The Valley August

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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.

Take a Break From the Mainstream Madness Volume 9, No. 8

By Darvin Yoder

I was asked to write an article about the Mifflin County Youth Fair for The Valley. Although I am not a writer, I agreed to give it a try as long as my friend and fellow fair person, Rebecca Harrop, would give me some coaching.

The Mifflin County Youth Fair started out as a 4-H RoundUp in 1954. I am too young to remember, but I am told that the Round-Up was held at the Mifflin County Airport, which was then located in the vicinity of present day D K Hostetler’s Trailer Fabrication along then Route 322. After several years, the Round-Up was moved to Kish Park. I do remember being there. As a young farm boy, I was impressed at cattle all washed and squeaky clean and lined up on shiny yellow straw.

I never saw cattle housed like that before. It was impressive. In 1958, FFA and the Vocational Agriculture program came to Mifflin County, hence the name change to The Mifflin County Youth Fair.

In the early 1960s, A. Reed and Esther Hayes donated ground at Reedsville to be used as the Fairgrounds for Mifflin County.

The Fairgrounds was named The Mifflin County Youth Park. 1964 was the first year the fair was held there.

Over the years we have added barns, expanded barns, added a new show ring, and a separate office. We remodeled a barn to have a separate Poultry and Rab-

Complimentary

The Valley, August 2018

bit housing area. Of course, these things all come with a cost, so we have done our share of fund raising to pay for our improvements.

We worked as a community to help make these things happen.

Some smaller projects, such as pig wash racks and loading\unloading docks were done by Boy Scouts

as Eagle Scout projects. Some were done by 4-H and FFA groups as community service projects.

We have had projects drafted by students at the Vo-Tech School (now the Academy of Science and Technology) and then built by the carpentry students. This has truly been a community effort. The

Youth Park also houses Reedsville’s Little League Field and our local Horse Shoe Park. There have been, and still are, numerous other contributors and supporters that have volunteered their time, talents and genius to further the Fair’s programs and fun. It is truly a community effort; we thank all

who have helped.

Fifteen years ago, the Mifflin County Youth Fair became a state sanctioned county fair and joined the Pennsylvania State Association of County Fairs (PSACF).

They can be found at www. pafairs.org. This allowed several things to happen. First this opened our fair to exhibits from the public, adults and youth alike. You can enter your garden produce, sewing projects, wood working, eggs, hay, grains, and so much more. Go to www.mcyouth fair. com and click on the open show link to see the entire list. By being a member of PSACF we have applied for improvement grants. We have been awarded a few grants.

These have allowed us to concrete the remaining barns that were not concreted, which has made housing animals safer and caring for them easier. It also has made clean up much nicer and faster. Another grant has allowed us to replace the old aluminum roof with a new steel one with a roof vent. The show animals will be much more comfortable on hot August days.

To become a state-sanctioned county fair we had a three-year probation period with requirements until we became official.

We had to finance the open show for things like judges, ribbons, premiums, displays, and all things needed to run a show. To do this the open show commit-

Continued on page 31

Veritas vos Liberabit

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Editor’s Corner Wayne Stottlar

Fall is near, my favorite time of year—heat and humidity are not something I enjoy, and it bothers me more the older I get. Don’t get me wrong, I am no longer a big fan of loading the wood stove either, but that is something that is not quite as bothersome as the heat and humidity. Bring on the cool weather!

With the end of summer also comes the start of fair season, which is always a great time for family fun. Hopefully the skies will hold on to the rain for the week. It seems most years it is either wet and muddy or hot and humid. With the lousy weather pattern we have experienced the last few weeks, we deserve a break and so do the people who work so hard to bring these events to life. Don’t forget to support the open auction at the end of Mifflin County Youth Fair week. Grab

some bargains and help resupply the coffers in preparation for next years fair.

Take special notice of those local businesses who support the fair, they deserve your patronage.

Support our advertisers here in The Valley as well, they are the fuel that keeps us going. Businesses, want to be part of our family? Our rates are the best and we go the extra mile to spread your message.

I do not believe our country has been this divided at any time since perhaps 1860. Fanning the flames of this discontent is the news media. The do not report news, they manipulate public opinion and continually report on stories that do not deserve a second of time. In doing so, they lend credence to positions that seem ridiculous to those who use their brain to assign believe ability

to a story. To hell with “fair and balanced,” that just gives equal time to lies and manipulation. Sadly, most folks do not take the time to do their own research.

Many do not even know where to start. All of this misdirection by the media feeds into one side or the other and galvanizes their position.

The biggest problem resulting from this is that the truth gets lost. Regardless of what agenda driven, self-important talking heads say, there is only one truth.

There is no gray area! Looking around however, it is apparent that hard truth is too much to stomach for the folks who happen to be on the losing side of any situation.

Many call these positions Conservative vs Liberal, Right vs Left, Republican vs Democrat and on and on. None of those labels are totally correct. The real difference is Adults vs Juveniles! Like many children these days, the juveniles have never been told NO or have learned to handle the frustration of not getting their way.

The news media presenting this as normal and acceptable is a great disservice to their viewers, or is it intentional?

The only way to put an end to this is to be outspoken, call out those promoting it. Don’t be timid, take them on wherever you see it. Do not let the herd dissuade you, the lies they think are truth have no foundation.

If we do not, we are surely headed for another Civil War.a

Contact Info Editor/Publisher Wayne Stottlar Graphic Artist/ Co-Publisher Lynn Persing The Valley PO Box 41 Yeagertown, PA 17099 (717) 363-1550 E-mail: thevalleynewspaper@gmail.com Web: www.thevalleynewspaper.com

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The Valley, August 2018

Clowns, Christmas and Cognitive Dissonance

By Israel Bissell

WARNING!!! This article contains politically incorrect ideas, phrases, and terms known to cause anger and bunched panties in the state of California and elsewhere. Proceed at your own risk.

It is no secret that the mainstream media is not doing their job. If they were, there wouldn’t be left-leaning, or right-leaning networks. Rather, they would be middle-of-the-road, unbiased, and agenda free, but that is not what we have. Furthermore, these slanted, agenda-driven networks are polarizing Americans, which is certainly taking its toll. For example, I have a friend that exclusively watches ______ (pick one CNN, MSNBC, FOX, ABC, PBS, etc.) because it has his preferred political slant. His network provides him with select and deliberately spun information on the controversial stories of the day. Using this tainted information, my friend forms opinions about the controversy du jour, which coincidentally are also the network’s opinions. In the end, my friend believes his opinions are “well-informed,” “fact-based,” and “intelligent,” and therefore, the only reasonable views to have.

Put together two individuals with opposing views derived from opposing networks and tempers flare. Most people recognize that this social polarization is at least partly caused by networks deliberately manipulating what people hear, and then suggesting how they should feel about it. How-

ever, corrupt media is a topic for another day. What I find interesting is that under other circumstances my friend is very capable of logically resolving opposing issues. For example, if my friend’s children were having an argument and they came to him for a solution, my friend would listen objectively to both sides, filter out any accompanying emotion, and proclaim, “there are always two sides to every situation,” then suggest a logical solution. Yet when presented with politically slanted information from his preferred network, and knowing it is heavily laced with biased emotion, he unquestioningly adopts the network’s view. Furthermore, he acknowledges that networks are deliberately steering their audience in this manner! This is apparent because when I challenge him on one of his opinions, he will be quick to point out that MY views are ill-informed, emotionally spun and force-fed to me by a network with a political agenda. Since I too, on occasion, practice this very frustrating behavior, it seems to me that sometimes we humans hold, for whatever reason, opinions that we simply cannot defend logically. We hold opinions that we WANT whether they are right or wrong, defendable or not. We understand the absurdity of proclaiming, “It’s my view whether it makes sense or not. It’s just what I WANT to believe”. And herein lies the emotional mechanism by which the mainstream media energizes and steers their followers.

This explains why two otherwise reasonable individuals can hear

thoughts,” or “defending one’s ing, or discrediting one or both of a controversial news story from comfort zone” is a multi-faceted the offending ideas. She may for opposing networks, arrive at oppsychological phenomena proexample, trivialize the idea that posing conclusions, and then feel duced when a person holds two claims chocolate has hazardous the need to defend their concluconflicting ideas. For example, health effects by saying, “Well, sions with outright aggression if suppose a person who loves we all have to die of something!” need be. In order to guard against chocolate suddenly learns that On the other hand, she may it, it is important to recognize even a small amount of chocolate trivialize the amount she eats by this human tendency of forming is hazardous to one’s health. The saying “I only eat the equivalent opinions, or conclusions based on chocoholic now has two conflictof two chocolate bars a week.” nothing more than preference or ing thoughts, or ideas. The first is Either way, she is manipulating gut feelings. Certainly, there are “I eat chocolate,” and the second the conflicting IDEAS in order to issues where only preference is is “eating chocolate is hazardous produce a more favorable, yet still appropriate. However, there are to my health.” If true, these two believable conclusion. Therefore, issues that demand intelligent, thoughts produce an unfavorable the take-away idea is - All of us unbiased evaluation of the facts in conclusion. Ms. chocoholic knows experience cognitive dissonance. order to draw appropriate conthat if both of these ideas are true, All of us have a comfort zone clusions, whether we like those that will have negative implicasupported by our preferred ideas conclusions or not. Now what is tions for her – which is no more and perspectives and views of the interesting, and what will apply eating chocolate. Her proper, world. Anytime our comfort zone to the readers of this article, is un-biased response should be “If I is threatened, we have a thought what happens when the view we eat chocolate, I’m doing someconflict. When this happens, it is WANT to be true (especially if thing hazardous to my health, so up to us to determine if the topic our view was not deduced logiI must appropriately modify my warrants careful, intelligent, and cally), is logically challenged. It behavior.” However, as mentioned unbiased evaluation and, heaven turns out we humans will actually above, we try to avoid unpleasforbid, a change in behavior, OR fight for our pet views. Emotions ant conclusions and instead if it is appropriate to react based take over and we get defensive. might try to impose our preferon gut feelings and preference.

We will intensely reject any or ence. Moreover, we are willing

Now, before I continue, let all intellectual threats to our to do some creative justifying me say that I am a Bible believer, preferred view, sometimes using in order to impose our preferred and am a Believer in Jesus Christ. irrational, logically weak arguUnfortunately, and in my opinion, ments. This phenomenon has been conclusions. Ms. Chocoholic has two options, her first option, mainstream religion like mainstudied and named, and back in the unbiased option, is she can stream media is corrupt and has the old days we said it was “A accept the logical conclusion that taken the simple message that person defending their comfort the conflicting ideas suggest, and salvation is found in Christ alone, zone.” Today, the formal term is that is she needs to stop eating and they have distorted, modified, “cognitive dissonance.” More on and spun it in order to appease a cognitive dissonance in a moment, chocolate. Of course, she does variety of people. However, that but for now the take-away thought not like that option. Her second option is to impose her preferred is this: when making decisions, Continued on page 8 conclusion by changing, trivializwe humans tend to use our hearts instead of our heads. While that may be appropriate for some issues, other , inc. important issues may YOur mEtal rOOfiNg & require that we put our sidiNg suPPlY cENtEr personal preferences and feelings aside Roll Forming Metal Roofing and use our & siding in smooth & textured God-given intelligence snap-loc standing seam in smooth and reasoning skills. & textured Sometimes we simply stOcKiNg: need to do trims & accessories what is best even if that Soffit that matches means doing something we all colors & cut to size don’t WANT lumber to do.

So what sliding door accessories is Cognitive Dissonance?

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The Valley, August 2018

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Chronic Worrying After a restful trip to NH in June, life started to spiral out of control for me. I’ve been plagued with worry and anxiety and can’t seem to get a grip on it. So I decided to write my column this month on this very topic to, perhaps, try to calm myself down and put things in perspective. But, here’s the disclaimer: Applying your own advice is HARD! It seems to be much easier if it comes from someone else and I have no idea why that is. I know worrying is really bad for me and just keeps the negativity swirling in my head, yet I can’t seem to stop it.

The following Bible verse is one that I repeat to myself over and over, yet most of the time I still forget to put it into practice.

