appears to be a very good time to switch out your current oil furnace or boiler for a High Efficiency Propane Furnace or Boiler (see the attached chart).

Payback is in 7 years or less. Add a Heat Pump if you have a furnace and realize more savings, and thus a quicker payback! Check out the “Keystone Help” financing program www.keystonehelp.com for possible financing.

Curt Bierly is president of the bierly group incorporated of which Stanley C. Bierly is a division. He graduated from Penn State with a BS in Mechanical Engineering and is a member of the Penn College HVAC Advisory Board. You can contact him at cbierly@bierlygroup.com. a

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Recipes-Crafts-Gifts With Debra Kulp Zucchini & Tomato Casserole Serves 10-12 12 very small zucchini 12 small tomatoes 1 Lg. onion Salt & Pepper to taste Brown Sugar to taste 1/4 tsp basil 1 1/2 cups soda cracker crumbs 1/2 cup butter cut into pieces 1 1/4 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Wash and thinly slice zucchini. Peel and thinly slice tomatoes and onion, divide onion into rings. In a deep oiled 3 qt. casserole, place a layer of zucchini, tomatoes and onions rings. Sprinkle a bit of salt & pepper, brown sugar and basil over the onion, then add a liberal handful of crumbs a few bits of butter and a handful of cheese.

Repeat twice, the top layer should be cheese.

Bake covered for a total 0f 1 1/4 hours, remove lid after 1/2 hour and continue baking for another 45 minutes or until center is bubbling hot.

Berry Cheesecake Parfaits Makes 8 servings 1 pkg. (8 oz) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened 1 1/2 cups cold milk 1 pkg. (3.4 oz) Jello vanilla flavor

Splitting Hares from page 16 all a part of the housework, even with rabbits. But dumping trays or shoveling rabbit manure will become a favorite chore for modern homesteaders as they learn about the benefits of “bunny gold.”

Rabbit manure is a complete organic fertilizer and boasts one of the highest levels of nitrogen of any animal manure. Even better, rabbit manure is “cool” manure and can be directly applied to the garden, unlike other manures which need to be composted before use. Now, what did I tell you about rabbits being a multipurpose animal?

When applied to a garden, rabbit manure also aids in building the soil’s structure and stabilizing it against erosion. Plus, it holds nutrients for plants and organisms in the soil.

On the off chance you have

instant pudding 1 1/2 cups Cool Whip whipped topping, divided 24 Nilla Wafers, coarsely chopped 1 1/2 cups seasonal berries

Beat cream cheese with a mixer until creamy. Gradually beat in milk. Add dry pudding mix. Mix well. Whish in 1 cup of Cool Whip Layer half each of wafer, berries and pudding mixture in 8 parfait glasses. Repeat layers.

Tropical Apple Salad Platter Makes 8 servings 1 golden delicious apple, cored & sliced 1 red delicious apple, cored & sliced 1 fresh pineapple, pared, cored & cut into chunks 1 honeydew melon, pared, cored and cut into chunks 1 papaya, pared & sliced 1 banana peeled & sliced Lime Cream Dressing 2 cartons (6.8 oz ea.) Lowfat Yogurt 2 tbsp honey 2 tbsp lime juice

Arrange fruit on a large platter. Serve with lime cream dressing.

To prepare dressing: combine yogurt, honey, and lime juice in a small bowl. Stir to blend. Makes about 1 1/2 cups of dressings. a rabbits but no garden, or maybe your soil is miraculously nutrientrich already, rabbit manure can also be sold for a small profit to other gardeners, nurseries or local hobby farmers. The manure is dry and mostly odorless, so it can be packaged, handled and transported easily.

Whether you’re raising your own meat and growing your own veggies or showing bunnies professionally and coaxing beautiful flowers into your window boxes, proper housing and “bunny gold” go hand in hand. As always, rabbits prove to be “useful” in yet another way, no matter what you’re raising them for. For more information, stop by the American Rabbit Breeders’ Association’s website at www.arba.net. a

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The Valley, August 2012

Mail Pouch Books

by Carleen B. Grossman THE DRY GRASS OF AUGUST

By Anna J. Mayhew Copyright 2011

This captivating novel is a mix of THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES and THE HELP. I read straight through this book and felt deeply involved with every event that the characters experienced. I have not had such total immersion in a book for some time! This novel will stand on its own along similar classics such as TO KILL A MOCKING BIRD.

The mid 1950’s of Charlotte, North Carolina finds a family of 4 along with their black maid dealing with feelings and emotions

during segregation. The protagonist, a 13 year old, clashes with her parents and 3 siblings during her coming of age. She also must learn to understand her motherly ties to their hard working maid.

This is a gripping story that is thought provokingly told. It will haunt you to the core with love/ hate complexities. The author has woven just the right amount of humor, suspense and valuable perspectives into this tale of love and conflict.

FAIR FOOD: Growing a Healthy, Sustainable Food System for All

By Oran B. Hesterman Copyright 2011

Fair Food tells not only about what we eat, but how food is grown, packaged delivered, marketed and sold. This author shows how to restructure our system’s problems due to results of our emphasis on efficiency, centralization, higher yields, profit and convenience. He give examples of people and organizations who are already using various innovative methods. He enlightens the reader as per putting cows back in the pastures where they belong and he provides a wealth of practical information.

Dog Days, is a book that lets us live our dreams of visiting a country farm and it shares adventures of that kind of life. You will enjoy life with border collies, sheep, chickens, an unusual cat, a ram and one surprisingly sociable steer! This book shows just what animals can teach us and what we in turn should give to them. This is a TRUE love story that shows us not only fantastic animal stories but also gives us a view of this very special farm!

By Kurt Michael Friese Copyright 2011

Chasing Chiles looks through the lens on the chile pepper--from its farmers to the cuisines and cultural traditions in which peppers play a huge role. Chiles are very important in world cuisines, on many continents. Learn how climate change might affect “chilieheads” all over the world!

This book puts a face on an issue that is not often thought about in our everyday lives as it relates to the chile.

Jared’s Bunker from page 26

DOG DAYS: Dispatches from Bedlam Farm

By Jon Katz Copyright 2007

CHASING CHILES: Hot Spots Along the Pepper Trail

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has dried, screw on the cleanout plug to complete. I recommend wearing rubber gloves for safety and easy cleanup.

The cache tube pictured was made of 4” PVC and was approximately 3 feet long. If your cache is to be left above ground, I recommend painting the pipe in a dull earth-tone color or get creative and paint it camo. Since I was burying the cache, I left the tube white.

Part 2 of “A Survival Cache” will include preparation of supplies to be cached and picking out the ideal location for placement of your survival cache, and of course the burial.

Hope to see you all on the 18th! a

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The Valley, August 2012

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25

The Valley, August 2012 Anointed by History II from page 17

not be classified as Jewish, since to be Jewish, one would have to come from Judah’s loins. It can be noted then, that Jews are a part of Israel, but not all of Israel is Jewish, since there are eleven other tribes out there. Judah however, has proven itself to be tenacious and pre-eminent among the tribes, throughout the years.

In 1897, the Zionist national movement was born as a reaction to the terrible anti-Semitism which Jews experienced in Eastern Europe in the 19th century.

The famous Zionist slogan; “a land with no people for a people with no land,” was first coined by the Earl of Shaftesbury (1801 – 1885), the great English social re-

former who always referred to the Jews as “God’s ancient people.”

With the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the Zionist Organization lent its support to the Allied powers. The Jewish Legion fought with Great Britain, and Dr. Chaim Weizman, a Jewish chemist greatly enhanced Britain’s capacity to succeed in defeating the Central powers. As a result, Great Britain on November 2, 1917 issued the Balfour Declaration promising Jews a national homeland. This Declaration established the political prospect for a Jewish State, and a national homeland for world Jewry in the land known as Palestine!

Jews world-wide began immigrating to Palestine during the 1920’s and 1930’s. However,

they were met with fierce resistance by the Arab nations in the Middle East. Because of this, Great Britain placed quotas on Jewish immigration into Palestine and continued its limitations on Jewish immigration throughout the 1930’s. With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Jews found themselves trapped on the European Continent. The British quotas actually served as a means to enable Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany to wreak havoc upon the remaining Jewish residents of Eastern Europe. After the surrender of Germany in 1945, the world was exposed to the horrific atrocity of the Holocaust. Nearly 6 million Jews, including 1.5 million children were exterminated under the brutality of Hitler’s Final Solution of the Jewish problem.

Faced with the realization that not enough had been accomplished to rescue European Jewry, the world moved to expedite a solution to the enmity the Jews faced in the world. The establishment of an independent state in the land of Palestine became the focus of the Zionist movement.

On November 29, 1947 the United Nations General Assembly voted by a 2/3 majority on a Partition Plan that became the new Jewish state. Israel would see its independence recognized on May 14th 1948.

The Arabs not only rejected partition, but attacked Israel from all sides. On the day that Israel declared its independence, the Arab League Secretary, General

The author and wife on Mount Barkan

Azzam Pasha declared “jihad,” a holy war. He said, “This will be a war of extermination and a momentous massacre, which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres and the Crusades.” The armies of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq invaded the tiny new country with the declared intent of destroying it. The Outcome: Israel gained 2,500 more square miles than allotted in the UN partition, but lost the Jewish quarter of the Old City. The Arabs refuse to sign a peace agreement with Israel stating; “As soon as we recognize the existence of the state of Israel, we admit by this act that we are vanquished.”

It is still the same today.

As we previously noted, being anointed doesn’t mean easy. Yet, Israel remains under the vigilant eye of the Almighty and the guidance of many wise leaders. To quote Golda Meir, Israeli Prime

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Minister from 1969 to 1974; “I believe that we will have peace with our Neighbors, but I am sure that no one will make peace with a weak Israel. If Israel is not strong, there will be no peace.”

As we have seen, through the persistence of one tribe, a nation is reborn that had long since been snuffed out. Next time: Struggles and contemporary life in The Land.

C. Mark Ostrowski is the Founder & President of The Stewardship Group in Belleville. He and his wife Joann spent three weeks in the Holy Land in the Fall of 2011.

Mark can be reached at: mostrowski@TheStewardshipGroup. org a

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thoughts from the Bunker by jared kauffman

A Survival Cache

Cache; noun A hiding place used especially for storing provisions.

A place for concealment and safekeeping, as of valuables.

A store of goods or valuables concealed in a hiding place: maintained a cache of food in case of emergency

In this, Part 1 of “A Survival Cache,” we’ll discuss the reasons for creating and maintaining a cahce and examples of suitable containers you could use to create a supply cache. I will also instruct you on how to make a cache container using common materials found at your local hardware store.

One of the main reasons why I have a supply cache is the fact my commute to work is more than 30 miles from home. I find it reassuring to know that if the need would arise, I have several points

along my route to resupply during an emergency. I understand that this topic may seem a little too far “off the reservation” for some of you, but it doesn’t have to be. A cache could simply be a change of clothes and a few personal items stored at a friend’s or co-worker’s house. A cache could also be supplies kept in a rental storage unit in another town. I consider this a viable option in my emergency preparedness plans and you should too.

Home invasions; forced evacuations due to floods, fires, chemical spills; government confiscation, etc.—these are several examples taken from recent headlines in which a cache of supplies away from your home would benefit you.

The cache that I want to focus on is one that will be hidden and/

or buried outdoors. This cache could contain food, clothing, ammo, silver coins or other currency. And as long as our leaders in DC continue to lead us down a self-destructive path, which in the end will lead to collapse and civil unrest, AND as they continue to disregard our rights as citizens daily, you must consider caching firearms. I want to give those of you who are still with me a few suitable options for your cache container:

Steel ammo cans which can be purchased at gun shows and at your local army surplus store.

Available in a variety of sizes and as long as the waterproof seal is intact these cans are a great choice. Another option on the market is what is called a Mono Vault Burial Tube. This “tube” constructed of ¼” thick polyethylene comes in a variety of sizes; from a 9.75”x4.5” size perfect for

cash, jewelry, to a 9.75”x49” great for a fully assembled and scopeequipped AR-15!

Now I have also seen people use 5 gallon buckets, plastic totes, and/or empty plastic food containers. While these are all viable options, you must consider these three things: your container must be impervious to moisture, crush resistant when buried, and resealable.

HOMEMADE CACHE

Here are some basic instructions on how to make your own PVC cache tube.

Supplies needed: -suitable length of PVC pipe

Savvy Cents & Sensibility

by JoAnn Wills MBA

Analyze & Strategize…

As we prepare to move into the last quarter of the year I thought it would be a good time to analyze our progression of meeting the goals we have set for ourselves in 2012. Taking the time to reassess now may help to meet goals before year’s end. The tool of choice to conduct the assessment is called a S.W.O.T. analysis. The SWOT is a tool used in business to analyze organizational strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for the purpose of creating strategies geared toward improvement. The SWOT can also help us set personal strategies to meet our goals. Pick one goal you set for yourself at the beginning of 2012 that is still not accomplished – create a SWOT analysis around your chosen goal as follows. Before we get started, take a piece of tablet paper and create four vertical columns on the paper. Next write the letters

S-W-O-T as one letter per column.

Now we are ready to begin. First, assess your Strengths in regards to reaching the goal. What strengths do you possess that will help you reach the goal – list them under “S.” If you are unsure of your strengths call upon a family member or friend to assist you with listing your strengths. Second, under the “W” column list the Weaknesses that has prevented you from accomplishing the goal to date – be honest! Next, under the “O” column list all the opportunities that you have had to complete the goal and all the Opportunities that could be presented to you if you reach the goal. In other words, what opportunities have presented themselves and yet no action was taken – list the missed opportunity and the reason why beside/underneath it; and also list what opportunities may materialize if you can muster the

strength to meet the goal. Before we move on, look over your lists – do you see a pattern or relationship between the Strengths, Weaknesses, and Opportunities? I bet at this point you probably see a clue to what has been holding back the goal realization. Finally, under the “T” column, list all the threats that thwarted your goal realization. In other words, list everything – person, issue, situation, self-sabotage, etc. that has directly or indirectly threatened or prevented you from reaching the goal. Look over your lists/columns again. Some columns may be longer than others.

Now, it’s time to set up strategies that will become the launch pad to landing on the completed goal by year end. Pick at least one strength (I suggest 2 or 3 strengths) and determine how you will create a strategy. Write a sentence for each strength’s

strategy. For example, ‘I will use my perseverance (the strength) to walk one mile at least three evenings per week through December 2012 (the goal).’ Next, pick one or more weaknesses and write a sentence for each one stating how you will alleviate the weakness.

For example, ‘I will plan to allow 15 minutes of leeway time in my late day schedule so that will not feel guilty and overwhelmed about taking my walk while there is so much on my to-do list.’ Next create at least one sentence for the opportunities list. For example, ‘I will recruit my able and helpful family members to assist me with late day or evening chores/errands so I may free up enough time in my schedule to complete my walk without stress. Finally, list at least one sentence using a strategy for how you will combat or thwart the threats that have presented you from realizing the goal. For example, ‘I will not get lost on the internet or in phone conversations until after my walk has been

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-one end cap -one female adapter -one cleanout plug -PVC cement -file or sandpaper -misc supplies such as rags, rubber gloves

Assembly of your cache tube is pretty basic and easy. Taking your desired size of pvc pipe, end cap, and adapter dry fit the pieces and mark with pencil where they stop. Now rough up the marked area of pvc and generously apply cement. Glue on end cap and female adapter. After the cement

Continued on page 23 completed. I will chose to flip the threats to treats that I may partake in after I have worked to realize my goal.

After you have completed your SWOT analysis, take the time to reflect on your overall productivity during 2012. How productive have you been during 2012 – business/work, personally, at home, spiritually? What areas of your life feel stagnant or in lack? Apply the SWOT analysis to areas you wish to create improvement. If you realize the cause of stagnation reaches beyond your ability to change (be honest as there is usually some way we can contribute to positive change) then it may be time to begin the process of moving on.

If there are boulders in the middle of the path, don’t stop the journey; just find a way around the obstacle. Sometimes that means changing paths altogether!

The purpose of the personal SWOT analysis is to take a deep dive into self – get gut honest – about what is holding you back from realizing your goals and thus reaching your highest potential.

What better place to be in August than on that deep dive board? It’s time to make a splash and go for a dip… start kicking your feet towards realizing year end goals. a

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The Valley, August 2012

Grosze Thal Nachbaren

(Big Valley Neighbors)

by Jeptha I. Yoder Ein Grusz in dem Namen unsers Herren Jesu Christi, der hat uns reichlich gesegnet. Die erste helfte von Juli war sehr trocken. Aber jetzt ist die Erde ziemlich erquicket mit Regen.

Der Vier und zwanzigst Juni war Kirchengasse gemein ans Mose N. Hostetlers Lang Leen West war ans Eli Y. Hostetlers.

Milroy Ost war ans Esle M. Hostetlers. Johannes I. Yoders und Familie waren hier furs mittagessen. Ans Unkel Christ Ms oder Mose C. Yoders waren Eli S’s und Familie und zwei vons Johannes Y’s Tochter, alle Hostetlern.

Der Erst Juli war unser Gemein ans Unkel Ruben D. Hostetlers. Von Lang Leen Theilen waren Mahlon Cs und Familie, Jeptha und Franey (Emanuel), Barbara und Eli (Noah D.) alle Yodern. Nord Milroy war ans Joshua J. Hostetlers. Ost Lang Leen ans Uria J. Yoders. Jacob S. Hostetlers waren in McClur in die Gemein bei ihr Sohn die Joseph Js.

Der Acht war Kirchengasse Gemein ans Esra Y. Hostetlers.

Lang Leen West war ans Menno M. Yoders. Joseph E. Hostetlers waren dort von Penns Thal. Ost

Milroy war ans Samuel M. Zugen, Mein Eltern waren ans Jesse S. Hostetlers furs Mittag-essen.

Der Funfzeht war unser Gemein ans Eli S. Hostetlers. Von McClur waren Eli J. Hostetlers und zwei Sahne. Von Lang Leen West waren Sam I. Yoders, welche waren ans Elis furs abendessen und singen. Eli Js waren auch dort furs essen und gingen heim spahter. Milroy Nord Gemein war ans Abraham J. Hostetlers.

Der zwei und zwanzigst war Kirchengasse Gemein ans Samuel B. Hostetlers. West Lang Leen war ans Rufus M. Yoders.

Meine Eltern waren ans Jesse J. Hostetlers furs Mittag. Andere dort waren Jesse Ss und Tochter Rebecca und Naemi, Esra Ss und Tochter Barbara, Mose Rs und Familie, alle Hostetlern, Mose Ss und Johannes Is und Familien, beide Yodern, Joel M. Yoders und Familie waren dort abends. Elisabeth und ich waren ans Unkel Jesses abends. Mose C. Yoders waren ans Mose J. Hostetlers Jr. furs Mittag-essen. Uria J. Yoders und drei Jungste waren in Penns Thal - Gingen Samstages mit Gaul und Vegly.

J. Yost Hostetlers waren

in McClur um Freundschaft zu besuchen durch die woch von der sechseht.

Greetings in the name of our Lord. Very hot and dry describes the first half of July. Though the drought could have been worse, we were glad to see the rains come again. Still some oats in the field. Corn is growing fast. And so are many garden crops. We have much to be thankful for indeed!

New arrivals are a dau. Lydia R. on the 9th, joining one brother and one sister, to Jesse J. and Rachel L. Hostetler. They buried an infant (4 wk.) son Seth in 2007.

Grands are Jesse S and Nancy B. (Yoder) Hostetler and widow (Jeff) Lydia R. Yoder.

Joining one brother and two sisters, also on the 9th is a Rufus M. to Michael U. and Malinda E. Hostelter. Grands are Hosea J. and Betsy S. (Zook) Yoder; Rufus J. and Mary N. Hostetler. Great grandfather is Jacob B. Yoder.

Joining one sister is Elizabeth to Moses J. Jr. and Barbara M. Hostetler, on the week of the 15th. Grands are Moses J. Sr. and Esther Y. Hostetler; John D. and Barbara Z. (Speicher) Yoder.

Greats are Moses I. and Elizabeth

L.; Jacob S. and Franey L. all Hostetlers.

Joining five brothers and one sister is Lizzie to Christ S. and Lizzie M. Zook. Grands are widower Sam Y. Zook; Solomon J. and Mary D. Yoder.

Sunday July 15th, a number of cousins and other relations were to Penns Valley at the funeral of widower Michael L. Hostetler (80). Conducted by Joseph E. Hostetler in house and Alpha J. Hostetler in barn.

Monday the 16th, a number of relatives were to McClure to the funeral of Great Aunt Barbara Y. Hostetler, 85 yr. 3 mo. 2 days.

By Samuel H. Yoder. Pallbearers were Jacob Y. and John Z. both Hostetlers, Noah J. Yoder and Yost J. Speicher. Born April 12, 1927, she was a dau. of the late Min. Michael J. and Katie H. (yoder) Speicher. Surviving are four sons and one dau., Michael J,. Jacob C., and Daniel R. who (along with their families) are not local; Samuel Js and Nancy R., with whom she resided at 255 Samuel’s Church Road, McClure PA 17841; Katie B. husband Sam C. Byler and family of Michigan.

Preceded by husband Joel B. on Feb 26, 2011 and four grandchildren. Because the graveyard was nearby, more people went there than usually do, after the funeral.

She was the last of her immediate family being preceded by two brothers.

Missed at the funeral were a cousin the Sam R. Yoders, wife Barbara H. (64) having surgery on her gall-bladder and a hospital

stay due to a lodged stone and an abscess. Their address is 92 Raspberry Lan, Belleville, PA 17004.

Nancy M. (36) wife of cousin Christian S. Hostetler also had gall surgery recently. Grandmother Mary R. was taking care of 1 ½ month old Malinda. Their address is 1221 Salem Road, Milroy PA 17063.

Dads visited at both of the above and found them recuperating.

Jesse J. Hostetlers are building a house on land obtained at his parent’s Jesse Ss. It is well under way with roof on and chimney is put up.

Saturday the 21st was the annual Special Ed. Meeting at Ezra B. Hostetlers. We were left with much food for thought.

Well, I’ll need to close this letter and get to work. God’s blessings wished to all. Remembering the sick and bereaved.

Jeptha I. Yoder a

“We have much to be thankful for indeed!”

--Jeptha I. Yoder

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Answers in an ad in this issue

28

Born in what is now Croatia, becoming a U.S. citizen in 1891 - One of the worlds most important inventors.

1. Name this man who held over 100 U. S. patents.

2. This man, and [his] genius, are assoc'd with this waterfall.

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3. Named after this inventor, this 2003 CA company makes vehicles powered by?

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Deadlines for ads and submissions is the 15th of the preceding month for inclusion in following month’s issue.

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29

The Valley, August 2012

The Chicken AND the Egg!

by Mike Flanagan

Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows (Apologies to Leslie Gore)

Over the last three years of getting my Masters and my teaching license, I have read some interesting stuff. One of the more interesting ideas I encountered was the concept of “Cultural Literacy.” Essentially it boils down to the idea that with the use of one short, well-known literary reference I can express several paragraphs (or even an entire book) of meaning—provided the audience is familiar with the reference. Sadly, I have observed in the modern classroom that most of the kids simply are not. They are culturally illiterate. (If they can’t find it on the net, they can’t relate.) That thought occurred to me as I was mulling over the concept for this month’s article.

On June 26th we received our latest batch of two dozen fresh chicks. On June 30th, it seemed to me that there just didn’t appear to be that many chicks in the

brooder. I did a head count and I was right. We were missing twelve chicks! I fished around in the pine shavings, but didn’t turn up any little bodies. I knew right away who the culprit was. And that’s when it occurred to me that I had done you readers a disservice. I had led you to view the world of chicken keeping through “rose colored glasses,” presented a truly “Pollyanna” outlook on it. You older folks know what I just said, and all the space it saves saying it that way. And the fact that young folks won’t understand it (hint: Google the terms) brings me back to cultural literacy. See? It all ties together, it just sometimes takes me awhile to get there.

The kids in school say my mind “takes detours.” Some like them, some hate them, and some say they actually learn from them.

Anyway, the truth is that keeping chickens is not all “sun-

shine, lollipops, and rainbows.”

(YouTube her!) To paraphrase Robert Burns (look him up), “the best laid plans of men oft times get waylaid by mice.” Or in our case, rats. See, last summer we had one hen who somehow got a dislocated leg. Well, I’m not about to spend BIG bucks on having a vet fix it, but it doesn’t pay to have Eli process one chicken either. So Cindy (soft heart that she is) brought “Little Gimp” up into the back porch and housed her in the empty brooder. Then somewhere in the middle of the winter she noticed that “Hopalong Cassie” wasn’t walking, she just hopped every where, and the other hens were pecking on her because she was different. She was moved to the brooder too.

Which brings me to my first point.

Sometimes bad things happen to good chickens. Lameness, injury, infection, cannibalism? If

you need to, you can press your brooder into service as an infirmary.

Anybody who’s kept more than a pair of chickens, sooner or later, experiences a rodent problem. We’ve lived in this house over 20 years, but it wasn’t until this winter (with permanent residents in the infirmary) that we had rats around. We spent the winter and spring using traps to control the population, and since they aren’t inside the house (as far as we know) it wasn’t too big a problem. We have seen them in the feeder and scurrying out of the brooder when we went to talk to the girls. (I never seem to have a pistol handy when this happens!)

But now they were decimating our new chicks. It was time to get nasty. First, I covered the lid with 1/2” hardware cloth over the too large 1”x2” wire I originally used. Next, I doubled the number

WWT Answers: 1) Nikola Telsa 2) Niagara Falls 3) Electricity

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of traps, adding two more to the top of the brooder. And finally, I took a tip from something I read somewhere for an old-time control method. I mixed one part plaster of paris with three parts raw oatmeal. They seem to like it. The idea is they eat it and the plaster sets in their stomachs causing a blockage and they die of constipation. I don’t care how they die, just so they leave my chicks alone. We haven’t lost any chicks since then and another batch of twelve are coming July 10th.

You should be interacting with your flock several times a day. Sure, I built a feeder that can feed them for a month without needing a refill, but I still give them fresh water every morning and collect eggs every evening.

And if you talk to your girls, like I do, you’ll quickly learn to spot

Continued on page 30

The Valley, August 2012

30

Home-Grown!

A Homeschooler’s Perspective

By Mary Eck

The Perfect Problem

The arrival of August always catches me off guard. Seems like I was just making camp deposits, hammering out that crazy 12-week-long calendar, scrambling to cross the school-year finish line with some semblance of competency as a homeschool mom, and watching my young’uns faces nearly bursting with the promise of excitement that is uniquely summer-born.

As we turn our focus toward planning for a new school year, though, I began to think more about how important this job of teaching our children really is, and how the responsibility can feel enormous…if you stop to mull it over for more than a minute or two; but who has time to do that?!

What I did realize, though, is that, as significant as my job as teacher is, the job each of my children has is equally important.