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” —Philippians 4:6

I must admit that I felt dumb and I had to Google the meaning of “supplication,” which essentially means to ask or beg. Yes, I do a lot of begging when worry overcomes me. I’m sure you’ve all heard people say “Give it to God,” and this is what this verse is telling you to do. Let God know what you need and want and then let him handle it as he sees fit.

But remember that the way God handles it, may not be the way you want it to be handled.

So what else can I do to try to keep my worrying thoughts from overtaking me and making me sick? Yes, excess worry will make you sick and can wreak havoc on your physical well being.

Here are a few tips I picked up after reading a couple blog posts on this topic.

Exercise! Exercise boots endorphins, which make you feel more positive and upbeat and thus help to free you from worry! So

after I finish this column, I am headed outside to mow the lawn in the stinking heat. Maybe I can sweat my worry out!

Do stuff with people. Movies, shopping, etc. When you spend time with other people, your mind is not focusing on your worries--it’s enjoying the moment!

Focus on one small goal or task that will help you to feel better or move forward. It can be related to what’s worrying you or not. Just getting one thing done that you have been putting off is a huge mood lifter and makes you feel like you are productive. Guess what, worrying is not productive! I know that, but I still do it!

Don’t dwell on the past or future. Yes, we all need to look back so we don’t repeat mistakes and we all need to have some dreams for the future. But when worry is consuming you, live in the present. Focus on day to day and how to make that day better.

I am really guilty of this one. I look to the future and if I can’t see a positive path ahead, then I start to spiral down.

I’ve provided a few quotes to the right about worrying, which are all good reminders. I just love the one by Charles Schulz (Charlie Brown)!

The only good thing I’ve realized about worrying is that it’s an effective way for me to lose weight, although I don’t recommend this weight loss program to anyone. As I was looking through quotes, I found this one—and oh how it holds true for me—I’m down 18 lbs!

I highly recommend worrying. It is much more effective than dieting. ~William Powell a

Editors Note: I have known Kelly for several years, as we share many of the same political ideals.

When I first started reading the book I was somewhat lost as I did not grow up here and many of the situations were a little hard for me to grasp. But as I kept reading I was drawn in to the story and started putting together

Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy. ~Leo Buscaglia If things go wrong, don’t go with them. ~Roger Babson If I had my life to live over, I would perhaps have more actual troubles, but I’d have fewer imaginary ones. ~Don Herold I’ve developed a new philosophy... I only dread one day at a time. ~Charlie Brown (Charles Schulz) If you want to test your memory, try to recall what you were worrying about one year ago today. ~E. Joseph Cossman Worry is interest paid on trouble before it comes due. ~William Ralph Inge

pieces of the story and it brought a new level of understanding to what is around me. Most of all though, I found out what an incredible life my friend has led and it brought a new level of respect for his perseverance. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes a good story.

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The Valley, August 2018

Bird Watching at Kish Park If you’re trying to think of someplace to do some bird watching in Lewistown, don’t rule out Kish Park. It’s more than just mallards and goose poop. Here are just a few of some that I’ve been able to get pictures of on my morning walks. So grab your binoculars, head to the park, and the mallards certainly wouldn’t object if you bring along some cracked corn. a

Sometimes that rustling in the rushes is a Green Heron

A Broad Winged Hawk (L) Not often noticed but one of our fanciest local birds, the Cedar Waxwing, winter flocks can strip bush with berries in minutes.

Solitary Sandpiper

Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra THE

Eastern Bluebird takes up residence in one of our “Birds Choice bluebird boxes.

Our 9th Annual

FEATURING

Anne Sullivan, harpist

MUSIC FEST

2 pm, Sunday, August 19 at Seven Mountains Wine Cellars 324 Decker Valley Road, Spring Mills, PA

Tickets $35 and includes

one glass of wine, hors d’oeuvres, and the concert. PLUS a raffle will be held at the event to benefit the Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra.

Naomi Seidman, flutist Jonathan Dexter, cellist

Sponsored by:

Lynn and Anne Hutcheson

Advance Reservations Requested by August 17th

Tickets available online at www.PaChamberOrchestra.org or call 814.234.8313

The Truth Has No Agenda

The Valley, August 2018

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My Percyving Eye

ascension into heaven, the apostle Peter preached the first gospel sermon, (Acts 2:14-36). After some encouraging words to the crowd we read,

“Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.” (Acts 2:41–42, NKJV)

Following their baptism into Christ, the first Christians worshiped God on the first day of the week. We are striving to worship God, following their pattern.

Each Sunday we assemble for the purpose of worshiping God. Our worship consists of a message from God’s inspired word. We take a collection from the members of the congregation, not soliciting from visitors. We remember the death of our Lord and Savior by partaking of the Lord’s Supper, unleavened bread

and fruit of the vine.

We pray also to God during the service.

We sing songs that are designed to teach. Our singing is acapella, as commanded by the inspired apostle Paul who wrote,

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” (Colossians 3:16, NKJV)

In addition to our Sunday morning worship service we have Sunday morning and Wednesday evenings we have Bible Classes.

The classes are discussion classes.

On Sundays, we are studying the books of Jeremiah and Lamentations. On Wednesday evenings, we are examining the text of the New Testament, a chapter a week.

We are currently studying the epistles of Peter, to be followed by the remainder of the New Testament, concluding with the book of Revelation. We will have additional topics in the future.

We study from both the Old and New Testaments.

“All Scripture is given by

stage shows and square dances.

There were horse stables for many race horses and their equipment and a blacksmith/farrier was always on duty during the racing season. A grandstand, with seating for hundreds of people faced the racetrack, and a large gazebo housed the brass band which entertained the crowds. I never saw a real horse race, but I do remember sulky races as the elegantly dressed drivers put their horses through the required gaits.

Another interesting feature was a small carousel, which I never rode, but found the motion and the music fascinating. Among the animals on the merry-go-

round, was a little white pony that looked as though he was smiling at the riders.

The coming of the great depression brought an end to the races and many other activities, although the annual Grange Picnic continued to be held there. A second blow to the fairgrounds organization came in the form of a severe summer storm which blew in from the west, leaving a path of destruction. The storm destroyed a large portion of the grandstand, some of the barns, and, unfortunately, the merry-go-round. Back over the hill at our farm, the winds of the same storm blew down two silos and a wagon shed and lifted our two large barn doors off their hinges.

The path that we Zorn kids and some of our neighbor children followed was an abandoned township road. I soon noticed that on the fairgrounds side of the hedge fence there was a huge pile of beams and lumber that had been the grandstand. My curiosity took me under the gate for a closer look. It was evident that the owner intended to build a lime kiln and was going to use the debris to fuel the kiln. In poking

by Percy R. Wilson, Jr. Evangelist, The Church of Christ at Milroy

Kish Valley Church Of Christ

The church of Christ at Milroy has relocated. Our new meeting location is the Happy Valley Conference Room at the Holiday Inn Express in Reedsville. We have subsequently changed our name to the Kish Valley church of Christ. I would like to take a few moments to tell you some things about us.

We at the Kish Valley church of Christ are striving to be pleasing to God, and to worship him in spirit and truth as Jesus stated,

“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24, NKJV)

First, when discussing acceptable worship, we want to note that God is the being to be worshiped.

Worship comes from a Greek word that means, “to kiss the hand,” thus the idea of being prostrate or showing respect. All true

worship must be directed toward God. He is our creator (Genesis 1:26-27) and has given us every good gift (James 1:17).

Second, acceptable worship must be done in spirit; that is sincerely. The mind, the soul, and the heart must worship God with gratitude. Simply stated spiritual worship is when the heart is offered to God, we offer our very best to God.

Third we want to consider that Jesus stated in John 4:24, worship must be in truth. In truth, means according to the word of God as stated in the New Testament. The inspired apostle Paul wrote

“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” (Colossians 3:17, NKJV)

Forty days following Jesus’

About Faith

by Rev. Robert Zorn, Visitation Minister, Lewistown Presbyterian Church THE WHITE PONY

Last May, Carol and I made our annual pilgrimage back to Western Pem1sylvania to plant flowers on the graves of our relatives and friends. Our next to the last stop was at the Cochran Cemetery near the town of Dawson.

Its stones mark the graves of my grandparents, my parents, and my eldest brother and his wife.

Looking north from the cemetery, we could view the farm which our family called home for nearly one hundred and twenty years. A view to the south reveals the site of the Dawson Fairgrounds. The only evidence of its

previous use is an overgrown oval race track and one lone, abandoned barn. If not for a large hill and the one half mile distance, we could have seen the fairgrounds midway from our farm. Even as it was we could hear the music of the bands and the noise of the festivities that took place there.

The Dawson Fairgrounds came to its finest hour as the coal and coke industries brought prosperity to the area. There were exhibit barns for every kind of farm animal and poultry. A grand hall had held horticulture displays and the second floor was used for

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inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

(2 Timothy 3:16–17, NKJV)

We sincerely and cordially invite you to come visit us and study God’s word with us. We meet every Sunday at 9:00 a.m. for bible study and for worship at 10:00 a.m. Our Wednesday evening study is at 7:00 p.m.

Percy R. Wilson, Jr. Evangelist, Kish Valley church of Christ preacherpercy@comcast.net 717-667-7346 My Percyving Eye a

around the wreckage, I found the little white carousel pony. One leg had been broken off and the mane and tail were missing, but it was still smiling. I picked it up and carried it to the top of the pile and placed it where we all could see it as we walked to and from school. Thus the pony, who never went anywhere but around in a circle, still gave a gift of joy to all who saw it.

We, who have weathered many storms in our journey of life; who often feel as though we walk in endless circles; who sometimes think that life has lost its meaning, may still find many things for which we can be truly happy. For these blessings and for so many others, we give thanks.

“Count it all joy my brethren, when you meet various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

James 1 :2-5 a

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The Valley, August 2018

Dave Wilson

Coins, Precious Metal and a Little of this and That

Trade Wars

If you wanted a really brief definition of trade wars, it could easily be summed up as “Bad news for everyone involved.”

For the past few decades (longer?) the political climate in the US has been to give away just about all of our economic advantages. Whether it was to win friends (we didn’t), or to

(especially in manufacturing), then the “stupidity” angle is worth considering.

Now, we have a president that is willing to fight to bring a seriously floundering United States back from the brink of disaster.

It is an almost impossible task, as it will take decades, and great hardship, to return America to

generate a feeling of goodwill in hopes of receiving reciprocal trade arrangements, the outcome was that America was always made to sacrifice while the rest of the world took advantage of our good nature, or, extreme stupidity (whichever you prefer to believe).

When you consider that free trade agreements signed in 1994 (NAFTA) and in 2006 (CAFTA) generated the loss of tens-ofmillions of good-paying US jobs

the economic greatness it once enjoyed. It might even be impossible to accomplish.

Our greatest trading partner, China, has been catered to by almost every president we’ve had since John F. Kennedy. Now, the Trump administration has decided to wage economic warfare with our major trading partners, and to try to return equality and fairness to the world trade scene. As you may suspect, there is a huge fly in

the ointment. None of our trading partners are interested in giving up any of the many advantages the last half-dozen or so U.S. Presidents have unwisely bargained away.

Trump is raising tariffs.

China will raise them right back.

The US will then raise tariffs even higher, China will counter, and so the game will go. The guaranteed outcome will be higher (much higher) prices on practically everything, for practically everyone.

The last time we had a huge trade war, the outcome was the Great Depression of the 1930’s.

Blame this all on our current president if you want, but the truth is that he is simply (and desperately)

The Truth Has No Agenda

trying to reverse the many AntiAmerican economic policies that have been generated (purposely) by several of our most recent Commanders-in-Chief.

Some have commented that Trade Wars and Currency Wars, many times end up turning into Shooting Wars. With the type of fire power available to way too many of the countries on this planet, we had better all pray that these heightened trade “negotiations” do not get terribly out of hand.

The only certain way to eliminate most of these serious threats, is for America to totally capitulate and allow itself to be ruled economically by every other nation on the planet.

The Trump administration, much like our founding fathers, has decided to meet these challenges head on. For too many decades, printing gobs of new money, and skirting nearly every

sensitive issue that arose, was how the majority of American politicians kept the status-quo.

Unfortunately, we have reached the point where real action simply must be taken. America can no longer continue to “Pick up the tab” for every one and every thing.

Trade Wars are the start.

They can be terribly unpleasant and sometimes dangerous. How the American people react to what they must give up to rescue our drowning economy is yet to be seen. Sadly, keeping our collective fingers crossed will simply not be enough to get the job done.

We have nearly three generations of Americans who have never known real want. “Doing without” is a phrase that has almost vanished from the US vocabulary. a

The Valley, August 2018

8 Clowns, Christmas and Cognitive Dissonance from page 3

too is a topic for another day. So let me reiterate what I warned at the beginning of this article, and that is, if you choose to read on please be aware there will be some hurt feelings. You will experience ideas that challenge your comfort zone. I am sorry for that, but I also believe that hurt feelings and emotional discomfort are no reason to suppress truth. The remainder of this article discusses “religion,” or “faith” specifically Christianity, which is a hypersensitive topic for many people. For those who feel they already have all the information they need and are quite comfortable, I suggest they read no further. If your routine is comfortable, your beliefs optimized, and your primary opinions immutable, consider stopping here. If you choose to continue reading, be warned again that you will be challenged. You will be exposed to ideas that are not politically correct, popular, or comfortable. You will hear alternative ideas that, in my opinion, will bring you closer to the truth.

Since God is worshipped in Spirit and Truth, my feeling is that more truth is never a bad thing. Virtually all who continue reading will experience a conflict of ideas, they

will come to an obvious yet uncomfortable conclusion, they will experience a disturbance in their force, and they will most certainly experience cognitive dissonance.

They will be forced to either poo-poo, or otherwise discredit the threatening ideas, trivialize the unpleasant conclusions, or best case, consider the implications and make the necessary changes in spite of their preference. If YOUR preferences and feelings take priority over God’s preferences and feelings, then you need to stop reading now. If you are not willing to give up something that you love for God’s benefit, then reading further will only depress you.

I listened to a pastor one time who made a very important point using a clever object lesson. He wanted to show his congregation how sin and selfish motives corrupt many of the “good” things we think we do. The pastor took a new jar of applesauce and opened it in front of his congregation. He then handed the jar of applesauce along with some plastic spoons to the people in the front row and asked them to each eat a spoonful of applesauce. Which they all did.

The pastor then took a larger, new jar of applesauce, popped the seal, and then proceeded to spit into the applesauce. He thoroughly mixed

the spit into the applesauce, and then handed the jar along with more spoons to another row of people, and asked them to each eat a spoonful. Which of course, no one would. He pointed out that proportionally speaking, the amount of applesauce in the jar far exceeded the tiny amount of spit. Still, no one ate the contaminated applesauce.

He concluded his object lesson by saying that God considers our “good deeds” disgusting because they are always mixed with sin, self-centeredness, and evil intent.

Do you recall a few years ago when all the scary clown stories were making the news? At the time my son was petrified. He would regularly ask me what we would do if a scary clown came out of our woods. He always wanted to know how far away from our house a reported clown siting was. He had nightmares about scary clowns. I love my son, and his birthday is fast approaching so we are throwing him a party. He is one of those children who loves an audience. He craves

attention and loves being the center of attention. So we decided to throw him a birthday party and invite family and several of his friends. We will have special music, and fun games, and decorations, and special food and treats - all kinds of special stuff because we love him. I’m thinking of having a themed party. His friends and our family in particular just LOVE scary clowns. I think we will throw my son a scary clown party. We will hire one of those guys who dresses up like a scary clown, and talks in a scary voice, and does scary tricks. We will get a scary clown cake, and scary clown hats and napkins, and scary clown posters. We will rent scary clown horror videos and watch them in the dark. Ohhhh!

I can’t wait! I love my son, but I also love scary clown stuff. Even though the party is for him, it is

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an opportunity to justify having scary clown stuff for myself. My kid hates scary clowns, but he will just have to deal with it because I love them. So what is the takeaway from this silly hypothetical example? Here it is - If I REALLY loved my son, I would not throw him a party that included something he hates, like scary clowns. If my son’s feelings are REALLY important to me, I won’t deliberately do something that I know makes him unhappy. If his feelings are more important than my feelings, I will not throw him a scary clown party even though I like scary clowns.

Quick review 1) All of us experience cognitive dissonance. All of us have a comfort zone that we choose to defend

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The Valley, August 2018

Understanding the Constitution

by David Molek

Return To Original Meaning

There exists a golden opportunity to make a significant impact upon our great country. This is the opportunity to restore constitutionally limited government. I did say restore. President Trump has taken the first step in this process by nominating Appellate Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh to succeed retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. The ball is now in the Senate’s court to confirm him.

The purpose of the Senate confirmation process is to evaluate a nominee’s qualifications for the position. We should be looking at legal experience and judicial philosophy. Legal experience looks backward at what Judge Kavanaugh has done in the past, while judicial philosophy looks forward to how he will approach deciding cases in the future.

No one can possibly question Judge Kavanaugh’s legal experi-

ence. His resume is all over the internet and we will not address his legal experience. It is clear that liberal politicians and special interest groups with “Trump derangement syndrome” will bring up ridiculous, irrelevant and untrue things. We believe the most important aspect of his nomination is his judicial philosophy.

Judge Kavanaugh’s record shows service in the executive branch, in private practice and as a judge. He has been described as a “judge’s judge.” Based on his record and his many written opinions, he will not legislate from the bench, but will faithfully interpret the law. Judge Kavanaugh will honor the separation of powers and uphold and protect individual rights spelled out in our Constitution.

In order for our republic to flourish, laws must originate from

the peoples’ branch of government. Our Constitution grants Congress the legislative authority to make laws, but for decades Congress has allowed the Executive and Judicial branches to write our laws.

The most important issues facing our nation should be decided by the people, not a panel of nine lifetime-appointed justices.

We need a Supreme Court that upholds our Constitution, rather than legislating from the bench. We need Congress to reassume (like our Constitution says) its rightful legislative authority. Returning power to Congress and the people will decide policy in states, counties and their branch of government.

Judge Kavanaugh is a constitutionalist. Our system of government separates making the law from interpreting the law.

Over time, our Supreme Court has grabbed power by declaring that the “federal judiciary is supreme in the exposition of the law of the Constitution.” The Supreme Court has even gone so far as to declare that its decisions are the supreme law of the land. In deter-

The Truth Has No Agenda

mining whether a contested law is consistent with our Constitution, judges act within their proper judicial power when they give effect to the original public meaning of the words of the law and our Constitution. Judge Kavanaugh will do just that.

In recent decades, judges have engaged in judicial activism, deciding cases according to their own policy preferences rather than by applying the law impartially according to its original public meaning. With the Kennedy vacancy, we have a great opportunity to go back to a five to four majority who are, for the most part, constitutionalists. With five votes, we can return to the original meaning of our Constitution.

We want to return to a country of laws, and not of men. The selection of Kennedy’s replacement court affect the balance of the court for decades to come.

Constitutional interpretation begins with the document itself.

Our Constitution, after all, implements a government based on the consent of the governed. Thus, a judge preserves the freedom of all Americans when he or she in-

terprets our Constitution as it was written. The proper interpretation of our Constitution is crucial to the rule of law. After all, the sanctity of the rule of law and the proper limits of government power should be our guide.

Overcoming the liberal view of a “living” Constitution will not be easy. Confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh will go a long way towards that goal. We need to remember our constitutional heritage. Its purpose was to restrain government power and we need to work to restore constitutionally limited government. We need to pay special attention to separation of powers and stop Congress from putting unelected bureaucrats in charge of lawmaking. We need to support federalism and our 10th Amendment and hold Congress to its enumerated constitutional powers.

We must be honest about the meaning of the words written in the summer of 1787 and on subsequent occasions when our Constitution was amended. We must understand how their meaning has been ignored or forgotten. Our Founders would be stunned by both the position and the power of today’s Supreme Court. America must reclaim its right to be a republic and return the Judiciary to its proper position. Confirming Judge Kavanaugh would be a huge step in the right direction.

Perhaps Justice Ginsberg will wake up from one of her naps during oral arguments and decide it is time to retire…and Trump would have three picks. a

The Valley, August 2018

10

Essential Oils and Children, What’s a Momma to Do?

by Alexandria Hynson, Certified Aromatherapist

Hi! I am super excited this month to be sharing my daughter, Alex Hynson’s, research paper for her Aromatherapy Certification!

We at Shade Mountain are extremely passionate about education, and we just don’t preach it: we DO it! ~Tamela

Being a new mom to a toddler and newborn, I am naturally drawn to the topic of essential oils in relation to children. I am especially concerned about the safety of these oils in regards to children’s health. What oils should be avoided? Are there special guidelines for infants? Can I use the oils in my home and around the kids? All of these questions have me searching for answers to better understand how I can incorporate my new knowledge and love of essential oils, all the while making sure I am not harming my children.

Essential oils are widely known for their healing properties and all around good things, but of

course there are risks involved.

Young moms like myself frequent sites such as Pinterest and blogs, all brimming with suggested uses of the new fad: Essential Oils. However, after going through the Aroma Hut Certification course, I am much more aware of the possible risks of using Essential Oils incorrectly. Incorrect uses such as dilution rates, age/body readiness and application methods all have the possibility of a negative impact on my children’s health.

Yikes! This is not something I take lightly.

I’m sure that any parent would agree with me when I say that my children’s safety is of utmost importance. Robert Tisserand, a highly respected man in the world of Essential Oils, offered a free online safety class, which I

attended alongside my coworkers.

In this class, Tisserand spoke on all sorts of safety concerns, but one in particular nearly brought me to tears. He showed this graph

with statistics from the US Poison Control Center:

The graph shows the number of adverse reactions to Essential Oils over the past 21+ years. Over the course of time, the number of adverse reactions in small children aged 0-6 has increased five fold! Notice that

the other age groups did not rise nearly as much. The reason this is so disturbing to me is that I can deduce most of those incidents were caused unintentionally by the child’s parent. Parents, in an effort to help their children, are ignorantly using oils and causing their precious babies harm.

I can’t bear the thought. Moms and dads never want to hurt their kids and the rare instances when we do accidentally shut their little finger in a door, is absolutely gut wrenching. How much more so if we accidentally injure them permanently?

So now that I’ve terrified you into never using oils again… have no fear! There ARE ways to use Essential Oils with and around your children that are safe and helpful to their lives. So, what’s a momma to do? Let’s start with some basic safety guidelines when using oils with and around children.

The first and foremost rule is to keep oils out of reach of children. Never underestimate a child’s curiosity! I keep my oils in a zipped container high in my refrigerator as they should be kept cool anyway. Never allow children to administer oils themselves.

Secondly, consider your application method. How will your child come in contact with the oils? The absolute safest way to use any oil is to use a diffuser and inhale them. The next safest method is properly diluted topical application. Please don’t ever use Essential Oils undiluted on skin.

The benefits of oils can be had

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through diluted topical applications or inhalation without the risk. Here is a general dilution rate when applying oils topically to children:

0-3 months : 0.1%-0.2%

3-24 months: 0.25-0.5%

2-6yrs : 1-2%

6-15: 1.5-3% (How).

Properly diluted skincare products like cremes and lotions are perfectly safe to use on a daily basis. Another method that many parents like to utilize is baths.

This method can be very safe, but unfortunately is often not. Putting Essential Oils straight into bath water is not safe because oils and water do not mix. If you want to add some therapeutic benefits of oils into a relaxing bath, I suggest mixing the Essential Oil in a carrier oil before adding to bath. Or head to a reputable source and get something that already has been diluted like a bath bomb, soap, or shampoo. And the least safe method of all, please never ever ingest Essential Oils. It’s just way too risky!

So now that we know some basic safety guidelines, let’s talk specific oils. Chances are, if you are an Essential Oil loving mom of young children, you have Googled to see which oils are safe and which are not. Upon Googling this you will find that though there are similarities, there is still much disagreement on what oils are safe and for what age. This is where some discernment comes into play. First, find your information on trusted resources, and secondly, think

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The Valley, August 2018

R. O. F. F.

Rescue Our Furry Friends

by Patricia Lawson

Are these the Dog Days of Summer? Well, ROFF has a way a fun way to cool off your pooches. The 6th Annual ROFF Doggie Splash is this month, Sunday, August 26th at the Burnham Community Pool from Noon to 3pm. The cost is $5 per dog and an additional $3 per dog in the same household. Please note that dog handlers must be at least 16 years old and all dogs must be up to date with rabies vaccination and license. If you don’t have a dog or have a dog that does not enjoy the water, please stop by to make a donation and meet a few of our adoptable dogs. Or you can enjoy a hot dog lunch, plus we will be selling snacks while your dog plays.