But do I impart that truth to them?

Do my children get how crucial it is that they strive to be the best student they can be, that it is their job to do so, that their future hinges upon how well they do it, and that giving their very best is a way to honor God?

Now, I’m not talking perfection here, as many might think.

Perfection should never be the goal, as it is mostly an impossible

Metal Detecting from page 19 different styles last month. Relic and coin hunting would be different than beach hunting. No, you don’t have to program your machine, they have settings so you just turn it on and hunt. They are preset at the factory for a general range that will fit most applications. After a year or two, you can try some custom programs that are easily obtained on the forums from other detectorists. I currently use a Minelab that has some really advanced features. I am a gadget nut, so it fits me well.

Detectors have to deal with things like ground balance and emi (electrical magnetic interference). All soil has a certain amount of mineralization caused from iron in the soil. For instance,

one that disheartens far more than it encourages. And mediocrity can be just as dangerous, if aspired to, because it can rob a student of his fledgling self-worth and squash both ambition and hope.

Whether it’s academics, athletics, or any other pursuit, the notions of perfection and mediocrity need to be tossed aside before they have any chance at becoming a threat to your child’s character.

No, what our students need to strive for is excellence, that inner standard that instinctively knows what we are capable of giving in any given moment. If a student cultivates a standard of excellence regarding his or her schoolwork, effort will translate into performance, and performance into grades that reflect true ability.

If my daughter aces her literature essays with solid A’s, we fist-bump and celebrate. If her best work in chemistry yields a “C” for that particular unit, I am thrilled and so should she be.

Notice, though, I did not say I would be “content,” nor should she be. Her internal “excellence” barometer should kick in and evaluate whether a “B” is at all possible. If subsequent efforts reveal that the C is as good as it gets because her conceptual understanding is just not there,

then fine…we celebrate the “C,” content that the excellence standard was met. But, if those efforts should happen to earn her a “B,” contentment should be nowhere in sight!

It is the same with us, as we teach our children. Do we dig deep and model for them that standard of excellence? Do we just go through the motions, moving from subject to subject, correcting yet another batch of homework papers on autopilot, wishing that time-intensive experiment would just disappear from the text, and hoping lunchtime comes super-soon?!

Or do we apply ourselves wholly to each task before us, delving into that reader to generate thought-provoking discussions, taking time to really read those essay assignments, and holding back our impatience when a student needs us to repeat an explanation just ONE more time? I cannot tell you how close to home that sentence hits!

We may not receive letter grades that evaluate our efforts throughout the year, but our children model what they see, the effort we expend, whether we go all-out or do just-enough to get by.

They are watching us very closely, whether they admit it or not. And, in a way, their grades are a direct reflection of how well we are doing our job.

rusting junk or things like hot rocks (iron ore) imbedded in rocks under the ground. We live in an iron-producing region, so we have hot rocks. Emi is interference caused by electrical disturbances in the air or ground, such as verhead wires, underground pet fences, and buried wires. Most modern machines can ground balance or noise cancel. A recent site I was hunting on had high voltage transmission lines that made it almost impossible to hunt on. I had to ground balance every 5 feet. Other common things are pop tabs and aluminum. They almost always ring up as a good signal and you get excited and dig it. Why not skip that signal?

Well, most machines cannot tell the difference between gold and aluminum because of its conductive properties. Not that we have

to worry about finding much gold around here, but on the beach people drop jewelry and soda cans. I have dug good targets 10 inches at the beach only to find a buried soda can that someone didn’t feel like carrying out. You will not get rich at this hobby, but it sure is fun.

Local conditions right now are not good. It is brutally hot and the soil is dry 10 inches deep.

This is tuff on detectorists. Wayne and I were out for a hunt and we quit after several hours, as it was too hot and we could not dig very well. Rain will help us and everyone else in Central Pa. Wet soil actually helps the machine go deeper and conduct better. We have concluded that it is an early morning hunt or late evening hunt until this weather breaks.

We recently got permis-

Sunshine, Lollipops & Rainbows from page 29 unusual behavior by one or more of them. One common problem might be red rashes on their legs or backs. That’s usually caused by mites and has a really easy fix.

Make a 2’ square box out of 2x6’s and fill it halfway with diatomaceous earth (available from pool stores and “China-Mart”). The girls will dust bathe in it and that will get rid of the mites. Just keep filling it and you won’t have any problems with mites.

Sometimes one of the girls will get too big for her bloomers, try to step out of her place in the pecking order, or someone ends up with a wound of some sort. I had one hen who, overnight, had the back of her neck opened so I could see her spine. (I never did figure out why.) I moved her into the “infirmary” and went to my local feed mill (Knittle & Frey). I picked up a yellow spray can of

something called Blu-Kote. It’s an antiseptic germicidal spray for the treatment of wounds on animals (not cats, for some reason).

I sprayed her wounds once a day for a week or so and she stayed in the infirmary for about a month.

When I put her back out in the hen house she resumed her normal life and lived happily ever after, until she went to Eli’s anyway.

So, “wake up Pollyana” and understand that there are a whole variety of problems that can occur. But, as I’ve said before, the small-flock caretaker usually doesn’t have to deal with too many of them. And if something does come up, take a page from the younger generation, turn to the internet. Drop me an e-mail at leatherneckpa at comcast dot net or Google it. Chances are pretty good you’ll find some help.

Until next month, remember, support your local economy. Buy local, eat local, and live well. a

Instilling in our children a work ethic that encourages them to build that internal excellence barometer is crucial, because it shows them what they are capable of—even when they couldn’t care less about a certain subject—and how far they are able to reach when it comes to making their dreams come true.

Again, it is NOT about grades. It is about doing whatever we do to the best of our ability, “as unto the Lord and not for men,” so says Paul (Colossians 3:23).

Perfection is unattainable.

But everyone can strive for excellence because it is a standard set

FOR yourself BY yourself. It is that intangible quality about one’s work that says “giving my best is what I do, and I can do no less.”

A new school year is the perfect time (pun intended) for us all to start with the proverbial clean slate, and re-commit ourselves to the job before us, and to our heavenly “boss,” with an enthusiasm befitting the incredible grace and mercy of our perfect Lord.

Our love for Him should be all the “why” any of us needs.

So—whether teacher or student—may we all strive for an EXCELLENT start to the school year! a

graciousness. If there is anyone sion from a homeowner that just else out there that wants their yard bought a property and decided to discovered please let Wayne or I change the landscape. A muknow either through the paper or tual friend and detecting buddy email me at srwhite56@verizon. secured permission to hunt with net. If you give me your phone the conditions that we split the number I would be glad to call finds with the property owner if or visit you. We always share the anything valuable was found. The spoils. HH (Happy Hunting). a site looked promising with the fact that it was built in the mid-to-late 1800’s. A careful search yielded 27 cents in modern coins, a hose nozzle and some rusty junk. Wow! We thought there were a few old coins and relics there. You just never know.

We had a good time and thanked the This Standing Liberty half dollar was found 5 steps off homeowner for his the driveway

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31

The Valley, August 2012

What Is Love?

by Sarah Hurlburt

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. I John 4:7-11

How often do we really think about what it means to love? I think in our over busy society people don’t even have time to think about what it really means.

I John 4:7-11 tells us God is love and the only way we can love is to know God.

I Corinthians 13:4-7 says, 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with

the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

So we see in I John 4:7-11 that God is love and in I Corinthians 13:4-7 God gives a crystal clear definition of love and in doing so gives us a beautiful, easily understood description of who God is. God is patient, he is kind.

He does not envy or boast. He is not proud. God is never rude or self seeking. I John 4: 10 tells us that God loves us first God’s love is not a self seeking love it’s a self sacrificing love! God is not easily angered and keeps no record of wrongs. God does not delight in evil but rejoices with truth. God is a protector; He trusts, hopes and never gives up on us!

When we really begin to grasp who God is we will desire to be near Him. Who would not want to place their lives in the hands of this God? So, if like me, you are drawn to this God of love who has already offered himself for us then you should begin to see these same things manifested in your own life. Surrendering to God is not hard when you realize

Solar-Powered Green House Workshop at the Pennsylvania Organic FarmFest

With the support of the West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund, the Penns Valley Conservation Assn. and Envinity we will present “Produce Year-round in your own Mini-High Tunnel” at the first annual Pennsylvania Organic FarmFest. Workshop attendees will learn how to grow vegetables and fruits nearly year round in a mini-high tunnel using renewable solar energy. This workshop covers siting and building the high tunnel and installing renewable energy in it. The workshop benefits home and community gardeners, as well as commercial growers. Greenhouses powered by renewable energy on any scale significantly enable local food production by removing nearly all fossil fuels associated with producing and transporting food.

The Pennsylvania Organic FarmFest will be held at the Grange Fair Grounds on August 3 and 4, 2012. FarmFest celebrates organic growers and consumers through live music, education, a farmers market, an arts and crafts show, exhibitions, hands-on demonstrations, and a number of diverse activities for children and adults. This two-day event is free to the public and promises to attract visitors from across the state.

This workshop is one of many free organic gardening workshops taking place at this year’s festival.

The Mini-High Tunnel workshop is scheduled for 4:30 PM on Friday, August 3 and 1:30 PM on Saturday, August 4. Both Workshops will take place at the High Tunnel site, just off Grange Fairgrounds Main Street between the craft vendors and the children’s

Jesus surrendered His life first.

God is not some harsh dictator that demands surrender! He first modeled that kind of love for us through Jesus and then offers for us to be transformed by it.

God wants us to be vessels of the I Corinthians 13 kind of love because that means we are vessels of His love! We must give up self love in order to be filled with God love! The trade off is really life transforming and will affect every single aspect of your life.

If 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 became the standard by which every man would love his wife, every wife would love her husband, and every parent would love their children the transformation would move beyond a personal level to a family level, and in turn begin to transform society and eventually change the world.

So take some extra time to evaluate your “love” life. Are you taking time to understand God’s love and letting it transform you

and loving God back with your life? Do you really understand the high calling of marriage and parenting? Because when you do, you will love your spouse, your children, your family and your community with a radical kind of love. You will be part of changing the world and making it a better place for the next generation.

Think about it! a

area. Seats are limited to 25 people per class. Please contact FarmFest Coordinator Erin McCracken (ecovents@gmail.com) to save your spot.

Penns Valley Conservation Association (PVCA) serves as a steward for the natural and cultural communities in the Upper Penns Creek watershed. The Association seeks to preserve and honor the agricultural roots of Penns Valley by protecting and conserving its waters, farmlands, forests and rural heritage. Headquartered in Spring Mills, Pennsylvania Certified Organic ….

Envinity is an employee-owned energy services firm rooted in the building science approach to energy management. Located in State College since 2005, Envinity specializes in green design and construction, high efficiency mechanical systems, energy audits, and renewable energy systems.

The West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund (WPPSEF) invests in the deployment of clean

energy technologies throughout the West Penn Power service region in Pennsylvania. Investments are made to promote: the use of renewable and clean energy, energy conservation and energy efficiency, and the attraction, establishment, and retention

of sustainable energy businesses.

Visit www.wppsef.org for further information.

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Contact: Mary Carol Frier (PVCA), 151 Neff Road, Centre Hall, PA 16828; 814 364 2847 a

Hostetler’s Naturals Quality Produce

No GMO’s - No Chemicals Farm Fresh Naturally Nutritious Come see us at the Lewistown Rec. Park Farmers Market every Tuesday from 3:00pm - 7:00pm

32

The Valley, August 2012

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33

The Valley, August 2012

Back Talk

by Dr. Joseph Kauffman

US Healthcare

The Best a Man can Get?

In the United States, we strive to be the best in the world. We spend more money on healthcare than any other country in the world. Sadly, this does not mean we are the healthiest. Money does not equal quality. When I was doing some of my research about certain vaccines, I stumbled upon an article that I found very interesting. I have included the

article in this column so you can read it in its entirety and be able to form your own conclusion about whether we are doing a good job or a bad job in this country concerning our healthcare system. Here is the article and my thoughts: “If you have heard it once, you have heard it hundreds of times.

‘The United States spends too

much on health care.’ This is not a partisan point. You can hear this from Republicans as well as Democrats. ‘We know that our families, our economy and our nation itself will not succeed in the 21st

century if we continue to be held down by the weight of rapidly rising health care costs’ President Obama said in 2009. Representative Paul D. Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin, agrees: ‘There is no more serious dispute — on either side of the aisle.’ Unfortunately, few people really understand how much we spend on health care, how much we need to spend to provide quality care, and the difference between the two. Do we spend too much? Would cutting costs require rationing, or worse, death panels?

Let’s begin with the costs. In 2010, the United States spent $2.6 trillion on health care, over $8,000 per American. This is such an enormous amount of money, it’s difficult to grasp.

Consider this: If we stacked single dollar bills on top of one another, $2.6 trillion would reach more than 170,000 miles — nearly threequarters of the way to the moon.

Or, compare our spending to that of other countries.

France has the fifth largest economy in the world, with a gross domestic product of nearly $2.6 trillion. The United States spends on health care alone what the 65 million people of France spend on everything: education, defense, the environment, scientific research, vacations, food, housing, cars, clothes and health care. In other words, our health care spending is

the fifth largest economy in the world.

Or compare it to the second largest economy in the world, China.

China’s G.D.P. is $5.9 trillion (compared to America’s $14.6 trillion). So the United States, with a population a quarter of the size of China’s, spends just on health care slightly less than half of what China spends on everything. It is not just how much the United States spends on health care that is important, it is also how fast that amount is growing.

For more than 30 years, health care costs have been growing 2 percent faster than the overall economy. That means every year we spend ever more on health care and therefore have to spend less on other things — or borrow money to pay for the extra health care. If we continue at this rate of growth, health care will be roughly one-third of the entire economy by 2035 — one of every three dollars will go to health care — and nearly half by 2080.

This level of spending on health care is high, but is it worth it?

Does it make us healthier? The fact is that when it comes to health care, the United States is on another planet. The United States spends around 50 percent more per person than the next highest-spending countries, Switzerland and Norway.

Some economists say this comparison is inaccurate because it does not correct for the facts that brand name drugs cost more, and doctors and nurses earn more, in the United States than they do in other countries. But even correcting for these differences in prices, the United States still spends 15 percent more than the next highest-spending country — and about a quarter more than countries with some of the best health care systems in the world, like Germany and France.

Continued on page 37

The New York Times Source: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

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The Valley, August 2012

34

Joanne Wills’ Contentment Quest Are You Programmed to AM or FM

Many of us have a favorite radio station that we enjoy listening to, or a favorite TV channel that we tune into daily. But, what about “your” channel? What are “you” programmed to? Is your personal channel programmed to AM (against me) or FM (for me)? Before I continue, I guess I should issue a disclaimer that I in no way am insinuating that one type of radio channel is better than the other – AM or FM. I am simply using the AM and FM letters to get my point across for this month’s article.

What are you tuned into on a daily basis? Are you tuned into a lifestyle and life circumstances that are AM (against me), or are you bebop’n to life circumstances on the FM (for me) dial? Research has concluded that our health can be affected by our selftalk. The Mayo Clinic determined that our outlook on life and our attitudes toward ourselves can affect our physical health. Some research studies have shown that our personality traits (such as being positive or negative thinkers) can affect many areas of our health and well-being. Positive thinking is associated with proper stress management, and effective stress management is associated with health benefits. On the flip side, negative thinking, pessimistic attitudes, and negative self-talk are all associated with dis-ease in the body and mind. The dis-ease also known as anxiety, worry, and aggitation can result in health deterioration over time. I know I have said it a million times, but it’s worth repeating again, we all must work hard to rid negative thinking tendancies from our life.

Many times negative thinking is a byproduct of the automatic thoughts we produce as a result of our human “conditioning.” In other words, negative thinking

and self-talk has become a habit.

Habits can be ingrained in us, and often they are ingrained over many years, but habits can be broken or altered. It is our own personal decision to determine where we want to tune our thinking and doing dial – AM or FM.

Researchers continue to explore the benefits of positive thinking and optimism on health.

The Mayo Clinic listed several health benefits on their website that are linked to positive thinking. Below is a short list of some of the benefits: • Increased life span • Lower rates of depression • Lower levels of distress • Greater resistance to the common cold • Better psychological and physical well-being • Reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease • Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress One research theory deems that positive thinkers cope better with stressful situations therefore they experience less harmful effects of stress.

Do you know how to spot and identify negative self-talk? Common forms of negative self-talk are: Filtering – Magnification of the negative aspects while filtering out positive aspects. For example, you had a relatively productive day at work but you choose to focus on the one thing that you didn’t get accomplished. Another instance is filtering what you see in other people. For example, you choose to “see” or discuss lack rather than credit people for accomplishments they attained.

You may see a someone who is struggling to find adequate employment or choose to further their education, rather than settle for their current underemployment situation.

But rather than support them for their efforts

to better themselves you focus on criticisms – which just creates more stress for the individual.

Personalizing – The act of automatically blaming yourself when something bad occurs. For example, you were looking forward to an evening out with friends but plans got cancelled. You believe the plans were cancelled because no one wanted to be around you.

Catastrophing – You always anticipate the worst. Something goes wong in you everyday life and you assume the remainder of your day will be a disaster. For example, you order coffee at the local drive-thru window, you pick-up, pay for the order, and leave. You sip the coffee to find it is bitter and black when you ordered sugar and cream – entire day ruined!

Polarizing – You see things as either good or bad – no middle ground. In your mind, if things aren’t perfect, then its a total failure. For example, you work extra hard on a school assignment and receive the grade of a “B” rather than the anticipated “A” for all of the hard work and sacrificing necessary to give the assignment all you got. You are downtrodden about the “B” because it wasn’t the coveted “A” rather than rejoicing in the fact that it still a good grade.

Here are some examples of negative self-talk turned positive from the Mayo Clinic’s website http:// www.mayoclinic.com: • I’ve never done that before –

It’s an opportunity to learn something new • I don’t have the resources – I’ll tackle it from a different angle • I’m too lazy to get this done – I will re-examine my priorities • There’s no way that will work! – I can try to make it work • No one communicates with me – I will open the channels of communication • I’m not good at this – I will give it another (and another, and another) try We can choose to focus on positive thinking is we so wish. The process to turn negative thinking and self-talk into positive thinking and self-talk is simple, yet it does require a bit of practice. If you are ready to change your channel and tune into the FM frequency here are a few ways to behave more positively: • Identify areas to change – what must change? What do you think negatively about?

• Check yourself – periodically stop and think about what you are thinking and feeling at that moment. Is it good or bad?

• Welcome humor – Laugh, smile, seek humor and joy in all aspects of your day.

• Follow a healthy lifestyle

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– eat healthy, get exercise & rest, and practice deep breathing • Surround yourself with positive people – DO NOT give negative people any space in your life. Only give space to those who support you and your endeavors.

• Practice positive self-talk – DO NOT say anything to yourself that you wouldn’t say to someone else. Give yourself the same respect & honor you offer others.

Set the dial to FM frequency today. The world needs more optimism and positivity. The world needs you to be the best you can possibly be. The world needs you to have the strength and focus to reach your fullest potential. The world needs you to help spread the light – spread the positivity.

Are you up for it? Are you up for contributing to what the world needs? Of course you are! Get up, get tuned in to FM, give the world your best, and watch the light spread!

“The one who is optimistic is able to spread the rays of happiness all around... He is able to enjoy seeing only this positive aspect, filling himself with positivity, the happiness spreads around and touches the lives of those around.” ~Brahma Kumaris a

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The Valley, August 2012

Life in the East End

by Rebecca Harrop

The news from the East End for August is that it has been HOT! It is a stressful time for people, livestock and crops. The cows don’t care for the heat any better than we do. It has been hard on cows coming fresh in July. The very high temperatures we have been having, combined with the lack of rain, has really been hurting our crops as well, especially the corn. A lot of times you will see corn stalks looking shrivelled during the daytime, but overnight they will uncurl and start the day fresh. When they start the day shrivelled, that’s not good. It depends on what type of ground the corn is planted in also.

Corn planted on shale ground dries out much quicker than corn planted on loamy ground. One of our neighbors has several fields that are pretty “shaley” and the corn on them looked just about dead the other week. It was that sickly green-gray color and all shrivelled up with a lot of brown leaves. Then we had almost an inch of rain that Sunday. Monday morning it was amazing the difference in those fields. Of course

by Tuesday they were looking pretty bad again.

The dryness is hard on corn, but the high temperatures can be hard as well. When it gets over 90 degrees, the corn often will not pollinate correctly. We have had several days where temperatures were over 90 so I’m sure we will see some decreased corn yields this year. Soybeans like dryer weather so they seem to be doing ok so far. However, I’m sure if it continues to be this dry it will affect them as well. Dad was telling us that the hay is really short this cutting. We started combining our wheat. Next the oats will need combined.

August is one of the busiest months of the year for me here in the East End. Along with all the activity on the farm there is the Mifflin County Youth Fair.

This is my last year to show as an FFA member, so I hope to do well. The Mifflin County Youth Fair will be August 6-11. It is the week all local 4-H and FFA kids look forward to all year. They get to show their animals and projects they have worked hard on all year.

In addition to still being a member of FFA, I am also a member of the

Open Show Committee. For those too young or too old for 4-H and FFA, the Open Show gives you the opportunity to enter something you grew or made during the year. Home gardeners can enter some of their vegetables, crafters can enter their items, farmers can enter some of their crops, and for the bakers and canners, there are several classes to enter your home produced goods. We have a special Angel Food Cake contest, Pa Preferred Chocolate Cake or Cookie, Brownie, & Bar contest, and a Blue Ribbon Apple Pie contest. We also have a “Scenes of Pa” photo contest, Scarecrow Decorating contest, Recyclables contest, and an Antique Farm Equipment contest. After judging on Tuesday, all the baked goods will be auctioned off Tuesday evening at 6:30pm during the Cash and Carry Baked goods auction. So if you like home-cooked baked goods and it is too hot in your kitchen, come out and see what we have.

The Livestock Auction will start at 10:00 am on Saturday, August 11th. So be sure to attend that and you can stock up your freezer for the winter. It’s also a good way to support the 4-H & FFA and it rewards the kids for all their hard work throughout the year. In addition to the animals available for purchase, there will be a 4-H Centennial quilt, a Dairy Feeder, some Fair Sill Sitters, and jars of homemade jam. These items will be auctioned to benefit the Penn Roosevelt Camp renovation project.

The Open Show Committee will have the collector baskets available again to purchase during the Fair. The Open Show Benefit Auction will be held August 11th starting at 6:00 pm. This auction benefits both the 4-H/FFA and the Open Show portions of the Fair.

Local businesses and individuals donate items, services or gift certificates for auction. We have a wide variety of items that will be on display starting the Wednesday evening of the Fair. Don Chesney’s Auctioneering website also will have a list of items posted with photos. Be sure to check out all the fun activities the Mifflin County Youth Fair has to offer.

August 18th is “A Day Of Community in The Valley” where the public can come and meet their favorite writers of The Valley. There will also be many other activities that day--free live music, workshops, and art! The 4-H Junior Leaders club will be running the 4-H Foodstand that day to raise money for their club.

I hope the see you at the Fair of The Valley event. a

Putting Worry in Perspective from page 6 are things to be concerned about, but that when we place the first things first, all the other things fall into place. Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness—engage in prayer, get involved in Bible study, gather with like-minded people for worship, practice spiritual disciplines—THEN all these things we are worried about will be given to us as well.

Does this mean we don’t need to prepare for the possibility of being without work? No. Does this mean we don’t need to pray for and encourage those who are without work? No. Does this

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mean we don’t need to pray for rain, especially for farmers and their crops? No. Does this mean we don’t need to pay attention to the behavior and record of political candidates? No. All of these things are the striving first things –all of these are the spiritual disciplines we need to practice—all of these are the things that make up God’s righteousness. THEN, all these things we are worried about will be given to us as well. a

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36

Cave Echoes

by Marge Delozier-Noss and Nikki Santangelo

Looking for some natural relief from your allergies?

Tired of being hooked to inhalers, prescriptive drugs and still feeling sluggish, low in energy, and poor in spirit from all of your allergies? Ready to try something else? Ready to try a more natural way of actual healing?

Halotherapy, also called salt therapy [“halos” in Greek means salt], is a drug-free and completely natural therapy with no side effects. It takes place in a controlled air environment that simulates the special microclimate of actual salt caves and salt mines.

Our cave in Burnham, PA is built with more than 7 tons of Himalayan salt. You will sit in the cave on a non-gravity lounge chair for 45 minutes and listen to very quiet music and have only very low lights on. It is very restful and restorative. But, beside feeling better, possibly giving you more energy, and detoxing your body a bit, it can also be very beneficial for your allergies.

An allergy is a reaction of a

person’s immune system. Allergies can be caused by harmless substances called allergens which provoke an exaggerated reaction from your body. Allergens may be in the form of pollens, dust mites, mold spores, pet dander, food, insect stings or even medicines.

Symptoms are displayed when your eyes, nose, lungs or skin are exposed to allergens. Allergy symptoms vary. It can cause allergic conjunctivitis, itchiness, and runny nose, sneezing, rashes, swelling. Inhaled allergens can lead to an asthmatic attack as a result of narrowing of airways and an increase in the amount of mucus in the lungs.

Halotherapy can provide relief by widening the airways of the respiratory tract. The micro particles of salt reach into every area in the lungs and destroy bacteria. This helps to reduce the inflammation of the respiratory tract and clear the blockages in the bronchi and bronchioles. The humidification and fluidization of the bronchial secretions brings re-

lief from bronchospasm and helps relieve asthma.

If you are suffering from allergy symptoms, salt therapy will help decrease the swelling of the “nasal mucosa” which causes nasal blockage. The airway passage of the nose will be widened and the sinuses drained, bringing you relief.

Himalayan salt is ani-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal, and anti-inflammatory. Salt therapy also reduces infection by killing bacteria. It will also improve your immune system.

Himalayan salt contains 84 mineral elements that the body needs. Some of these elements are needed in trace amounts. Ordinary table salt that is bought in the super markets has been stripped of its companion elements and contains additive elements such as aluminum silicate to keep it powdery and porous. Aluminum is a very toxic element in our nervous system. It is implicated as one of the primary causes of Alzheimer’s disease.

Himalayan salt hydrates the cells; it contains vital life energy, and charges bodily fluids with spare electrons. All these spare electrons make the salt a powerful antioxidant–and the only one that works everywhere in the body.

In addition, other antioxidants are enhanced in their effectiveness when in the presence of this special Himalayan salt.

LY said “I was skeptical at first that the cave really helped my allergies…and that of my grandson. We were visiting once a week for several weeks. Perhaps it was just a “coincidence” that we were feeling better. Then one week we were unable to get our schedules to work in a visit. I was so congested that following week and so was my grandson…we will not miss another week. I have been able to get off of many of my allergy meds, and all of the side effects!”

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Many times individuals will also choose to use a Himalayan Salt lamp in their home then to extend the benefits of the cave to their home or workplace.