Drum roll please…meet these three young ladies.

“Hi everyone my sisters and I are only 8 weeks old. We are already litter trained and we have tested negative so we’re ready to be your pets. ROFF has been so wonderful to us. You see we were dumped out with our Mom and then brought to this rescue. The people here say that we’re sweet and friendly but you better come to ‘The Cattery’ in Reedsville to see for yourself. By the way, we don’t even have names yet, so you can name us too!”

“Yes, I may be a bit gray, but I’m an 11 year old lady and I wear it proudly. I’m a blend of black lab and golden and wait to you hear why I’m at ROFF. Well, my human owners moved and they couldn’t take me with them. I guess they moved to a place that didn’t accept pets because I was no trouble at all. I’m spayed and up to date on my vaccines and the dear people at ROFF even gave me a day at the spa, bless their hearts. I get along with everyone including kids and other dogs and cats so won’t you please bring me home to your family? I would love that!”

If you are interested in adopting these kittens or Sepharia, please fill out our on-line application via our website of www. roffrescue.com or call 1-877-933ROFF (7633).

We understand that not everyone can adopt a pet but would you please consider making a donation to ROFF? Checks may be made out to ROFF and mailed to: ROFF, 133 North Walnut Street, Burnham, PA 17009. Thank you so much.

Until they all have homes…

www.roffrescue.com; rescueourfurryfriends@yahoo.com

Clowns, Christmas and Cognitive Dissonance from page 8 even if that means being irrational. We sometimes use our hearts instead of our heads when making certain decisions and sometimes that may be appropriate. However, for important issues, we may need to put our personal preferences and feelings aside and use our God-given intelligence and reasoning skills. Sometimes we simply need to do what is best even if that means doing something we don’t like.

2) If we truly love someone, we won’t do something we know they hate. If that person’s feelings are genuinely important to us, we will not deliberately do something we know will make them unhappy.

In this next section you will be exposed to politically incorrect, and VERY unpopular ideas.

Again, these ideas will challenge you. They will force you to either ignore them, explain them away, trivialize the implications, or possibly accept them and respond accordingly. You will need to consider whether God enjoys your traditional celebrations as much as you. If not, what are you willing to do about it? Last call - If you’re not willing to move from your comfort zone, and/or give up something you love for God’s benefit, then reading further will only frustrate and depress you.

Now let us look at some facts - and please do not just assume I am right about these facts (which I am, but you should not assume

The Truth Has No Agenda

it.).

1. The Bible neither commands nor condemns celebrating the birth of Christ. For Christians, celebrating Christ’s birth is optional.

I believe there is a very important difference between celebrating the birth of Christ, and the celebration known as Christmas. I am in favor of celebrating the birth of Christ if one feels so compelled. However, I question whether Christians should participate in the December 25th tradition. The difference between celebrating Christ’s birth and celebrating Christmas will be explained shortly.

2. For the first three hundred years after Christ, there is no Biblical record of Christians participating in any annual activity celebrating Christ’s birth.

3. The first recorded celebrations of Christ’s birth occurred in Rome about 300 years after Christ’s death. It started when, in an effort to appease ALL people groups, Rome accepted ALL major polytheistic religions as legitimate, all except the newest religion, the monotheistic religion of Christianity. In order for the government to maintain control over the population, the government needed to recognize all the major religions of the people.

However, the Roman Christians rightfully viewed all the other politically endorsed religions as pagan. Nevertheless, and in spite of their lack of official government recognition, Christianity continued to grow. Eventually, in 313 AD Roman emperor Constanine proclaimed the edict of Milan,

which finally approved Christianity as a legal religion of Rome.

Therefore, the take-away is that in 313AD, Rome, not wanting to reject any major religion for fear of losing ruling control, proclaimed Christianity as a valid religion officially recognized by Rome.

4. In those days, the vast majority of pagan religions worshipped the Sun god “Mithras.” Remember, most Roman religions were polytheistic, meaning they recognized multiple deities. Polytheism conflicts with monotheistic Christianity because Christians recognize only one Deity. So Constanine used Christianity as the common religion (some say it was because Constanine was a Christian, but I cannot prove that).

He chose Christianity knowing the polytheists would accept the Christian God as just another deity, but the Christians would not accept any of the other polytheistic deities. Choosing Christianity as the common religion had repercussions. As with pagan religions today, the Christian church had little influence on those pagan religions, but the pagan religions heavily influenced and contaminated the Christian church in Rome. The pagans found it difficult to give up their beliefs and practices in order to adopt the Christian beliefs and practices.

Consequently, rather than converting the pagans to Christianity, the early Christian church was instead largely contaminated with pagan practices, symbols, and elements.

(NOTE: This Christian church

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The Valley, August 2018

12

Clowns, Christmas and Cognitive Dissonance from page 11

When you begin to think about quitting tobacco use it’s important to understand how your addiction to nicotine works. It has been established that nicotine is as addictive as both heroin and cocaine, reaching the blood brain barrier very quickly so you relax quickly. Overcoming that addiction is a process.

Once you’ve decided to quit, the first step in quitting is to understand how your addiction works. Without understanding this, your path to a tobacco/nicotine free life will be more difficult.

The physical nicotine addiction is the first link in the three link chain of addition. Having a cigarette, or other tobacco product, awakens the brain and releases chemicals that make you more awake and more alert.

The next link in the chain

is the mental link, this is a much more complicated addiction.

Whether you recognize it or not, you have developed a routine in how you use tobacco.

What happens when you get in your car? The phone rings?

You’ve finished a meal? When you get up in the morning? If you grab a cigarette or other tobacco product at these moments, and others like them, this chain is very challenging to break. That’s why, as part of the ALA Freedom From Tobacco program, we learn what triggers are a part of your individual pattern of tobacco use, before we quit. What will you do when a meal is over? When you get in your car? You must break this link to be successful.

The last link is the social one.

Who are your friends? Who do you congregate with on breaks

at work? Where do you go to socialize? It’s likely that at least some of your friends use tobacco.

How are you going to break this link? You may have to limit time around tobacco users while working to quit.

If your quit plan does not involve a plan to break these chains, your road to a tobaccofree life will be more difficult. If you are working to quit, consider joining an upcoming Freedom From Smoking class. You will learn how to break this chain and receive other tools to help along your journey. a

in Rome eventually became the Roman Catholic church. The very same church that Martin Luther rebelled against for having, among other things, pagan practices. To this day, the pagan influence on the Roman Catholic Church is abundantly clear and shows just how far the Catholic Church is from the Biblical church.)

5. Unfortunately today’s protestant fundamental Christian church is still very corrupt with many of the early pagan elements and practices, (which too is a topic for another day). However the specific pagan practice that we are concerned with in this article is the traditional celebration that occurs around the winter solstice of December 25th, and is commonly referred to as Christmas. Many of the Christmas accessories are pagan as well. For example, Mistletoe, Gift-delivering mythical beings, trees & ornaments, Holly, Yule log, and candles just to name a few (Google “pagan elements of Christmas”). Remember, the Christian church was, at the encouragement of Rome, being infiltrated by the other polytheistic pagan religions. Many of

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the “new converts to Christianity” were converts in name only and remained firm in their prior pagan practices. One of those pagan practices was the worship of Mithras, the sun god which was celebrated during the winter solstice on December 21st. The Christians, to show appreciation to Rome for officially acknowledging their religion, tried to integrate with the pagans rather than rebel against them. With the large number of people participating in the celebration of Mithras, the Christians needed a “Christian” reason to celebrate along with their fellow pagan citizens - and that is when they decided to celebrate Christ’s birth. Unfortunately, the church in Rome had to overlook the inconvenient fact that Christ was actually born around the end of September.

Therefore, the reason Christians celebrate Christ’s birth on December 25 is because long, long ago, in the city of Rome, a church wanted to appease both their pagan neighbors and their Roman politicians. The Christians wanted to participate in the same solstice celebration as the pagans, but did not want to celebrate for the same reason as the pagans. In an effort to make their celebration “Christian,” they made their celebration about Christ’s birth.

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The Valley, August 2018

Around Town With Carole

by Carole Lokan Moore

Some of you who read my “Around Town With Carole” and watch the television show “ YouTube: Camp with Mrs. Whitebriar” might laugh as I call myself a farmer. Our 7.5 acres in the largest county in NJ (ie. Burlington) stretching from the Delaware River to the ocean probably might not be big by your standards. You might have much larger farms, acres and acres maybe by the hundreds, but in my mind, I was raised a farmer at the elbow of my father and I’m proud to say I am a farmer’s daughter.

We planted the green beans about every two weeks to make sure the crop would come in over the entire summer. The limas we tied up to the strings and waited till the pods were filled by the green “kidney” shaped lima bean.

Only Green Giant can do it better and we only eat those in the winter when we don’t have our fresh. Lettuce was planted early as soon as frost was gone because it is a cold weather crop and tends to “Bolt” during hot weather, so we have none in the garden now except a few “Oak Leaf lettuce” in the shade where the trees cast their shadow. But the ones I wait for are the tomato and corn crops...because it just isn’t summer without them.

No matter how big your garden plot, or how many fields of produce you have growing, you can empathize with me when I speak of the “harvest.” We till the soil even if it means turning the soil over with a spade and not using a big tractor tiller like on the big farms. We pick out all the stones weeds and clods and smooth out the soil so we can patiently drop seed by seed into the row.

Patience is the hardest part in gardening and waiting for the rain will determine the germination time as the seeds can’t sprout until they are saturated by the God giving rain...the elixir of life.

Tentatively, the seed can “falter” if a dry spell then dries up the wetness and we wait some more... for another rain. Finally, the “green” sprouts from the brown soil and we see a plant...yippee.... a living thing that we brought to life!

But then the waiting begins again. We weed, we water, we feed in early morn or in the blistering heat of the day. The plants grow bigger and bigger....until it’s finally ready to “harvest” them.

Wow, it’s been a long time coming! Bet all those grocery store vegetarians have no clue how much effort goes into the making of their salad, especially if it’s organic.

My mind lingers back on the good old days on Dad’s 7.5 acres when me, the little girl, plucked the bugs off the plants and collected them in a coffee can. The sunshine on my back felt good in the early morning sun. We tried to get our chores done so we could go to the town pool when it opened at 10 am. It was indeed great fun to toss the big green horn worms to the hens....a foot ball game with bugs as the prize ensued….a lovely memory.

The harvest is the best part of growing things, having a garden, or planting seeds.. It makes the hard work get pushed way back in the brain so it’s not even present.

If you are a tomato farmer like my friend Eleanore and Romeo, you whip out the salt shaker from your pocket, dust off any “debris” on the skin, bite off the tip of the tomato to make the fruit juices flow, and accept the salt. Shake away... you need salt in hot weather anyway...two birds with one stone.

Salt brings out the flavor of the tomato and gives your body plenty of salt, so you don’t feel faint and get heat stroke. Of course, you need a sweat band around your forehead and a big glass of water in your hand.. Wow. Hot tomato with salt on a lovely blue sky day with the sun on my shoulders and a lilt in my attitude...now that’s a tomato.

My favorite tomato story is about the City Mouse and the Country Mouse...me being the latter. Each Christmas, I would jump on the number 9 bus into Center City Philadelphia and my cousin of the same age (over 12) would meet me at the big Center City department store, usually Gimbles or Lit Brothers. We’d do our Christmas shopping, have lunch at a fancy restaurant, and the Country Mouse got back on

the bus. What a wonderful day!

Years later when visiting my city cousin at her lovely home, I noticed a bunch of brown paper bags on her counter. Upon speculation I learned they had green tomatoes in them. She had picked all the tomatoes off her plants when they were green. “Oh you have to put them in the brown paper bags or they won’t get ripe.”

It took all the energy in my body not to laugh out loud....”But Our Nanny said that is what you do....”