The lamps are like taking a piece of the cave home with you. The lamps help people to sleep more soundly, many people report that snoring is stopped or greatly reduced, and again many of the symptoms of their allergies are lessened and sometimes removed all together. A lamp in the workplace is also an aid for better concentration and less fatigue. The lamps (like the cave) give off negative ions which help to balance your environment. Our computers, cell phones, TV’s, microwave ovens give off too many positive ions so a lamp helps to balance the environment.

You can take advantage of this therapy in our cave several ways. You can just sit in the cave on the non-gravity lounge chair for 45 minutes, or you can attend a yoga session which lasts for 2 hours and has all the benefits of the salt therapy plus the benefits of yoga at the same time, you could choose to have a massage in the cave (by yourself) and have

Continued on page 20

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The Valley, August 2012 US Healthcare from page 33

What this means is that there is so much money in the American health care system, we can control spending without having to ration care. No one seriously claims that France or Germany ration care. We could get down to their level of spending without forcing Americans to wait in lines for heart surgery or cataract removal. The truth is the United States is not getting 20 or 30 percent better health care or results than other countries. While there are peaks of greatness, especially at some of America’s leading academic health centers and in integrated health care plans, the quality is uneven. And quality is a problem that affects all of us, rich and poor. Almost no matter how we measure it — whether by life expectancy or by survival for specific diseases like asthma, heart disease or some cancers; by the rate of medical errors; or simply by satisfaction with health services — the United States is actually doing worse than a number of countries, like France and Germany, that spend considerably less.

This level of spending on health care is high, but is it worth it? Does it make us healthier?

Even if you do not like comparing the United States with Europe, it

is widely acknowledged that within the United States there is no clear link between higher spending on health care and longer life, less disability or better quality of life. A 2003 study published in Annals of Internal Medicine found that Medicare patients who lived in areas with higher health care spending did not get better results.

In some cases, more spending even appears to equal poorer health. A 2004 study in Health Affairs found that there was actually worse care in states with higher Medicare spending. The $2.6 trillion the United States is spending on health care is too much, and we can reduce it without rationing or sacrificing quality.” http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes. com/2011/10/27/spending-moredoesnt-make-us-healthier/ Now, that we’ve established that the US spends a lot more on healthcare than any other country, we can ask if it is worth it. Is it working?

“The infant mortality rate (IMR) is one of the most important indicators of the socioeconomic well-being and public health conditions of a country.

The US childhood immunization schedule specifies 26 vaccine doses for infants aged less than 1 year—the most in the world—yet 33 nations have lower IMRs.” What this means is that if we rank

the best countries in the world on how well infants live, we are doing a horrible job!!! The United States doesn’t rank in the top 5, the top 10, the top 20 or even the top 30 countries in the world!

We rank 34th!!! Vaccinations are obviously not the answer. “The infant mortality rate (IMR) is one of the most important measures of child health and overall development in countries. Clean water, increased nutritional measures, better sanitation, and easy access to health care contribute the most to improving infant mortality rates in unclean, undernourished, and impoverished regions of the

world. In developing nations, IMRs are high because these basic necessities for infant survival are lacking or unevenly distributed.

Infectious and communicable diseases are more common in developing countries as well, though sound sanitary practices and proper nutrition would do much to prevent them. The World Health Organization (WHO) attributes 7 out of 10 childhood deaths in developing countries to five main causes: pneumonia, diarrhea, measles, malaria, and malnutrition—the latter greatly affecting all the others.

Table 1. 2009 Infant mortality rates, top 34 nations Rank Country IMR

Rank Country IMR

Rank Country IMR

1. Singapore 2.31

14. Israel 4.22

27. Monaco 5.00

3. Japan 2.79

16. Slovenia 4.25

29. Ireland 5.05

5. France 3.33

2. Sweden 2.75

4. Iceland 3.23

6. Finland 3.47

7. Norway 3.58

8. Malta 3.75

9. Andorra 3.76

10. Czech Republic 3.79 11. Germany 3.99

13. Spain 4.21

12. Switzerland 4.18

15. Liechtenstein 4.25 17. South Korea 4.26 18. Denmark 4.34 19. Austria 4.42

20. Belgium 4.44

21. Luxembourg 4.56 22. Netherlands 4.73

28. Canada 5.04 30. Greece 5.16 31. Italy 5.51

32. San Marino 5.53 33. Cuba 5.82

34. United States 6.22

23. Australia 4.75 24. Portugal 4.78

25. United Kingdom 4.85 26. New Zealand 4.92

CIA. Country comparison: infant mortality rate (2009). The World Factbook. www.cia.gov (Data last updated 13 April 2010).8

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The Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) is expressed as the number of infant deaths per 1000 live births. According to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which keeps accurate, up-to-date infant mortality statistics throughout the world, in 2009 there were 33 nations with better infant mortality rates than the United States (Table 1). The US infant mortality rate of 6.22 infant deaths per 1000 live births ranked 34th.”

The Top 8 Countries with the Best IMR were also in the top 10 for least vaccinations administered before the age of 1 among the top 34 for IMR. Coincidence?

Therefore, we know that our country spends a lot more money than any other country in the world on healthcare. When it comes to caring for our infants, we are failing miserably! More money spent does not equal better health for our youngest population. What is going on is not acceptable. Considering that list of top 34 countries for infant mortality, the United States ranked below the other 33 countries and ranked the highest of the same amount of countries for the number of vaccines given during the first year of life. The top 5 countries only gave 12 doses per year. The United States gives

Continued on page 38

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Ed’s Railroading News

by Ed Forsythe

Hello again. As I lay in bed thinking about just what to write about this month I remembered a subject I’ve thought about several times. There’s a lot of old abandoned railroad beds that are no longer being used in the U.S. One of the first that I ever hiked on is the one that was incorporated into part of the Mid-State Trail long before the great project of Railsto-Trails ever got started.

This short piece of roadbed runs along a section of Penns Creek in the Poe Paddy State Park area and runs through the Paddy Mountain Railroad Tunnel that cuts off about a mile of walking if you take it instead of the trail along the creek. The tunnel dates back to the late1800s and is about 250 feet long. I first got to hike this area while backpacking with Boy Scout Troop 15 of Yeagertown back in the early 1980s. I remember having to use my flashlight to see above and

all around me to look at how the tunnel had been hand-carved through the mountain. You cannot see end-to- end as the tunnel actually curves around the inside end of the mountain. You can visit this neat piece of railroad history easily by traveling to Poe Paddy State Park, walking across the old railroad bridge (that decking has been added to) and almost immediately entering the old tunnel. In the summer many people have fun tubing on Penns Creek and walking back through the tunnel time and time again. Many hunters have used the tunnel in the fall and winter and fishermen use it all year long. It’s also used by bicycle enthusiasts as they bike hike through the area. I wonder if many think about how and why this shortcut got there in the first place. If you go there sometime, take time to study the inside of the tunnel and see first hand how it was hand-cut through the moun-

tain rock. Unfortunately, several years ago part of the tunnel did collapse a bit, but it was reopened by digging through the collapsed part and inserting a tube that can be walked through. The end that did not fall is still a good place to study and see what it once looked like end-to-end. When I first saw it I was amazed that the soot from the old steam engines was still there covering the rocks. A search on Google of “poe paddy tunnel” has some really great pictures.

Another old rail line right here in Mifflin County is the line that runs along the Kish Creek in the Reedsville Narrows. This roadbed is part of the old Mifflin and Centre County Railroad from the 1860s. It was eventually also used by the Pennsy Railroad and the old Kish Valley Railroad. It was a means to serve the Lewistown to Reedsville to Milroy area. Even though it was never completed, there were thoughts of continuing it over the mountain to Bellefonte from this side of the mountain instead of from Tyrone.

Major obstacles and costs made it impractical to continue with such a venture back then. Today we have a four lane highway where

Home Brew U

Adventures in Homebrewing

by Kevin Morgan

Getting Creative from the Cupboard

In past articles I have discussed using herbs that you can grow yourself and foraging for certain wild ingredients to toss into the brew pot. This month I thought we could talk about another place to find some interesting things to give your brew a little personality. That place would be your cabinets in your kitchen. We all purchase ingredients for recipes that we want to make for supper and we usually do not use all of a certain ingredient. Then that ingredient just sits in the cupboard and eventually it gets thrown in the trash. Do not miss this opportunity to juice up your beer.

If you are brewing a basic light-colored beer, look for ingredients that can add flavor or a little bit of color. Coriander is something that many of us have bought and never used. Crushing these seeds and adding them to a brew can add an earthy taste to the brew. Coriander was in fact a common ingredient to colonial

beers. It will also cause the beer to become cloudy something that many people thrive for in a wheat beer.

If you have brewed up a darker beer, look to the cupboard to add flavor and/or aroma. Baker’s chocolate is something that you can sometimes find. It works well in a stout. While you are at it, try a little vanilla extract to smooth out the flavor in that stout. If you want to ramp up the bitterness of a stout, try adding a pot of coffee to it. If you made a brown ale, you can add maple syrup to it to add flavor. Be forewarned on the syrup though, it will increase the overall alcohol content. Something that I have had a lot of success with is bottling the beer with a flavored liqueur. Something like Chambord or Amaretto works well and really adds a great flavor and aroma to a dark beer. Instead of mixing the priming sugar with a cup of boiled water, use a cup of boiled liqueur instead.

There has been one cupboard

ingredient that I have leaned on over the years that works universally in light-colored and darkcolored brews—tea bags. How many times have you been sick, bought some tea to comfort you through the sniffles and sneezes, and then it just sits in the cupboard. In lighted-colored beers look to the zinger herb teas, and for your darker beers, reach for the spiced teas. I have found that eight tea bags for a five gallon batch adds the necessary zest while not over powering the beer.

The possibilities are endless.

Spiced apple tea for a brown ale, wild berry zinger tea for a American lager, or chai tea for porter.

Your cupboard contains endless opportunities to concoct a unique brew. It is up to you to experiment with the amount you think works best in each brew.

A good rule to thumb is if it has powerful smell, it will have a powerful taste such as peppermint extract. So start out with a moderate amount because you

at one time only horse drawn wagons traveled.

In addition to the mainline railroads, there were thousands of miles of temporary logging tramways through all of Pennsylvania. Many of these old roadbeds were from the days when logging was king. Imagine all the mountains around us being barren of trees. This was known as the “lumbermen shave.” Everything was clear cut. Thankfully we had men like Rothrock that realized forests needed to be replanted and protected. Somewhere in the Panther Hollow area there is still the remnants of an old steam engine that rolled over the mountain side and was abandoned due to the damange done to it and the difficulty in retrieving it. While backpacking I was never lucky enough to find it. This is only one of the three lost engines of the Seven Mountains.

When I first went hunting as a youngster in the Licking Creek area of Juniata County, I was surprised at how many old logging roads were on those mountains.

They were fun to hunt and hike

Continued on page 44 can always add more to the recipe next time. So next time you buy ingredients and see that a bland American Wheat kit is on sale, do not frown at the idea of purchasing it. Imagine the possibilities that await you when you open up your kitchen cabinets. a

Coriander seeds are something that most folks have in their spice cabinet.

US Healthcare from page 37 26 doses during the first year, which is two doses higher than number 33. So, we rank below 33 other countries for the health of our infants while giving the most vaccines. So, is vaccinating babies working? “All nations—rich and poor, advanced and developing— have an obligation to determine whether their immunization schedules are achieving their desired goals.” What do you think?

Are we achieving our desired goals? I guess we are if our goals are to be below 33 other coun-

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tries. I am open to hearing what you think. Do you agree with me?

Disagree with me? Do you have any suggestions on what we can do to be better? I will be at our event, “A Day of Community in The Valley,” on Saturday, August 18 to meet people and answer any questions you may have and I will also be doing our Patient Appreciation Day for all the patients of my practice where I will be giving free chiropractic adjustments to current patients who donate canned goods. All are invited! http://www.nvic.org/pdfs/infantmortality-study.aspx Dr. Joseph Kauffman Kauffman-Hummel Chiropractic Clinic a

The Valley, August 2012

I gained 50 pounds ...and love it! www.families4kids.org 800-568-6449

foster parent or adopt...you’ll love it too!

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The Valley, August 2012

The Road to Faster Recovery CHOOSE

Celebrating Top 10 Clinical Rank Among HealthSouth Hospitals – 2 Consecutive Years!

Rehabilitation Worth the Drive

550 West College Avenue • Pleasant Gap PA 16823 • 814 359-3421

©2012 HealthSouth Corporation:517290-09

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The Valley, August 2012

Notes

by Jennifer Gilbert, D.O.

-- CALENDAR ANNOUNCEMENT -Anyone interested in helping with the Alzheimer’s Walk should call Clay MacTarnaghan at (717) 437-1826.

The Alzheimer’s Association’s annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s will take place on September 29, 2012 at Derry Park in Lewistown. Families, friends and individuals touched by Alzheimer’s from surrounding areas are invited to participate in this year’s event to raise awareness and funds to fight the disease.

Log on to http://act.alz.org/mifflinjuniatacounties2012 to register. a

Bariatric Surgery Support Group Meetings will resume on August 16, 2012, from 6-7pm at Lewistown Hospital in Classroom 4.