Calmly, I explained “Nanny said to do that at the end of the season the night before the frost...pick all the green tomatoes and let them ripen in the bags”......it broke my heart to tell her “They ripen on the vine all summer long.” To this day the brown paper bag story is a hit at all family weddings and reunions. I love my cousin, but without her I would never have gone to the big city at Christmas or any other time. We all have our “niche” in this world. So this country cousin will just shut my mouth...right now.

Of course, you’ve probably heard me tell before that we on the farm put a pot of water on the stove, then run down to the field. We pull straight down as not to hurt the plant or the next ear below it...get about a dozen ears of corn, shuck them as you walk with them, and throw the green to the cows on the way past the barn. By the time we get back to the kitchen, the salted water is boiling and we toss them into the hot water.

Yes, even when there are only two of us eating, I still do the dozen. We eat our fill at dinner and toss the cooked left overs into the refrigerator for another meal.

That meal to me is lunch when the cold corn is popped out of the refrigerator and eaten cold. If you really want to know what corn tastes like, eat it cold. The flavor is not masked by the butter and salt from eating it hot, but the taste is a quick way to get a nutritious lunch without heating up

The Truth Has No Agenda

the kitchen.

Not only am I organic since the age of 14, and now the healthiest, old 72 year old grand mother you ever saw, but I am a “Purist.” Nope, I do not eat corn out of season. I do eat corn on the cob every day from Fourth of July till the farm tills the crop under.

Those Grocery store produce managers don’t make any money with me as I only shop in season at the local Varsacci’s Farm Market around the corner from my house. The latest word from the Nutritional Gurus is that food looses its nutrition with 36 hours, so why spend good money on old food in the grocery store, when you can check out the local farmer and do everybody a favor....buy local, eat fresh, and live to tell your children about it.

Apple salad is usually served with the corn to make a great lunch, mid-day meal.. It’s always in the refrigerator ready for any time of day The salad is named after the famous Waldorf Hotel.

This mixture is of tart apples, raisins (sometimes dried cherries or cranberries), pecans (could be walnuts), and mayonnaise, as we have altered it over time.

The story of Waldorf Salad began when a couple of substan-

tial means arrived at the hotel after the kitchen was closed. The consigner tried to accommodate the hunger of the guests by tossing those items together, which he found in the kitchen. The guests loved it and thus the famous Waldorf Salad is served at many top restaurants over the world.

Another terrific way to use that already cooked corn is to slice it off the cob and sprinkle it over some fresh green lettuce, some diced green and red bell peppers, and some salad dressing of your choice. I like just plain olive oil, but if I have some red wine vinegar, I’ll use that as well.

The fresh corn adds a delightful sweet taste to the salad and adds to the nutrition of the season.

So, as you take the harvest from the plant, stop and savor the pleasure of the product. Close your eyes when you bite that hot ripe tomato with or without salt... give me the salt....and when you go in for lunch to a cool respite at the kitchen table, try to forget the many hours of labor put into the season and just enjoy the corn and tomatoes of summer harvest. Life doesn’t get much better.....WOW! a

The Valley, August 2018

14

“...a tall native stone marker or pillar was placed close to the spot…”

The Location of Fort Granville & The Fort Granville Model

This defensive fortification, built in 1755 along the Juniata River just southwest of what would become Lewistown, was the scene of a bitter struggle during the French and Indian War. The fort was named by Pennsylvania’s Provincial Governor Robert Morris to honor of John Carteret, Earl of Granville. It was garrisoned by Provincial troops to protect the settlers of what was then Cumberland County, until its fall in late July, 1756. Little was found amid the fort’s ruins in early August of that year, except a letter written in French, which was taken to the governmental authorities of the colony. Pennsylvania historian William A. Hunter described the letter in 1960 as “a puzzle in that day and a mystery in ours.”

This war was a clash of empires, brought to the Juniata Valley 260+ years ago, that historians argue eventually brought about the American Revolution itself.

How did Fort Granville come to be build and then burned so soon after its construction?

Where was the fort located? Taken from the archives and research library of the Mifflin County Historical Society, here is what is known about the location of Fort Granville.

WHERE WAS FORT GRANVILLE LOCATED?

As you’re driving along Lewistown’s West Fourth Street you may have noticed a blue and gold Pennsylvania historical marker beside the PennDOT Maintenance Building at 1200 W. 4th St. (US 22 & 522), Lewistown. The marker recalls Fort Granville, built along the Juniata River during Pennsylvania’s British colonial period before Mifflin was a county. The marker was dedicated in 1947, but an earlier bronze plaque was placed farther out of town in 1916 before the present system of historical markers was established. Today, both

stand together in remembrance of an event that occurred almost 250 years ago.

As time passed after its destruction, the exact location of Fort Granville came into question, but not to everyone.

A traditional story told among the Brought family, on whose property the fort was originally located, tells that a tall native stone marker or pillar was placed close to the spot of the burned fort by the triumphant American Indian allies of the French. The stone memorialized the victory, proclaiming the significance of the British defeat to the native people who traveled the nearby path. As the settlers returned to the area in the 1760s, the stone remained on what would become the Brought’s farm. It was perhaps moved to facilitate agricultural activities, but for over the next one hundred years the stone was consistently referred to, according to research conducted around 1900, as the stone marking the place of the battle of Fort Granville. In the early 1890s, it was relocated beside the Sylvester Brought farm house to serve as a hitching post.

The Brought’s old brick farmhouse still exists, occupied today

by Lilac Home Decor and Bushmen Landscaping, at the corner of Loop Road and Business Route 22. An interesting aside. A quick look at a current street map notes that Fort Granville Lane is located off Loop Road in Granville Township near Brought’s former home.

Tradition suggested a location, but research into the exact site became quite serious around WW I, in an attempt to clarify the fort’s location once and for all.

The Committee of Historical Research was formed to sift through the various official records and accounts. A founding member of the Mifflin County Historical Society, George R. Frysinger, chaired the committee. Extensive historical research was completed both locally and at the State Archives in Harrisburg, the results appeared in the 1916 edition of The Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania published by the Commission to Locate Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania.

A bill offered in the General

Assembly, sponsored by local State Representative J. M. Yeager, resulted in the placement of a commemorative bronze keystoneshaped plaque along US 22 west of Lewistown.

A small plot of ground in a field beside the road was designated for the purpose, near where Tractor Supply, Harbor Freight or the former Jamesway parking lot is located today.

The marker was the first official memorial of any kind in Mifflin County, according to Frysinger, who wrote about the dedication of the memorial at the time.

During the unveiling ceremony held on Memorial Day, May 30, 1916, Mrs. Harriet Woodriff, great - great, granddaughter of Thomas Holt, owner of the original land on which Fort Granville was located, unveiled the marker. The marker itself, was made of native stone taken from Mann’s Narrows near Reedsville and measured nine feet tall by four feet wide.

The bronze keystone-shaped plaque was affixed to the stone base, stating: About 650 yards south of this spot, on the high bank of the Juniata River, was the site of Fort Granville, which was erected in 1755-56. This fort was twice attacked by Indians. It was destroyed on July 30, 1756, when in command of Lieut. Edward Armstrong, who was killed in the battle with a large body of French and Indians. The entire garrison was either killed or carried into captivity. Erected by the Pennsylvania Historical Commission in

co-operation with the Committee of Historical Research of Mifflin County, 1916.

But what of the fort, where was the actual location and can one explore the ground where the struggle unfolded almost two and one half centuries ago? The Committee of Historic Research and the authors of Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania seems to have put that problem to rest. A map included in the 1916 edition of Forts shows the area believed to be where Fort Granville was erected.

Their conclusion: Any remains of the battle were obliterated with the extensive construction of the Pennsylvania Canal during the 1820s.

THE FORT GRANVILLE MODEL

The Battle of Fort Granville, a small event during the 18th Century’s version of a world war, known as the Seven Years War in Europe, central Pennsylvania remembers it as the French and Indian War (1756 - 1763), during which the Battle of Fort Granville took place July 30 and August 1, 1756 along the banks of the Juniata River, within a mile of what would become Lewistown.

FORT GRANVILLE MODEL FACTS

The information below comes from the society’s archives and tells an interesting story of the inception, planning and completion of the Fort Granville model.

J. Martin Stroup wrote many times about the fort and the history surrounding its destruction during the French and Indian War. Stroup, a Mifflin County Historical Society past president and editor of the Lewistown Sentinel for many years, also wrote about the Fort Granville model itself.

Fort Granville Finished model, 1941. J. Martin Stroup, Mifflin County Historical Society and John W. Brassington, Lewistown High School woodworking instructor make final inspections of the completed Fort Granville model at the school. Today, the model is on exhibit at the McCoy House Museum Carriage House, 17 N. Main Street, Lewistown, PA. - Courtesy Mifflin County Historical Society.

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“The historical society had an opportunity to have the model professionally done as a featured display at its museum, instead chose local high school students to participate in an educational project,” noted Stroup. (The society’s museum was then located in the Municipal Building at Third and Main Streets, Lewistown.)

The model was constructed in 1941 by Lewistown High School Vocational students, with materials provided by the Mifflin County Historical Society. Plans were drawn up by Lewistown High School Vocational Department drafting students, based on research by experts, the year prior to construction.

Robert F. Wilson was the instructor of the drafting class and supervised students James Grumbine, John Grumbine, Reed Snyder, Clarence Sheriff, Frank Hassinger and James Rush.

Dr. Sylvester K. Stevens, noted historian from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and Eugene M. Gardener, NYU professional archaeologist, were the project consultants. (Gardner built the outdoor model of Fort Augusta at Sunbury and supervised the full sized Fort Roberdeau in Sinking Valley near Altoona.)

Construction of the Fort Granville model took the better part of three months. The operation was supervised by woodworking instructor John W. Brassington. Students working on the construction were: Abram Henry, Charles Brindel, Fred Orme, Harry Miller, Charles Miller, Lloyd Weston, Fred Myers, Richard Hackenberry, Fenton Aurand, John Durst, Lyman Guss, John Goodwin, Eugene Speece, William Cooney, Harry Rietze, David Aumiller, Robert Sheets, David Earnest, Jack Moyle, Harry Botteicher, Merrill and Rex Bailey.

Not an exact replica of Fort Granville, although some data exists about the original design of the fort, the model follows the size and description of frontier forts of the French and Indian War era built by Capt. George Croghan, based upon Stevens’ and Gardner’s research. Hunter and Stroup corresponded in the late 1960s about a possible sketch Hunter found in the State Archives, but health problems prevented Hunter from completing his research at the time. No additional correspondence on the subject exists in the MCHS Archives.

The scale is about 1 inch to

Continued on page 30

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The Valley, August 2018 of year. I would not do well living in a place where the season changes were not clear and distinct, the anticipation of waiting for the next season to arrive is half the joy. There is something beautiful and awe inspiring about each season and I am so thankful to live in Central Pennsylvania where I can experience them all.

Living on a farm is especially beautiful this time of year with all the gardens and crops at their peak and full of color and produce. Not to mention the delicious flavors being added to the dinner table.

Summer Days This has been one of the loveliest summers I can remember in a long time. Although we have had our hot, humid days, there have been incredibly wonderful days full of sunshine and cool breezes.

The gardens and crops are happy, and the mountains and lakes are in their full glory. Rather or not we travel around the world or enjoy the beauty right in our back-yard, summer is a truly wonderful time

The Truth Has No Agenda

Sometimes life feels like one of these beautiful summer days and sometimes it feels like one of the miserable hot, humid days, where the second you walk out the door, every mosquito and gnat within a mile range finds your head and starts swarming it. No matter what stage of life we are in, there will always be beauty to celebrate and unfortunately, there will always be the annoying sting of life’s struggles as well.

Remember the flowers still look pretty in the rain. The storms bring growth and strength and

make their colors more vibrant.

So, it is with life, let the “storms” come and face them with boldness knowing they will end and you will be stronger for having endured them. Life’s seasons will change and with those changes, more beauty and more challenges will be ushered in, such is the circle of life in all its amazing wonder. Wishing you all happy summer days and smoky s’morefilled nights full of laughter and star gazing. a

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The Valley, August 2018

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The Valley, August 2018

The Truth Has No Agenda

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The Valley, August 2018

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Harvesting Silage Getting Your One Shot Right!