The group meets every third Thursday of the month from 6-7pm. Sessions are moderated by Virginia M. Wray, DO, CNSP. For more information on the FHA Center for Weight Management and Nutrition, call (717) 242-7099, or log onto www.myfamilyhealthassociates.com a

Family Health Associates Welcomes Dr. Recalde Family Health Associates (FHA) would like to announce that Carlos M. Recalde, MD, who specializes in Otolaryngology (Ear, Nose and Throat), will be joining FHA effective August 1, 2012. There will be no scheduling changes for Dr. Recalde’s current patients. The practice will remain in its current location at 307 Fourth Street, Lewistown, and the office phone number will not change. Letters are being mailed out to current patients with more details.

If you have any questions, please call the office at (717) 248-9694. a

Hellgramites from page 14 carries them and deposits them on your screen where they will stay until you lift the screen out of the water. Don’t wait too long— remember, they can crawl fairly quickly while on your screen.

There are a few things to keep in mind when fabricating

Understanding Chronic Pain

your screen. Either side of the screen should be bent at a slight angle to prevent the current from washing your prize around the side of your screen. Clear vinyl tubing secured around the edge of your screen protects hands from sharp edges and provides a better seal on the bottom of the screen to the bottom of the stream. Also

My finished Hellgramite screen, start to finish after the frame was welded took about an hour. Although size really isn’t critical, this screen is 36” high by 38” wide. Built like this, this screen would last anyone a lifetime.

Millions of people suffer every year from chronic pain, defined as persistent pain that lasts longer than six months. According to the National Institute of Health, “acute pain is a normal sensation in the nervous system to alert you to possible injury and the need to take care of yourself; chronic pain is different. Chronic pain persists.” With chronic pain, pain signals keep firing for weeks, months and even years. Often, this affects the patient both emotionally and physically.

The most common chronic pain complaints include low back pain, headache, cancer pain, neurologic pain, arthritis pain, or psychogenic pain, i.e. pain not due to a past injury or any visible sign of damage inside or outside the nervous system. Often, there may have been an initial injury, trauma, or a serious infection that precipitated the pain episode. In other cases, pain is caused by degenerative conditions such as arthritis, stress to joints from sports or overuse (such as carpel tunnel syndrome), or pain from a debilitating illness like cancer.

Patients suffering from chronic pain often develop other conditions that affect their physical and emotional well being. Many withdraw from normal activities and may exhibit uncharacteristic mood changes, depression or anxiety. Sleeplessness is common in patients with chronic pain; others develop conditions like a weakened immune system.

A wide array of treatment options are available today for patients who suffer with chronic pain. A specialist in chronic pain may recommend a combination of medications along with other treatments. At a pain clinic, a team of physicians and clinicians evaluate each patient to determine the overall scope of the pain. A care plan is then developed to address both the physical aspects of the pain and the psychological toll the pain is taking on the patient.

To address the physical aspect of pain, patients may benefit from epidural blocks administered to block the transmission of pain messages along the nerve pathways. For joint pain, a physician may recommend an injection of

cortisone or other drugs directly into the joint. Another option is a spinal cord stimulator, which delivers an impulse along the spinal cord that changes the way the brain perceives the painful signal. Relaxation techniques and counseling can also help patients deal with the emotional aspects of living with chronic pain. Physical therapy and surgery can also be effective.

The bottom line is, chronic pain should not be ignored. There is no reason for a patient to suffer when so many options are available to reduce or eliminate the feeling of pain.

Jennifer Gilbert, D.O., is board certified in anesthesiology and pain management and practices at Mount Nittany Pain Management Clinic, State College. For info call 814-237-3360 or visit www. mountnittany.org. a

remember the habitat for future collecting and place the rocks you turn, back in such a position as to make it easy for other Hellgramites to make use of the same rocks. In short, try to leave the bottom as you found it, or better. Create riffles and bars by placing the rocks in such a manner as to create many ambush points for the Helgies.

Carry out any trash you might find, and be very careful of broken glass, which is another good reason to wear the dish washing gloves. An old pair of shoes or sneakers will help to protect your feet. I usually round out the Yours truly working a stream for Hellgramites. This actually is attire with a pair of shorts and proper form, and also a testament to the fact that a few hours of a t-shirt. It’s not any more this ends up causing a sore back. complicated than that. for a few days, damp, crumpledwater as it gets dirty.

Next, find a nice sandy/ up newspaper on the bottom of

If you don’t mind a little gravely bottom and go collect a plastic bin will work fine.

For work, the rewards are many. Go yourself some expensive bait for longer keeping, a fish aquarium discover Hellgramites for yourself free. Then, put the fish on warnwith an air stone and stones this month, but first make sure ing that their time has come to placed on the bottom for them to you have some fish breader in the grace your dinner plate. cling to will enable you to keep cupboard. a

Hellgramites are easy to keep them for weeks—just change the in captivity. If only keeping them

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The Valley, August 2012

42

POOR WILL’S VALLEY ALMANACK for August of 2012

Take Stock in August, Count your Days.

Measure the Harvest, The Hours of Sunlight.

--Celtus THE STARS The Summer Triangle is the stellar gauge of summer. Accompanied by the southern end of the Milky Way, it dominates the evenings of August. Its triple constellations, Lyra, Cygnus and Aquila, contain three prominent capstone stars, Vega, Deneb and Altair, which form a giant triangle.

THE METEORS The Perseid meteors reach their best on August 12 and 13. The waning crescent moon may keep some of these shooting stars from view.

THE PLANETS Jupiter rises just after midnight, almost overhead and following the Pleiades by the time Venus rises several hours later in Gemini.

Mars, in Virgo, is visible after sundown, low in the southwest.

Saturn in Virgo is low in the west at sundown.

LATE SUMMER LUNAR PHASE AND LORE The Monarch Butterfly Moon becomes full at 10:27 p.m. on August 1. Rising in the evening and setting in the morning, this moon is overhead in the middle of the night. When the moon moves above you, it is thought to be most powerful: fish often bite more at that time, and dieters experience more problems. Lunar influence should be strongest at night when the cool front of August 4 approaches, pushing down the barometer. Tidal and lunar influences have been shown to be greater at full moon and new moon times.

You might expect more trouble with your flock, herd, spouse, parents or children, therefore, on or about August 1, 17 and 31.

Since the moon may exert less influence on ocean tides and on human and animal behavior when it comes into its 2nd and 4th quarters, it might make more sense to transport your animals or perform routine maintenance on your livestock on or about August 9 and 24.

THE SUN Cross-Quarter Day, August 22, marks the halfway point between summer solstice and autumn equinox. The sun enters Virgo on the same day. Having fallen just five and a half degrees between summer solstice and August 1 (from a declination of 23 degrees 26 minutes to a declination of 18 degrees), the sun now accelerates its retreat from Middle Summer to one degree every three days, and it holds that rate of decline through September, after which the nights lengthen even more rapidly.

WEATHER PATTERNS The Dog Days usually continue this week of the year throughout the country, the daily possibility of highs in the 80s and 90s remaining near July levels. August 3, 4, and 5 are the last days of the summer on which there is a full 40 percent chance of highs in the 90s, and chances for highs in the 80s are steady at around 50 percent. Cool days do occur 15 to 25 percent of the years, and afternoons only in the 60s are occasionally recorded between August 2 and 11. Morning lows are typically in the 60s, although one fourth of the nights carry temperatures into the middle 50s.

August’s wind speed is the lowest of the year, and humidity is the highest, an average of about 80 percent after sundown.

AUGUST - WEEK 1 THE TRANSITION WEEK TO

AUGUST - WEEK 2 THE SECOND WEEK OF

LATE SUMMER LUNAR PHASE AND LORE The Monarch Butterfly Moon wanes throughout the week, entering its final quarter on August 9 at 1:55 p.m. Rising in the evening and setting in the middle of the day this moon is overhead near dawn. Lunar position favors morning fishing during this almanack period; dieting, however, will be more difficult at breakfast time. The moon will be even more influential near sunup as the August 10 cool front approaches and barometric pressure falls. The moon’s passage through Taurus on the 8th through the 10th should encourage the growth of root crops and the survival of new shrubs and trees set out at that time. The moon’s weak phase (between full moon and new moon) may contribute to relatively peaceful vacations and mellow times at home and work.

WEATHER TRENDS Weather statistics continue relatively stable for this second week of the month: 50 percent of the afternoons are in the 80s, twentyfive percent in the 90s and another 25 percent in the 70s. Rainfall is typically light, with the 9th, 12th, 13th, and 14th carrying just a ten to 15 percent chance for a shower.

At the arrival of the August 10 cold front, however, the 10th and 11th have a 40 percent chance for precipitation as well as the slight possibility of a high only in the 60s for the first time since July 13.

And within the next seven days, lows reach into the 40s fifteen times more often than they do during the first week of August.

AUGUST - WEEK 3 THE THIRD WEEK OF LATE SUMMER LUNAR PHASE AND LORE The Monarch Butterfly Moon wanes until it becomes the Hickory Horned Devil Moon at 10:54 a.m. on August 17.

Partial to the leaves of hickory, black walnut, ash and sycamore,

the giant caterpillar of the Regal Moth (often called the Hickory Horned Devil because of its hornlike spines) prowls the woods in Late Summer and Early Fall. In spite of its fierce appearance, this caterpillar is gentle and easily handled. This new moon rises after midnight and sets in the late afternoon and evening, moving overhead near the middle of the day. The dark moon favors autumn planting throughout the week. Midday fishing, with the moon above you, is expected to produce the most fish, especially as the barometer falls in advance of the August 17 cool front.

WEATHER TRENDS This is the week when frost becomes likely in the northern states; snow even occurs at the upper elevations in the Rocky mountains and in Canada. Across the Plains, the Midwest, and the East, the third major high pressure system of the month brings chances for highs in the 70s a full 40 percent of the time on August 24, the first time since July 6th that odds have been so good for milder weather. As that cool front moves east, the period between August 25 and August 27 usually brings a return of warmer temperatures in the 80s or 90s.

WEATHER TRENDS The weather in the third week of August brings highs in the 90s on 15 to 20 percent of the afternoons, milder 80s fifty-five percent of the time, and cool 70s the remaining 25 percent. The 19th of the month, however, breaks from the pattern many years, and it has the highest frequency of 90s (35 percent chance) of any other day in the week. Chances for rain increase from 25 percent at the beginning of the period to 30 percent by August 21, then drop abruptly to just ten percent on the 22nd.

A DAYBOOK FOR AUGUST August 1: Sodding and seeding of the lawn is often done before the cool growing time of fall. Do that work as the moon waxes between August 17 and the 31. But be ready for allergic attacks: ragweed time has begun.

August 2: When honeysuckle berries ripen, and hickory nuts and black walnuts drop into the undergrowth, then dig your potatoes. When you hear robins make their clucking migration calls, then make corrective lime and fertilizer applications for August and September seeding.

August 3: Drought, heat and age contribute to declining nutritional value in grasses by this time of the summer. Variety in browse offers chances for better nourishment to your flock and herd.

August 4: After the August 4 weather system moves across the land, the likelihood for highs in the 90s begins a steady decline across Pennsylvania, and the possibility for a high only in the 60s increases.

August 5: Feed thyme, mint, and clover to your does and ewes to enhance their summer and fall breeding. Let the animals trim back your wild black raspberries, too. Grass hay can be a good substitute for legume hay at this time of year, but be sure to supplement it with grain and miner-

AUGUST - WEEK 4 THE FOURTH WEEK OF LATE SUMMER LUNAR PHASE AND LORE The Hickory Horned Devil Moon waxes throughout the week, entering its second quarter at 8:54 a.m. on August 24. Rising in the morning and setting at night, the moon will move overhead late in the afternoon. Lunar position in Scorpio on the 22nd through the 24th will favor the setting in of autumn transplants and the seeding of perennials and greens for next spring. The most favorable time for angling should occur with the moon above you just before supper, especially as the last two cool fronts of August approach Pennsylvania

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The Valley, August 2012 als. Honeysuckle leaves and buds contain more crude protein for your animals than most fescue, alfalfa, or Bermuda hay. Other good sources of protein are hackberry and persimmons.

August 6: Keep carrots, oats, bran, iodized salt and good greens on hand to invigorate bucks as the breeding season opens. But keep male goats away from the legumes later in the season; that form of feed may cut down on fertility.

August 7: The approaching cool front begins the transition from summer stability to autumn unpredictability. Sudden cold snaps and strong winds can now chill your animals in no time at all.

August 8: In the second week of August, average temperatures start to drop between one and two degrees per week until September 10, when they decline about a degree every three days into January. Although declines are more rapid in the North, almost every region of the country experiences a temperature shift this month.

August 9: The moon enters its final quarter today. Trim the feet on the goats and sheep too. Check everyone for fleas and ticks. Take your show animals to the fair or home again because lunar stress will not get this low again until the last week of the month. As for the other stuff in your life, act now while your head is clear. Buy the tractor or car you need. Ask your significant other to marry you. Decide to go back to school.

August 10: If you are looking for two or three dry days in a row for haying or harvesting, try during the first days of the month, and then after the August 10 cold front. The passage of high-pressure systems around 18th and 29th should also be followed by at least 48 hours of dry conditions.

August 11: The weak moon helps to make this week a good time to take a vacation or spend the afternoon with friends and family.

The weak moon also favors major life decisions and decisions about love or money.

August 12: Pansy time is here for the autumn pansy market. Garlic planting time begins along the Canadian border from Washington to Maine.

August 13: When the last of the garden phlox die back, then ragweed time winds down and the year’s final tier of wildflowers is budding: beggarticks, bur marigolds, asters and zigzag goldenrod. And that means that the first very light frost can be just a couple of weeks away.

August 14: Elderberries and wild grapes should now be perfect for juice and wine. Mum-selling

time is approachingfor the mum growers.

August 15: August and September are soil-testing months - both for your fall and winter garden as well as for the fields in which you intend to sow winter wheat and rye, alfalfa, clover and timothy.

Plant or renew pasture in September or October for April and May. August 16: Daylight is now shrinking by over two minutes every day, but it’s not too late to plan pasture improvements. Your herd or flock can graze an area close now, and then you can fertilize and seed those fields in early spring with a legume.

August 17: The Hickory Horned Devil Moon is new today, signaling the very last best lunar time for seeding autumn greens and root crops. As the moon waxes, put in your viola and pansy seeds for spring flowers. Plant your fall peas. Put out cabbage, kale and collard sets. Seed the lawn.

Gather up the winter squash plants as their stems dry, leaving about two inches of stem on the fruit; store in a cool, dry location.

As Late Summer deepens, the chances for light frost increase at higher elevations. Humidity, however, builds up at lower elevations in the state, and heat in the 80s and 90s is still the rule.

August 18: After you pick the last of the elderberries, then scout the fields for second brood corn borers, the second generation of bean leaf beetles and rootworm beetles.

August 19: Prepare the soil for the planting of winter grains. Then look for the first puffball mushroom of the year to swell in the cool, damp nights. Lunar conditions for pet and livestock care improve as the moon moves towards its second quarter. Animals should be less skittish, slightly easier to approach and work with.

August 20: Black walnut foliage is thinning, foretaste of the great annual leafdrop, which begins in only 60 days.

August 21: The earlier in the week you can transport and work with your animals, the better they should respond. And the 24th, as the moon enters its second quarter, should be the best day of all for those activities.

August 22: Today is CrossQuarter Day: it marks the halfway point to autumn equinox (only six and a half weeks away). CrossQuarter Day also is the average date for the strongest cool front of Late Summer.

August 23: In the Deep South high temperatures can fall into the 70s at this time of month. In the central counties of Pennsylvania, highs in the 60s are possible.

Along the Canadian border, watch out for 50s - and the first chance this month for light frost!

August 24: The moon enters its second quarter today, its weakest position (between the more potent new and full moons). Pick wild plums, elderberries, pears, apples, blackberries, and everbearing strawberries while the moon is still waxing and filling them with juice (between now and the 31st).

August 25: Perennials, shrubs and trees may be fertilized this month to encourage improved flowering next spring and summer.

August 26: After the passage of a late-summer cool front, do your pre-winter maintenance of barn and outbuildings. Complete painting and repairs, and clean out bedding, water containers and feeders. Use a good dairy disinfectant and let the area dry out before allowing the animals back in.

August 27: Don’t forget to include winter bedding material in with your flock and herd’s supply requirements for the coming months. Vaccinate your lambs for enterotoxemia before you let them out to clean up the cornfields after harvest. Be especially careful with your pregnant ewes during cold snaps, as environmental stress can induce abortion. Cut corn for silage after completing the second and third cuts of hay. Dig potatoes and pick commercial tomato plants clean.

August 28: As the final cool wave of August arrives, the likelihood for chilly highs only the 60s or 70s climbs sharply. August 30th is typically the coldest day of the month.

August 29: In addition to the increase in the length of the night, the average amount of cloud cover begins to grow as fall approaches.

Hormonal fluctuations take place in livestock as these events occur; since humans also experience a physiological shift during this period, a daily journal of diet, emotions and symptoms of illness can be especially useful.

August 30: This week may be a difficult one for animals at the fair – since the next few days will be deeply influenced by full moon on the 31st. And if your children (or parents) are starting back to school, be prepared for anxiety and stress.

August 31: Today is full-moon day, and lunar pressures and the pressures of the season are likely to push hard against many people.

The end of August brings the end of summer’s possibilities and projects. Nostalgia often accompanies the steady transformation of the landscape. Memories proliferate,

the mind traveling back through the concentric circles of the years, sorting and ruminating.

ALMANACK LITERATURE SUDDEN FEAR IN THE OUTHOUSE (The first entry in the Last Great Outhouse Story Contest)

by Noel J. Brumage Mitchell, IN

In 1958 we moved from way out in the county to town.

Little did I realize this would be a traumatic experience. When we were out in the country, we only had a one-holer outhouse, as they were called. But I guess when we moved into town we became more civilized and the house we moved to had a two-holer. I, to this day, do not understand that - to be setting next to someone in an outhouse doing your business and someone setting right beside you.

At any rate, when we were out in the country, we had chickens and they ran loose everywhere. When we moved into town, the same held true for where we were because our neighbor had them. Little did I know that there was a hole in the back of the outhouse, and that the chickens liked to get in there.

One day, when I went out to take a load off, I was given quite a surprise. When I sat down with my bare bottom exposed, as well as my manhood, I felt something peck me on the rear, and the next thing I knew, a chicken came flying up out of the adjacent hole, squawking, and it happened so fast it scared me to death.

I came out of the outhouse on the fly. It scared me so bad that from that day forward I would not go into the outhouse. I would lean up against the outside or go into the woods, but I was scared so bad I would not use the outhouse again. I think that was what prompted my parents to get indoor

Caving Mifflin County from page 45

It could be possible.

Now for the bad news. Due to the entrance sinkhole being moderately dangerous and being difficult to see because of the thick brush surrounding it, the property owner wishes to close it by filling it in with stone so no one accidentally falls in it. I am currently mapping and photographing as much of this cave as I can to share with future generations before it is closed permanently.

If you would like to join us on one of our caving outings, please

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plumbing because it was less than six months after my experience that we had an indoor toilet and a new bathroom that I could use.

Listen to Bill Felker’s weekly “Poor Will’s Almanack” on podcast any time at www.wyso. org. And Bill’s website, www. poorwillsalmanack.com, contains weekly updates and a sizable bank of information about nature. His organization of weather patterns and phenology (what happens when in nature) offers a unique structure for understanding the repeating rhythms of the year.

Bill lives with his wife in Yellow Springs, Ohio. They have two daughters, Jeni, who is a psychologist in Portland, Oregon, and Neysa, a photographer in Spoleto, Italy.

POOR WILL ANNOUNCES EXTENSION OF THE LAST GREAT OUTHOUSE STORY CONTEST! Twenty years have passed since the first Almanack outhouse story contest, and people who have experienced the adventure of a real outdoor privy are not as plentiful as they used to be. So now is the time to talk to Granny and to Great-Uncle Leroy and get them to tell you the way it really was.

Funny stories are best, and length should be less than 300 words.

Chamber pot stories accepted!

The grand prize winner will take home $50.00, and the top five runners up will receive $7.00 each.

But hurry! This contest has been extended, but it will only last until September 30. Send your outhouse tales to Poor Will, P.O. Box 431, Yellow Springs, OH 45387.

Or email them to wlfelker@gmail. com. Selected stories will appear in Poor Will’s Almanack for 2013 and may appear in other Poor Will columns. a

call 717-348-6383 to sign up. See you at the youth park on August 18th. Until next time..

Cave Safe, Todd K. a

Free Live Music August 18th Reedsville Youth Park

The Valley, August 2012

44

The Udder Truth

by He ather Wasson Centre Count y Dair y Princess

“I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!” As Ice Cream month (July) comes to an end, I hope you all enjoyed as much of this delicious treat as you desired over the past month. With the long hot days of summer continuing for a little while longer, there is no better way to cool off your day than with a large bowl of your favorite flavor.

As August is upon us, that means county fairs are popping up in full force all around us. As you travel from fair to fair, be sure to always make a special trip to the dairy barns to show your support to Pennsylvania’s dairy industry.

As you walk through the barns, you are sure to see the hard work and dedication that this year’s class of 4-H and FFA members have exhibited. All of these future agriculturalists know that nutritious diets, healthy living conditions and good medical care are all essential for a healthy herd of dairy cows. Seeing how they care for their animals first-hand is truly a remarkable sight.

Are you unable to make if to a county fair this year? That’s fine; you can still support the dairy industry of Pennsylvania by consuming the products that dairy

farmers work long hours to produce. If you’re looking for a new way to incorporate dairy into your diet, please enjoy the following recipe that my family and I enjoy often this time of year.

Blueberry Delight 1 c. Graham Cracker Crumbs 2 Eggs ½ c. Sugar 3/8 c. Sugar ½ c. Melted BUTTER 1 Can Blueberry Pie Filling 8 oz. CREAM CHEESE (softened) Whipped Cream

Mix graham cracker crumbs, ½ cup sugar, butter and spread in 9 by 13” pan. Mix cream cheese, eggs and 3/8 cup sugar with electric mixer until smooth. Spread over crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Cool completely.

Spread can of blueberry pie filling over the top. Top with whipped cream Butter Peach Coffee Cake Coffee Cake Ingredients 1 ¾ cup flour 1 cup sugar 1 cup butter softened

4 eggs 2 tsp. baking powder 2 tsp. grated lemon peel Topping Ingredients 3 ½ cups of slice peaches 1/3 cup butter 1 cup flour ¼ cup sugar 1tbsp. grated lemon peel

Heat oven to 325 in large bowl combine all coffee cake ingredients. Beat at low speed until well mixed. Spread into greased 13x9 baking pan. TOPPING: Arrange peach slices over the batter.

In 1 quart sauce pan, melt butter and stir in remain topping ingredients. Crumble over peaches.

Bake 40 to 50 mins or until lightly brown. Serve warm. a

Ed’s Railroading News from page 38 on and to see the craftsmanship that went into building something sturdy that would hold the heavy engines and the log, ore or rock cars on the trains. That must have been some very hard work to do

in the days of building this great nation of ours. Another area that’s nearby is the 1000 Steps in Huntingdon County, just west of Mt. Union on Route 22. There’s a large parking area at the bottom of the mountain with signs leading to the steps. These 1043 flat cut and well worn rock steps were put into the mountain for the workers to walk up and down when they were working for the HarbisonWalker Corp. Several of these steps are made of or have fossils in them from the silica mines. At one time, there were six incline planes plus the railroad tracks carrying silica down the mountain to the Mt. Union brick factories.

This is another fun area to visit that has railroading history as the workers were mining silica from the mountain and shipping it over the valley on a high trestle bridge to Mt. Union where it was used in brick making. When you go to hike up the steps, you will find that the railroad roadbeds went sloping upward in one direction, then went sloping upward the other direction, switch-back style, to gain altitude until reaching the top where there is still an old engine house. Service work was done at the engine house and the engine stayed there over night. The rock steps were installed between these roadbeds to make it easier for the men to climb to work instead of switch-backing along the roadbed and to keep from sliding down as they returned home after a long hard day of work. I’ve been told, but doubt it happened too much, that the steps were also used by wives bringing lunch to their hard working man.

Well, I started out thinking about the rail line that runs from Lewistown Junction, through Lewistown, across the trestle behind the old county home, past the “High Bridge” that’s been gone longer than most anyone can remember, out to Scrappytown (now Krentzmans recycling center) and all the way down the valley to Sunbury. As I’ve had the opportunity to travel along this line I’ve noticed that some of it has been developed into walking trails for all to enjoy. A lot of this line however, is very much overgrown and returning to nature. It too is interesting to watch as time marches on and nature reclaims what was once a very busy rail line with heavy steam engines, passenger cars loaded with people traveling, boxcars, tankers, hoppers, gondolas, and such all being used to carry goods of one kind or another, surely followed by a little red caboose. Ah, the good old

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days. Did you know that it was on this line that the Pennsy Railroad first used automatic signals to control the flow of trains since it was just a single line with a few passing sidings and had as many as 60 trains a day running on it?

These are just a few of the Rails-to-Trails that are available to visit safely, but please remember, Do Not walk or play along a still used railroad right-a-way as it is a violation of safe railroading rules. Of course, as a youngster, I followed these rules every time I walked the rails back and forth to the YMCA, town or school, etc. ha ha ha ha ha. When my sons had to take a town walk for a Boy Scout project, it sort of became a right of passage to teach them and challenge them to do the balancing act on the rails and keep watch for the train that seldom travels through that area anymore. Although once there was a minimum of one or two trains a day that we watched or heard from the Mt. Rock area where I grew up.

Railroading business has slowed quite a bit just in my lifetime, but all the same, railroading as a business is still thriving in the U.S. The Norfolk Southern is even bringing out engines painted up in the color schemes of former railroads. If you see trains running along, watch for these more than 20 engines as they are really something to see. There are several different web sites that can be visited to see pictures of them and since they are real working engines, we may just have them running through good old central Pennsylvania some time. Of course I’m biased, but I think the Tuscan Red Pennsy engine is the best looking. Take a look at them at, Norfolk Southern heritage engines, and follow several story lines.

So, take a walk along an old rail line or take a ride on one.

Both of these activities can be enjoyed at the Rockhill Trolley Museum at Rockhill Furnace just 45 minutes from Lewistown on Route 522 South. Yes, I’m still reminding you about the trolley museum as I’m finally getting things arranged around the shop and home and I’m hoping to finally get back to driving the trolleys and seeing many of you there. Also, don’t forget there is a “Run A Trolley” program available where you can have the fun of running these beautiful antiques and getting the feeling of what it was like to travel as our ancestors did. Hope to see you there sometime and Happy Railroading.

Ed a

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The Valley, August 2012

Dave Wilson

Coins, Precious Metal and a Little of this and That FUN “MONEY” FACTS AND RISK FREE COIN INVESTMENTS

No matter how old you are .. one of the first things you remember about growing up is your first introduction to “Money.” Most people can remember how they “earned” their first dime, quarter, dollar, etc. I earned mine in 1957 when I helped our neighbor, Carrie Dreece (who lived two doors down) rake some leaves. I doubt I was that much help, but she was kind and paid me with a really neat “Standing Liberty” Quarter. (Yes, this is the same Carrie Dreece that is honored each Christmas when the “Carrie Dreece” award (for best Holiday Door Decorating) is presented by the Mifflin County Garden Club.