W

e have one shot to harvest corn silage, so lets get it right!

By: Jason Wivell

Corn silage, for most farmers in our area, is the biggest portion of the cows diet. This means that it has the greatest impact on the cows performance and on the farmers profitability. So, knowing this, how do we make sure we get it right?

Each variety of corn has a “days to maturity” which tells us in general how long it will take for that variety to mature. An average temperature above 50 degrees Fahrenheit will grow corn, but we all know it grows much faster during the hottest days of summer than the warm days of spring, so in reality it is an accumulation of heat units and hours of sunshine that grows corn, not just number of days. It is good to mark your calendar but make sure you are keeping a close eye on the corn as it nears maturity.

Each year presents us with many variables that can cloud our judgment on when to harvest. This can make it hard to “compare to last year”. Here are some of the things that can alter the appearance of the corn: variety differences, growing conditions (wet or drought), soil types, disease pressure, weed pressure, fertility, and frost.

Despite all the variables that make it difficult to use visual cues as to when you should harvest, there are some general rules that can help us be successful. The biggest thing to get right, is total plant moisture. The optimal harvest moisture varies based on whether you have an upright silo, trench, or ag bag for storage. The overall range for optimal fermentation of corn silage is 62%-68%. There are reasons why you may plan on harvesting drier or wetter than this, just note some of the complications. Too dry, can have less compaction causing slower fermentation, increasing the chance for wild yeast and mold growth or have lower starch digestibility due to hard kernels (we recommend kernel processors to help with this). On the opposite side, harvesting too wet causes excessive seepage causing loss of nutrients and is damaging to concrete and silo structures. Too wet can also alter the fermentation and can favor butyric acid causing foul smells (clostridia fermentation) which can make sick cows depending on severity.

Total plant moisture can be done on the farm, or in a lab, but the sample needs to be representative. At least 10-12 stalks, taken from a representative part of the field then chopped with a forage chopper should provide a good sample. Don’t just sample an end row, or dry knob. Walk the field and grab random stalks from all areas.

There are several visual cues that tell us corn is maturing and nearing its optimal harvest window. Keep in mind that the corn grain and plant may not optimally get ready at the same time, so be ready to go sooner in hot dry conditions, and maybe wait a bit longer in cool wet conditions. First signs are usually lower leaves turning brown, husks losing color, and kernels starting to dent. Milk line is one of the best indicators of corn silage maturity, the milk line starts to form after full denting has occurred. As the line starts to form below the dent, this is an indicator of sugar converting to starch, and a sign of grain maturity (energy goes up as the milk converts to starch). Experience shows that most corn is ready to harvest between 40-70% milk line. 40 being just below the dent, and 70 being almost to the cob. The milk line can be seen in the picture below and is at the 50% mark right in the middle of the kernel. This is where most farmers will start chopping depending on stalk moisture. Remember to break the ear in the middle and look at the half with the cob tip on it. The milk line can only be seen from this side of the kernel. It is a good idea to run a total plant moisture when the milk line hits 20-30%.

Stalk moisture can be looked at by bending a stalk over just below the ear. We recommend 3 drops that can be seen running from the bend. I usually like to see a few more drops after twisting the stalk once it is bent over. This technique needs some experience to properly gauge, but if juice squirts, or runs down the stalk before twisted, it is probably too wet. Stalk moisture acts similar to milk line, as the corn matures, it moves down the stalk.

Keep in mind this is not a one size fits all approach to determining when to harvest. Talk with your dairy consultant, chances are one of your neighbors chopped and his milk line was about half way, but he is getting lots of juice, or another waited till it got down to 75% and his total plant moisture result was 65% and he feels it was just right.

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The Valley, August 2018

Savvy Cents & Sensibility

by JoAnn Wills-Kline MBA

Can You Afford To Be Sick?

If you are diagnosed with a serious illness or health crisis who should you seek first – a medical specialist or a money counselor?

The answer may surprise you, as the latter choice may give you the best chance to survive with your health and your wealth intact. If all of a sudden you were faced with a medical bill totaling a quarter million dollars for a surgery how would you respond?

Let’s say you had good insurance, a plan that pays 80/20, could you mitigate the $50,000 cost as your out of pocket, or at least a portion of that until your yearly deductible was met? Can you,

today, skate through a $10,000+ out of pocket bill with no harm?

Most of us cannot. Would you be alarmed if your retirement or total savings was at stake as required payment for medical care? What about your home that you worked so hard to finally get paid off after ALL THOSE YEARS – could you cash in the equity knowing it was all gone on medical bills? Sadly, many people face such questions – and once the crisis has already ensued. Sadly, many people are dealing with a double-edged sword the health and wealth crisis.

According to Peter Moore of AARP Magazine, June/July issue

Clowns, Christmas and Cognitive Dissonance from page 12

was not a regular church attendee.

He referred to himself as “Holiday help” because he only attended on holidays. Furthermore, he was not alone. In fact, the Christmas Eve service is the most financially beneficial service for many churches. It is the church equivalent to “Black Friday.” So how motivated are pastors to lead their congregations away from the Christmas celebration? I believe that when a pastor considers the pagan origins, they may be inclined to poo-poo the idea rather than investigate further. I believe the conflicting ideas of “Christmas is a pagan tradition” and “Our church celebrates Christmas” have unpleasant implications for many pastors. Additionally, I believe their congregation recognizes the same implications for their personal life. The congregation may already have a PREFERNCE regarding the Christmas controversy, and now all they need is their pastor’s help to make their preference believable. I have heard pastors say that saving souls is more important than the smaller issue of whether or not they celebrate Christmas, but I do not see these two efforts as being mutually exclusive. My opinion on why churches continue to perpetuate the Christmas tradition may sound harsh, but for some reason this tradition has continued since the third century.

If there is a less harsh explanation as to why this is so, I should like to hear it. Moreover, if one believes their church is immune to corruption, worldly influence, and political correctness, just look at the Roman Catholic Church in the Vatican. How Biblically accurate

In essence, dropping this little bit of Christianity into the massive pagan celebration was like dropping a little applesauce into a big jar of spit. Now I suppose if God were neutral on our behavior, then all would be well. You would not be reading this because I would not have to write it. Recall my story of my son’s scary clown birthday party. I said my son hates scary clowns, but he will just have to deal with them at HIS party because I happen to love scary clowns. If Christmas is Christ’s birthday party, then we are asking God to deal with the pagan origins because WE happen to love celebrating Christmas. Consider reading Mark 7, Micah 6, Matthew 15

You may be wondering why you never heard any of this in your church. Possibly because your pastor never thought about it. That is not a negative reflection on him/her, because for years, I celebrated Christmas without thinking about it. I love Christmas. I grew up celebrating Christmas and quite honestly, it was one of my favorite times of the year, especially when family replaced materialism. Now that I know the truth, and the fact that I am trying to put God’s will ahead of my will, I stopped participating in the tradition. I admit, giving up the Christmas tradition for God’s benefit was very hard. I’m sure it wasn’t as hard as Him being nailed to a cross for my benefit, but it was still hard. So back to your pastor – My father-in-law

2018, average cost of cancer treatments are in the $150,000 range – requiring a range of treatments over a length of time. If you cannot work during treatments, or the disease has progressed, how will you continue to pay for insurance to continue medical care? Moore also stated that in 2012 the FDA approved 12 cancer drugs, and 11 of them had a sticker price in excess of $100,000 per year. If you have a heart attack, and you ramp up medical costs around $40,000 can you afford it? The treatment costs are only a portion of the total cost, of an illness or health crisis to you. What about income loss? If you no longer can hold your job due to medical issues, or do you believe they are? Yet, their membership is literally in the billions! That is a lot of believers and I imagine many of them feel their leadership, while not perfect, is sincerely doing their best to lead them properly. While good intentions are admirable, the actual observance of Biblical principles cannot be understated.

In fact, it would not surprise me if the Catholics, like other Christians, believe THEIR church is right and the OTHER churches are wrong.

Final thoughts –

In this article, I have attempted to explain how the Christmas tradition began. Christmas did NOT begin because Christians wanted to celebrate the birth of Christ. It began because Christians, not wanting to offend their fellow pagan citizens, needed a reason to participate in one of the major pagan celebrations. That pagan celebration was dedicated to the sun god Mithras and was held during the winter solstice around December 25th. The Roman Christian Church selected Christ’s birth as the purpose of their celebration. Their decision to do this illustrates how the pagan religions had significant influence on the Christian church rather than vice-versa. The church in Rome eventually became the Roman Catholic Church and still incorporates many pagan symbols and influences, with Christmas being one of them. I pointed out that the Bible neither commands, nor condemns Christians celebrating the birth of Christ. Further, there is no Biblical evidence that Christians celebrated the birth

The Truth Has No Agenda

the medical issues of a loved one – the income stops eventually. Do you have a plan in place to keep utilities on, pay the car payment, mortgage (if you have one), buy groceries, buy gas for medical treatment road trips, and pay the doctor office visits? What is your plan if any? Today, could you mitigate a health crisis? Are you prepared to make a severe downsize quickly if necessary, and do you have the credit worthiness to do so? If not, I urge you to seek counsel on these very questions.

It might seem as if the chance of a health crisis happening is slim to none – but you never know.

Wouldn’t you rather be prepared, and able to mitigate a crisis than losing everything you worked years to attain?

Research what the income limits are to obtain financial assistance from a medical provider or the hospital. Seek out help from the hospital financial office for

resources for people with financial hardships. Educate yourself on whether your savings and retirement are safe and off limits if a crisis would occur. Examine options for home equity lines of credit, market values of your home, and your current debt to income ratio. If you have insurance coverage through an employer, find out what their COBRA rates are, and what it will cost to continue coverage if you are unable to work for a period of time. If you are employed, find out if you are eligible for FMLA leave and what the procedures are to obtain the leave if needed. Seek counsel from a wealth advisor, and an attorney, to know where you stand in your current situation should a crisis occur. The hourly fees of those professionals are well worth the advice they can give. Do all you can in your power to shore up yourself from a health crisis rocking your foundation. a

of Christ until the third century.

God tells us in the Bible to NOT participate in pagan traditions, or otherwise be friends with the world. He commands us to be set apart from the world. I used the example of my friend to illustrate how people sometimes make decisions with their hearts rather than their heads. We sometimes have preferences that are based on emotion rather than reason and I suggested we guard against it.

I explained that cognitive dissonance is a verified behavior and occurs when we have ideas that lead to undesirable conclusions. If we are not careful, we might try to manipulate those ideas to avoid

the unpleasant conclusion. In the case of this article, those facts are “Christians enjoy celebrating Christmas," and “Christmas is an un-Biblical celebration with pagan origins.” Therefore, the obvious conclusion is “In an effort to obey God, Christians should stop celebrating Christmas.” However, many Christian do not WANT to hear this. No church WANTS to suggest this. Now at this point I should mention that many Christians and Christian organizations (like Answers in Genesis) have gone to great lengths to justify how and why it is acceptable for Christians to celebrate Christmas.

Continued on page 30

20 Essential Oils from page 10

about your child. If your child has any illness or condition such as epilepsy or asthma, you must take this into consideration also.

After looking into several reputable resources myself and finding so many differing answers, I’ve made a chart that I hope will help. This is a very general chart, however, and does not contain all oils. The oils in bold are the oils which I have found to be most agreed upon. For example, Ro-

man Chamomile was mentioned as safe in every resource I found.

As was Peppermint in the not safe category.

There are of course exceptions and limitations with many of these oils and I suggest doing your research when interested in using a specific oil on your child. For example, Lemongrass is generally recommended to be avoided, however, after the age of two years old ,the risk greatly diminishes.

Lavender oil deserves its own special little shout out here as it’s often toted as one of the safest oils out there. But have you heard the rumors? There have been claims of Lavender oil causing breasts in male children—a tad ridiculous in my opinion, but worth a look regardless. After looking into the study, it’s obvious that it was simply a possible suggestion, not a definite link. The study concluded that we should be aware that there might be a link between lavender and hormone disruption in some people. There is not definite evidence to suggest that Lavender oil is dangerous in young boys, therefore, I feel completely safe using it with and around my children.