I can still remember looking at that quarter as I walked home thinking that I was well on my way to becoming rich. OK, seriously, back then, a quarter was BIG money, especially for a 7 year old! I’m sure many of us could share a similar story about “our first big piece of real money.”

So, since we have all had a close relationship with money since we were very young, perhaps you might like to know a little more about how it is created, and at what cost to our government.

Please don’t label me as a Money before God type person, or anything silly like that.

This is just a fun (and I hope interestingly informative) story about the money we all use every day.

Most people have no idea what it costs the United States to produce its circulating coinage and paper currency. True, with inflation, the numbers can change, but as of late last year the following costs were incurred by the U.S. Treasury for “making” our money.

Coin Cent Nickel Dime Quarter

Cost to Produce 2.4 Cents 11.1 Cents 4.0 Cents 10.0 Cents

Caving Mifflin County with Todd Karschner

Hello again from under Mifflin county! Hot enough for ya? Weather this warm makes it easier to find time to go caving.

Stomping around thick brush, sweating my backside off, and asking a few questions to a local property owner paid off. A new cave! Talk about exited! After a few phone calls, we had a small group together to check it out.

This cave is in the bottom of a 30-foot diameter sinkhole. The sides of the sinkhole were so steep that a rope was needed to descend the 20 foot drop to a small landing. There were two passages leading from here. Both of these passages connect to each other not far inside. The one on the right continues steeply downward for another 30 feet or so into the bottom of a large canyon with deep water. It reminds you of a

section in Penn’s Cave. The other one is an underground stream bed that empties into the large canyon during high water. Both passages require some help from a rope to enter. Since we were not prepared for a water tour, we explored the stream bed section.

The entrance to this passage is tricky and at this time was very muddy. There are two 8 foot sinkholes and a large bolder we had to slowly work ourselves around.

Once past these obstacles, you can walk upright without much problem for 20 or 30 feet. Looking at the ceiling, you can see how the water carved the limestone into smooth channels. The floor is wall-to-wall slick mud with an occasional rock or two sticking up.

The walls are smooth with smaller channels at ceiling level where more water comes into the cave.

Half-Dollar 18.0 Cents Dollar 16.0 Cents

If you noticed that the Cent and Nickel cost MORE to produce than their face value, then you will understand WHY the US made it ILLEGAL to “melt” Pennies and Nickels several years ago. (Actually, one of the smarter, and totally understandable, rules passed by Congress as of late.)

Paper money production costs look like this.

Denomination Cost to Produce $1 and $2 Notes 5.2 Cents/note $5 and $10 Notes 8.5 Cents/note $20 and $50 Notes 9.2 Cents/note $100 Note 7.7 Cents/note

Why the differences? I have no idea, except that it “could” have something to do with the costs of inks and security devices.

Interestingly, and this shouldn’t surprise anyone, when the US Mint makes a quarter (that costs them 10 cents to produce, they show a PROFIT of 15 cents About 40 feet in, the stream channel turns right, and the ceiling drops to about 3 feet from the floor. You guessed it, time to lay in the mud and crawl! In this section, there are roots dangling from the cracks in the ceiling. Safe to say we were getting close to the surface.

After over two hours of crawling and sliding along inch by inch we came to a very tight squeeze. Since we only had the bare minimum of cavers that day, we decided to stop here and return to the surface. We are planning a second trip when we have a few more cavers to help with carrying equipment, plus the more the merrier!

For those of you who do not know what a tight squeeze is, its a spot where the cave walls are against your ribs and the ceiling is touching your back. Movement is extremely limited. So think like a snake and work your way through.

If you don’t get scratched up, scraped up or bruised up, consider yourself lucky.

on their books. Last year (2011) the Mint showed a profit of 730 million dollars from making US circulating coins. (The loss from making Pennies and Nickels amounts to about 45 million dollars annually, so, the Mint still does quite well overall, which is why they continue to make the two lower value coins.) These numbers do NOT include any profits made by the Mint for the production of special “Collector” type coins, Proof Sets, Mint Sets, Silver and Gold Bullion coins, etc.

Now that we have covered production costs for US coins and currency, it is time to tell you about an interesting “investment” idea, that is fun, possibly very worthwhile, and has ZERO element of risk (short losses from theft).

While “wheat” cents (dated 1909 to 1958) have traditionally been gleaned from circulation, the 95% copper Lincoln cents (dated 1959 to 1981) are still circulating freely. With current copper prices at $3.40 per pound, and 145 of these 1959-1981 cents equaling that weight, each of these cents has a “real,” tangible “value” of 2.3 cents each. No, most dealers are not presently buying these coins, but that does not mean that they are any less a terrific store of real value (should the Dollar suffer serious losses in purchasing power due to increasing inflation). The composition of pennies changed in 1982 to 97.5% Zinc with a 2.5% Copper plating, making those cents worth MUCH

less than face value. US Nickels (all dates) presently have a real (intrinsic) value of 8 cents each.

Summertime in the coin and jewelery business can be terribly slow. In 2005 (before the big silver and gold price increases), I had my son, Grant (who was with us at the time) call the local banks to see if they had any excess pennies they could do without.

One of the local banks responded VERY enthusiastically, as they had just received DOZENS of (5000 coin) cent bags from a local elementary school fund-raising project. After several trips, and nearly 195,000 cents later, the 4-STAR gals (and Grant) spent all their spare time that July and August separating copper from zinc cents. We ended up with nineteen 5000-coin bags of all copper cents. (They also found wheat cents, dimes, foreign coins, Indian pennies, transportation tokens, steel pennies and one “I like Ike” pin.) To this day, we still find MANY 95% Copper cents in every day transactions, so we KNOW that they are still available, and in decent quantities.

Gold, silver and rare coins are wonderful investments. Naturally, of course, these come with “some” element of risk. Saving 1959-1981 cents and any US Nickels probably will not make you rich, but, they WILL allow you to amass (at face value) a decent investment in REAL MONEY. a

Working our way back to the entrance, we took our time to take in the sights. There were fossils, small side rooms, and cave life.

One thing we didn’t find was evidence of other human visits.

Could it be that we were the first cavers to set foot this far in this cave system? The entrance is a fairly new opening, and only a handful of people know it exists.

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The Valley, August 2012

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The Valley, August 2012

Stink Bug Trap Inventor Ignites Corporate Feeding Frenzy In 2009, Andrew Strube was just an average home owner trying to make an honest living as an aircraft mechanic when events with the economy forced his employer to close, leaving Strube and his family of five no other option but to downsize their living arrangements. This downsizing included Strube selling his home and moving his family of five into a rental property that he soon found to be infested with stink bugs.

By September 2010, the Strube family was plagued with thousands of stink bugs inside their home. Strube called a professional exterminator only to be told there was no treatment package that would eliminate his problem. It became so bad that he emailed an entomologist from the United States Department of Agriculture who prompted him to call his local extension office at Penn State University. Weeks later, when a researcher finally arrived at Strube’s house, he was astounded by the number of stink bugs and said he had never before seen a problem this big at anyone’s house. By this time, Strube had already been crafting devices to catch the invasive insect because there was nothing on store shelves available to combat stink bugs either. The researcher snapped a picture of the device full of dead stink bugs, he filled up a couple bags of live stink bugs to take back to the lab, and then explained to Strube that stink bugs were a problem affecting the entire region on an agricultural level. Strube’s previous years of troubleshooting aircraft made him no stranger to solving complex

problems, so all it took for him to become obsessed with solving the problem was his cousin to ingest a stink bug while eating dinner at his house. For Strube’s fiancée, the dinner table experience that caused his cousin to run out the door throwing up his spaghetti was the last straw! She said the stink bugs have got to go or we go! Strube sold his 1998 Jeep Cherokee to fund his stink bug trap project and filed his first of a handful of patents in October 2010.

In January 2011, with only fifty dollars left in his pocket, Andrew founded Strube’s Stink Bug Traps LLC and launched a website www.stinkbugtrapsonline.com so that people from his region who were suffering the same type of problem could order traps. At this time, Strube still had no idea that stink bugs were a national problem, but his traps were an immediate hit with locals because they worked so well that one trap would accumulate hundreds of stink bugs. Ace Hardware located in Strube’s home town sold several hundred traps and it was only a matter of a few weeks afterward that Strube made national headlines for inventing the world’s first light trap that was designed specifically to catch stink bugs inside homes. Over the next few months, orders poured in by the thousands from Strube’s website and when he learned stink bugs were a national problem, he admitted that he wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to keep up with the demand, but he did.

What he didn’t know is that his problem solving skills ignited

what could be a billion dollar corporate frenzy.

When spring arrived, things quieted down a bit because stink bugs moved outdoors to do what they do, which is feed and reproduce. By this time, Strube already had plans in motion to move out of his garage into a factory where he could mass produce his third generation trap for retail sales.

Strube said life was great! He was happy to be making an honest living by helping people with something he invented. Early in the spring he heard a clip on the news about a local peach orchard that was devastated by stink bugs in 2010. He decided to contact the owner who later gave Strube unsupervised access to the orchard at night to test his light traps. Strube caught only a handful of stink bugs the first night in the orchard, but it only took him a few weeks to devise a contraption that has caught more than 1600 stink bugs per hour. Yes you read that correctly, and no it is not a typo, 1600 stink bugs per hour. Strube notes that he had to improvise and redesign the commercial trap twenty times before he got it right and he says he still makes little tweaks to it here and there. One challenge in particular of trying to catch stink bugs from fruit trees was getting the light to cast out far enough to lure stink bugs from a distance. The canopy of the tree dilutes the light at low levels, but to get around this problem Strube designed the trap to be atop of a hoist. With this set-up, the trapping mechanism and the light is hoisted up to twelve feet which allows the light to be cast over the tree tops. He then designed it to fit in the back of a utility cart like a John Deere Gator so that it could be mobilized to different blocks of the orchard because not all of the blocks were infested.

Strube was still in contact with experts regarding his traps and after they saw what he was doing in the orchard, the USDA commended him for his aggressive innovations to control stink bugs. Strube was later invited to be a member of their stink bug working group and made his first presentation in front of an auditorium full of experts in June 2011.

The corporate storm that had been brewing since the January debut of Strube’s Stink Bug Traps, was about to make land fall.

Strube’s plans where to finish out the development of the commercial trap (which he did) while preparing to launch retail sales nationwide (which he is still trying to do). Strube heard about an outdoor trap that was scheduled for retail launch by the end of July.

It’s a different color and has new stink bug stickers but the concept, shape and even the package is almost identical to a wasp trap the same company has been making for years. Strube didn’t worry about a small missile-shaped trap that is about the size of a shampoo bottle, because it is advertised to catch stink bugs from only a 30 foot radius and it wasn’t originally designed to catch stink bugs. By fall there were already hundreds of complaints all over the internet about their trap not catching stink bugs, but just that fast, a big company began putting a bad taste in store owners’ mouths about stink bug traps. Strube says what happened next is where things really started affecting the future of his business. The same company who distributed these missile-shaped stink bug traps to hundreds, possibly thousands of stores, released a light attachment to fit atop the trap so that it could now be used indoors to catch stink bugs. Because of this, Strube started calling hardware stores a few weeks early to try and get the word out about his traps, but it was one phone call in particular that Strube will never forget. Strube said to the store owner “Hi this is Andrew Strube from Strube’s Stink Bug Traps. We invented the Original indoor stink bug trap located here in Pennsylvania.” Before Strube could even finish his pitch, the store owner interrupted and said “Sir, yes I know who you are and we just received a load of your traps yesterday.” Strube, who handles nearly every invoice that goes out the door, knew he did not send a “load” of stink bug traps to this hardware store. Strube says “Sir, could you tell me what that trap looks like?” The store owner said “Yes, I have one in my hands.

It says the original indoor stink bug trap made in Pennsylvania and it’s in a small blue box.” It was at that moment that Strube says he became overcome by a sick, disgusted, panic feeling that he can’t explain any other way.

When you have everything, and I mean everything, on the line and someone cheats you out of your way of providing for your family it hits you at the core!

Strube says he was shaken from head to toe and couldn’t sleep for a couple of days. Strube even contacted the company’s owner who went as far as using Strube’s “se-

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Strube with the homeowner version of his highly efficient Stink Bug Trap

cret sauce” catch phrase, but after Strube asked them to change the name, he decided not to have any further contact with the company and let the lawyer deal with it down the road. Sadly Strube says this is only scratching the surface of the story. After this, one of the biggest trap manufactures in the world, also located in PA and local to Strube’s Stink bug traps, contacted Strube with interest in licensing his product. Strube says the company drafted up an agreement just to get a peek at his trap. At the last moment before signing a deal they backed out and launched their own Ultimate Stink Bug Trap, which before was their Ultimate Flee Trap, but now it has new stickers and packaging.

There are no less than three more companies that have renamed a pest product that was not designed to catch stink bugs for the sake of making money. This kind of business practice is sickening and is the reason so many great companies never make it to the shelf. Strube said there has been millions of dollars handed out by agencies involved with the stink bug problem both on the state and federal level, but not one single dollar has been offered to Strube to continue his ongoing research.

On a positive note, Strube is confident his product will survive because it continues to sell itself and remains to be the only traps available that are specifically designed to catch stink bugs.

Strube’s story will be featured on the Animal Planet Infested Series 3 this fall. For more information about stink bug products visit Strube’s website at www.stinkbugtrapsonline.com a

The Valley, August 2012

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