Just as Lavender is often toted as the safest, Peppermint oil is the most dangerous. Peppermint oil should not be used topically no matter the dilution rate or diffused in the home. The adverse effects are not common, but if it happens, can be extreme. Peppermint can slow breathing in young children and cause respiratory distress.

Not exactly ideal. Hearing this can be disheartening for a momma who has young children and who

The Valley, August 2018 able to Essential Oils. Only also love peppermint oil like the gentlest oils at the smallest myself. I have personally found concentrations should be used and that peppermint oil clears my infrequently at that. In fact, some sinus headaches when inhaled. suggest that no Essential Oils be So rather than suffer with my used and only floral waters or headaches until my children are grown, I have found a loophole. hydrosols.

Enter personal diffusers. Passive,

So now that I know which personal diffusers such as Essenoils are safe and which are not tial Oil jewelry or small contained and how to safely administer oils inhalers are perfect. For example, to my children, one big part of a when I suffer from a sinus headmom’s life still needs attention: ache, I can simply carry around cleaning! the bottle and sniff for a bit. Or I

When cleaning my house my can drop goal is, of course, to effectively some clean, but also to avoid bringinto a ing harmful substances into the convery environment in which my tained kids literally live and breathe! inhaler So naturally I turn to Essential and Oils. But there’s a problem. The open strongest cleaning oils, those with and the most anti-microbial properties, sniff are also those that have the highwhen est risk for adverse reactions. Oils needed. such as Cinnamon Bark, Oregano, Or my and Thyme are all very effective favorite at abolishing bacteria, but are stylish also known to be more irritating way to skin. So, now what? Turn to is to drop some into my diffuser necklace.

I am cautious of the necklace, however, if I am to nurse my HealthSouth Nittany Valley son—I take Rehabilitation Hospital offers it off then. a special program specifically But as long designed to benefit patients as I am not living with Parkinson’s disease. snuggling The program, Parkinson Wellness the kids, Recovery, is available at our I feel the outpatient clinic located at jewelry HealthSouth Nittany Valley. diffuser is perfect Parkinson Wellness Recovery involves for handsphysical and occupational therapy based free relief upon research that has proven exercise without is a form of medicine. Incorporating exposing exercise for brain change and principles the kids to of neuroplasticity, the program addresses Peppermultiple symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. mint.

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When beneficial in the early stages of the disease, it comes to but the program incorporates personalized wee babies goals to work for all levels of fitness and though, disease severity. we really do have to Call 814 359-5630 to Learn More be careful.

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commercial products that almost certainly have harmful substances? Or, take my chances with risky oils? Neither! Let me plant a little thought and then expand on what I mean. Just because these oils are the most powerful, doesn’t mean that they are always the right choice. Translate this into the medical world.

Just because an illness could be treated by powerful antibiotics, doesn’t necessarily mean its the only way, or the best way. (This is of course my personal opinion.

Another topic for another time!)

I do believe that our immune systems need to work a little bit in able to.. well.. work! So using these big gun oils for every little cleaning, every single day might be a tad over the top. Instead, there are oils which are much less risky and perfectly acceptable for everyday use (Bridges). For everyday cleaning surfaces such as countertops, floors, and table top I currently use a blend of Tea Tree, Lemon and Pine. These oils are fine to use around the

kids. For a little deeper cleaning (without exposing the kids to the risky oils), I will use oils such as Palmarosa, Rosemary, and Bergamot. These oils with their antibacterial, antiseptic, and antimicrobial properties would be perfect for cleaning up after handling raw food or for cleaning the toilet. There are times however for those more risky, deep cleaning, powerful anti-microbial oils such as after an illness has gone through the household. In these instances, care must be taken to ensure that the kids aren’t overexposed. Use them on a day that the kids are visiting grandma, or use in the bathroom with the door closed and windows open.

Until my children are older, I will not diffuse these strong oils in my home when they are present.

Just a note that the common immune boosting blends known as “Thieves” or at Shade Mountain Naturals, “Boost,” does contain Cinnamon Bark and Clove, and as such, I do not advise diffusing

Continued on page 28

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The Valley, August 2018

Modern Energy and Alternative Heating with Curt Bierly Heating Season Is Nearing: Time To Fuel Up

Labor Day is less then a month away, which signals the start of the fall season. It’s not unusual to need a little heat late August/early September. Time to take a serious look at your present heating system and decide if you intend to upgrade this year or stay with what you have.

If you decide to stay with what you have, faithfully did your spring maintenance, and have a pellet stove, it’s time to fuel up.

We just received our summer load of wood pellets and just finished the letter offering them to our customers at special summer pricing.

We usually mail the offer middle of July, but usually have people calling us early July to know

when they’ll receive the letter in the mail. These people are way “ahead of the curve.”

If you have a wood stove, I would assume you are all “fueled up” - or - if you aren’t, that you will cut or purchase a supply of seasoned fire wood and store it under a roof or cover it with a tarp. Too late to cut/buy unseasoned firewood now unless it’s for 2019/2020. If your fuel is coal, oil, gas or electric, no need to buy now as all are readily available, unless your coal/oil/gas supplier offers you a good price for buying early and you have the funds to take advantage of it.

If you intend to upgrade your heating system, it’s time to make

your purchase before the rush begins. There are lots of choices out there depending on what you want to budget for the project, how automatic you want the system to be, what comfort level you’re looking for and how much your willing to pay in operating cost.

It can be as simple as installing a modern wood/coal/pellet stove, or as complex as installing a whole house heat pump heating/cooling system with gas or electric backup.

My favorite system for the customer that wants a simple economical heating appliance that will save lots of heating cost money and is easy to operate is a Hanover I, Cast Iron, Hopper Feed, Saey Coal Stove and Selkirk Insulated Stainless Steel Chimney ($5000 + or - installed).

If you have a good inside chimney or a good outside lined chimney, the Selkirk Chimney wouldn’t be needed. In addition, this 60,000 btu/hr heating appliance is non-electric (good emergency backup), will burn 12 to 16 hours unattended, uses about 3 tons of coal per heating season ($250/ton delivered x 3 tons = $750/year).

My favorite system for a customer that wants maximum comfort and efficiency in a whole house ducted central heating/cooling system is a Trane Two Stage

Heat Pump backed up by a Trane Variable Speed Gas Two Stage Furnace (95% efficiency, Natural Gas or Propane) controlled by a Trane Wi-Fi Enabled Digital Thermostat (system cost installed $20,000 + or - ). There’s a supply register in each room, central humidification in the winter, central dehumidification assistance in the summer and central filtration. Supply Air to the room registers is heated by the Electric Heat Pump to 95 + or - degrees and is most efficient and comfortable when the outside temperature is in the 70 to 40 degree range. Below 40 degrees, supply air to the room registers is heated by the high efficiency Gas Furnace to 140 degrees, which provides a warmer, more comfortable heat when it’s cold outside.

If you decide to upgrade, it’s time to talk to us or your favorite

HVAC professional.

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 the chair for the Penn College HVAC Advisory Board. You can contact him at cbierly@bierlygroup.com or call him at 814-349-3000. a

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The Valley, August 2018

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toward balancing our budget. It seems like a small amount, but as with most things, every little bit adds up. With that quarter, we could add $20,000 a year to our budget. That could make a huge difference.

Ah well, it would be nice.

Eleanor Crumblehulme, a library administrator in British Columbia phrased it this way, “Cutting libraries during a recession is like cutting hospitals during a plague.”

As a side note, we lose thousands of dollars of materials every year when patrons don’t return books they borrow. So, if you don’t have the money to pay the fine, just drop the book in our shiny new silver book drop.

A Little Bit Goes A Long Way

I don’t know anyone who really likes to talk about non-profit public service budgets. Way too many social service programs need to have fundraisers every year just to survive that year and make it to the next. And the public does not like to hear about the salaries, or lack thereof, made by those working at a public library.

Add to that the cost of our library system, patron computer system, copiers, and on and on, our expenses really add up.

Every year our library struggles to achieve a balanced budget. It is a difficult task with rising expenses and a stagnant income. Libraries receive less from the state of Pennsylvania and local county government than in 2010.

Yet, every library is still expected to uphold certain criteria to continue receiving funding. We still have to raise a large amount of funds through donations. We have our annual campaign every year and the mini-golf fundraiser, but that is just a portion of fundraising that we must do every year.

Our annual report (ask for one at the library) from 2017 has the breakdown of financial information, statistics, as well as pictures from the year’s programs.

One of the statistics is attendance.

Last year we had over 80,000 visits to the library. That can make for some busy days. Now, if every visitor dropped a quarter in our glass donation box each time they visited, that would go a long way

Thanks to the Friends of the Mifflin County Library for the book drop.

A library is the delivery room for the birth of ideas, a place where history comes to life.

–Norman Cousins

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Beavertown God’s Missionary Church invites children ages 3-11 to an exciting “Knights of the Kingdom” Vacation Bible School with Michael and Jeannie Fritz. VBS will be held August 14-19, 2018, 6pm-8pm Tuesday-Friday, and on wfb10am on Saturday and Sunday. Children will enjoy exciting services, activities, snacks, and crafts—all focused on helping them be a Knight of the Kingdom. A full youth program for young people ages 12-20 will be happening with Terry Yoder as the special speaker.

Bus transportation is available from McClure, Beaver Springs, Beavertown, Middleburg, Penns Creek, and Troxelville areas. To register your child for the Beavertown God’s Missionary Church VBS please visit www.beavertownchurch.com or call 570658-2422. For those driving their children to VBS, Beavertown GMC is located at the Corner of Covered Bridge and Creek Roads in Beavertown, PA.

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The Valley, August 2018

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The Valley, August 2018

24

Acer saccharum (Suger Maples)

While we’re on the task of choosing our overstory trees in a permaculture plot, we can’t forget the wonderful uses of the sugar maple tree. There are nearly 130 species of maple worldwide and each has different uses. For example, the vine maple is a pliable source of wood which- according to Michael “Skeeter” Pilarski a famous permaculturist, was the primary wood used for bow making among Native Americans. We see hundreds of maples every day and most of us are so removed from their uses, we only think of one when we hear sugar maples: syrup!

Maple syrup is, of course, one great use for any tree you plant. Surprisingly, it doesn’t take as many trees as you’d expect to harvest enough sap for a family’s maple syrup. When we lived in Ohio, we had friends who “loaned” their trees to some

neighbor boys who harvested and boiled down their own syrup.

Ever since, my husband dreamed of having a maple syrup farm. We never got that farm, but we do have our taps and buckets ready!

Maple trees wouldn’t be much of a permaculture species if we didn’t have a few additional uses to attribute to them, though, so here are some others: Mushroom cultivation. As a hardwood, many types of saprobic mushroom species will grow on maple logs and chips. Of course, saprobic means that the mushroom is breaking down the decomposing wood. A symbiotic fungi type is called a mycorhizzal, and unfortunately those do not grow on maples. Yet, maples are abundant and not many logs are needed to get plenty of mushrooms. So which types grow best on sugar maple? Oysters are your

best bet for this tree on either logs or chips. Turkey Tail, Reishi, and even Lion’s Mane are possibilities for inoculation, though you’ll want to be sure you grow these on logs rather than chips. Finally, Shiitake, despite being named the “oak mushroom”, will also grow on sugar maple bolts. (Some websites will tell you that is not possible, but I have grown them on maples myself.)

Bee forage. Though other species of maple offer more in this category, bees do visit the male flowers of the sugar maple (the female flowers have no nectar), which provide a source of food during a time of the year when forage is scarce.

Wood. It almost goes without saying that as a dense hardwood, the timber can be used to make any number of projects you may have

on your homestead and that it makes great firewood.

If you’re really industrious, it’s also a tonewood, meaning that it sounds nice when musical instruments are made out of it, and a pulpwood, meaning you could make paper from its pulp. (If anyone does this, please send me an email. I want to hear all about it.)

Seeds. Did you know those cute little whirligigs you played with as a kid are actually edible? They are and they are pretty nutritious, too. Some people find them bitter (me!) but many people like them.

They should be peeled before eaten and they can be boiled, roasted, ground into a flour, or just eaten as is.

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So, there you have it. This common tree is a wonderful addition to your permaculture overstory. I would happily have a few dozen of these in my plot and who knows? Maybe someday my husband will get that maple syrup farm after all. a

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The Valley, August 2018

Home at the Grange

Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra to Feature Event at Seven Mountains Wine Cellars

by Patricia L. Bird

Grangers Are Doers

As summer continues full swing you might wonder just how busy all of the subordinate Granges in Centre County along with Centre County Pomona #13 just might be. Well here are just a few things that have been going on.

As, the seniors at the high schools start their college classes or a new employment, the Centre County Pomona Grange along with many of the subordinate community Granges can take pride in knowing that they are helping some of those lucky graduates get a small start to their future endeavors. The Centre County Pomona Grange presents a one-hundred and fifty-dollar scholarship to each of the five Centre County School Districts.

The award winners are chosen by the following guidelines. The award can be presented to either a young man or young woman of the districts choice who is an average all around student who must maintain at least a C average. They must be employed and contributing to the financial needs of their family while also being able to be a good volunteer to the community and their school. This year the recipients were just as the award designated. Once again, five wonderful students received the awards and the Pomona Grange was very happy to present them.

Another important function that is a big part of the Grange is remembering all those who were good and faithful members that have gone on to the Grange in Heaven. At the May meeting of both Pomona Grange #13 and the individual subordinate community Granges, members’ names were read and a flower presented in their memory for all the good deeds that they have done for many years. Each and every individual who has passed on will be greatly missed by everyone.

Granges will also be holding many other events throughout the summer. Each Grange held a preliminary contest that included baking categories, sewing categories, crafts, art, and photography.

They will be judged to not only go on to the county Pomona level, but also possibly to the PA State Grange Session in October and maybe even National Grange in November. Grange members are eligible to enter any and all contests with the possibility of receiving not only ribbons, but also monetary prizes. So I suggest that all Grange members continue showing off your special skills.

Last year was the first year that I really got involved and I already have a few blue-ribbon items to submit to PA State Grange, including some wreaths and photographs.

From the Grange events,

I will go on to suggest that the entire community get your skills sharpened up to showcase what you can exhibit at the Centre County Grange Encampment and Fair. There are endless possibilities for all ages. Have you checked out the beautiful quilts and afghans displayed? Or do you enjoy seeing all the baked goods, flowers or even all the agriculture items like hay or corn?

Children can showcase their hobbies at the YP of H building along with photography, FFA and 4-H projects. Hopefully you registered any entries by the July deadline along with the minimal entry fee of just a dollar. You could find the entry forms in the Fair handbooks, which were in the Centre Daily Times earlier in June or the Grange Fair website at www.Grangefair.net. If you want to see some really interesting and exciting new things be sure to stroll through the Grange Building and YP of H Building to see everything entered. Just remember one important thing. DON’T TOUCH!!! These items are very precious to the person who made it.

Progress Grange #96 in Centre Hall held a Children’s Fair in July. There were lots of wonderful things to see and do. This year I donated my time to help with this worthwhile event. In

The Truth Has No Agenda

The Pennsylvania Chamber Orchestra will present their 9th annual “Seven Mountains Summer Music Fest” featuring wine, food, and a chamber music concert on Sunday, August 19th, at 2 pm. The concert will be performed by harpist Anne Sullivan, flutist Naomi Seidman, and cellist Jonathan Dexter. The concert will feature an eclectic mix of light classical and pop music in the lovely, pastoral setting of Seven Mountains Wine Cellars, 324 Decker Valley Rd., Spring Mills, PA.

All three musicians are wellknown professional performers

in Central Pennsylvania, with decades of orchestral, solo, and chamber music experience. The event will also serve as PCO’s “season kickoff”, revealing their upcoming 2018-2019 concert season to attendees. There will also be a raffle to benefit the orchestra with many intriguing items.

Reservations are requested

by Aug. 17th by calling the PCO office at 814-234-8313 or online at www.pachamberorchestra. org. Tickets are $35 and include one pour of wine, food, and the concert.

Walk-ins are also welcome.

See ad page 5 a

attendance were the Centre Hall Fire Company, the Boy Scouts with their race track and race cars, the Army Reserves with a tactical vehicle, the Centre County Sheriff with his car to explore and the EMT’s from East Penns Valley. Also, serving lunch were the members of the Penns Valley Band Boosters. For a good price you could get a hot dog, chips, cookies and a drink. Fun was had by everyone who came and played one of the several games which included Fishy Fishy, ring toss and dime pitch. Next year why not come out and have a great time with your children and also support Progress Grange #96. This fundraiser will help them raise needed funds to make repairs to their beautiful hall in downtown Centre Hall. If you are looking at other things to do, try visiting some of the events at the Centre County Grange Park where the Centre County Grange Encampment and Fair is held each year in August. During the summer you will find concerts like the Blue Grass Festival, the Covalt’s annual hymn sing, tractor and truck pulls, gun shows, horse and dog shows (the park has one of the most beautiful and modern equine facilities in the Eastern United States) and other festivals and events. Last week I volunteered to help the Penns Valley Grange at their Food Stand during one of the largest horse shows being held. Even though it was a very warm day, I enjoyed helping and raising funds for their Grange.

I was amazed by the amount of horses and people in attendance.

What a sight to see all the beautiful costumes and gear being worn.

It was a real kaleidoscope of

colors and I saw some of the most beautiful horses ever. If you have never visited please try to do so, you won’t be sorry. Also, think about stopping by the Penns Valley Food trailer and saying “Hi” to Carol or Ruth or another one of the hardworking Penns Valley Grangers. The food is really good and you should try the new “toasted cheese sandwich” which made its debut while I was there.

The feedback was very positive about it.

Do you love Penn State Football and to tailgate but hate the hassle of University Park? Again, this year you will have the opportunity to tailgate at the Grange Park grounds and ride a shuttle to the game. Just call the Fair office at 814-364-9212 for any and all information or again check out the website www.grangefair.net.

The Centre County Pomona Grange once again held it Community Picnic at the fairgrounds on June 12, 2019. The speaker was Mark Higgins, Centre County Commissioner. Commissioner Higgins talked about the US 322 road project and also about working to get the Dairy Industry to possibly build a plant in Centre County. If you have ever heard what great cooks Grangers are, well I can confirm that it is true.

Some of the best food that I have ever tasted was after I joined the Grange and attended events. To go along with the great food, you can always ask a Grange member about purchasing one of the several cookbooks that the Grange has published. Many of those great recipes are in them.

This year will be a big cel-

Continued on page 30

The Valley, August 2018

26

Last month, I informed you that the Commonwealth Court ruled in the favor of The People, granting access to security footage from a secret meeting in the Gregg Township office in late 2016. The Board of Supervisors are apparently not satisfied with this decision, as the township solicitor has filed an Application for Reargument. The township continues to waste money to hide what they are doing, despite blowing their solicitor budget.

From the filing: “Ms. Grove has now sought more than eightyone hours’ worth of surveillance footage from the Old Gregg School.” I have requested video of repeated vandalism that took place in front of the municipal building. What I am looking for probably totals less than 10 minutes… maybe less than 5 minutes.

“She, much to the contrary, seeks multiple days’ worth of video footage that, if disclosed, will give her a wholesale view into the inner-workings of the Old Gregg School’s surveillance system - and not just Ms. Grove, but anyone

viewing her YouTube page, where she posts these videos for public access and viewing.” I do intend to put the videos online.

The Office of Open Records has recently directed Gregg Township to provide other records they have denied access to, such as emails the township claimed are exempt from disclosure. I am not holding my breath waiting for them to comply, as there are multiple orders from the OOR they have not complied with. I emailed the secretary four days ago asking when I could expect the most recent records I won on appeal. She did not respond.

I did not attend last month’s Board of Supervisors meeting.

Since they are finally recording and posting them, I can choose to watch from home. More importantly, so can you. I credit this change for the lack of drama in the last two meetings. This new procedure contrasts with their behind-the-scenes decision in late 2016 to stop audio recording meetings, and destroy existing recordings against their own policy.

I am grateful some residents took the time to sign my petition to livestream meetings.

I was recently inspired by an article about paid public servants conducting personal business while at work. A watchdog organization requested a day of browser history from more than 100 public officials, then reported on their findings. I requested a week of browser history from Gregg Township and Penns Valley Area School District. What I got back from both agencies was heavily redacted. The school district claims, “the redacted information is not a district record documenting a transaction or activity of an agency that is created, received or retained pursuant to law; is non-business; business exempt; or predecisional…” Gregg township simply said, “the records require redaction.” When asked about this, the secretary told me the redacted records were either personal, or could be personal.

I appealed, of course. The township submitted their response by email, but mailed my copy.

They have been doing this for awhile now to keep me from being able to respond to their submissions before the window for submissions is closed - even though it costs more money to do it this way. The Appeals Officer actually forwarded me the submis-

sion this time. Some of it is written like fiction, while other parts are carefully worded omissions of fact. “the Office of Open Records has already decided this issue” False. The OOR directed me to retrieve the records before appealing. “Supervisor Miller owns her personal laptop, not the Township.” I asked for township-owned devices to be searched, not personal laptops. “Michael Marshall v. South Whitehall Police Department, OOR No. AP 2017-1702, guided this matter involving Ms. Grove’s request.” That case relies on Pa. Office of Attorney General v.

Bumsted, relating to porn emails that were under investigation.

I informed the Appeals Officer that I consent to pornographic websites being redacted from the records.

“Mr. Spiess further stated that, pursuant to relevant

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law, including that set forth in the Marshall matter noted above, the township should disclose only township-related business from the browser histories and redact all other matters, like websites that an employee may have visited on his or her personal time.” The township submitted this statement, but did submit any evidence that the redacted records were created during personal time.

I am not sure what will happen next, but it should be interesting. Stay tuned! a

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The Valley, August 2018

Mail Pouch Books

by Carleen B. Grossman HAATCHI & LITTLE B [The Inspiring True Story of One Boy and His Dog]

By Wendy Holden Coptyright 2014 224 pages

Out of unimaginable cruelty came a miracle. Haatchi, a 5 month old Anatolian Shepherd, was run over by a train in London, England. How he was dumped

I recently heard about this book on a radio call-in program for which I was recommending one of my book reviews. It is a true dog rescue story that is also a love story with multiple parameters! This is the story of a family with a boy and his dog, who inspire each other – the story will inspire anyone who takes the time to absorb this enjoyable and highly readable book.

Ant-Man and the Wasp

We last saw Scott “Ant-Man” Lang (Paul Rudd) in 2016’s “Captain America: Civil War” where he fought on Cap’s side, lost, and went to prison. It was briefly mentioned in this year’s “Avengers: Infinity War” that he took a plea deal where he was released in exchange for promising not to do any more superhero work, making him one of the few MCU heroes not to appear in the film. Now we’re getting “Ant-Man and the Wasp”, where we find out what’s been going on in his neck of the woods. Like a response you’d expect from a laid-back casual friend, the answer is “not much.”

We join Lang as he’s just three days away from the end of his mandated house arrest. It’s

not so bad – he’s had time to transform his house into a most impressive playground for his daughter. But his plans to peacefully serve out his sentence are threatened when he’s abducted by his old friend Hope (Evangeline Lilly). She and her father, the brilliant scientist Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), have created a device that will allow them to enter the quantum realm, previously thought to be basically a death sentence, to rescue her longlost mother (Michelle Pfeiffer).

They need Lang’s help because he’s survived the quantum realm himself and because he saw the mother in a vision and might be able to pinpoint her location.

Of course there are complications. For starters, Lang can’t be away from his house or he’ll go back to prison. Also, his relationship with Hope and Hank is pretty much shot because he absconded with the Ant-Man tech in “Civil War”. More importantly, other parties want the quantum tech for themselves. A black-market tech dealer (Walton Goggins) wants it to make money, and the molecularly unstable Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) wants it to continue living. A lab accident from when she was a

onto the train track, whether by abuse or neglect---by a suspicious looking man seen near the tracks, only Haatchi knows. But somehow this dog, by the actions of many strangers survived his horrific injuries. It was fortune, again, that kept him from being put down, because in England his breed is considered aggressive, the same way we think of Pit Bulls here in the U.S.

As a puppy, Haatchi was a very large dog. But those who met him knew he was a gentle giant.

At one of the animal sanctuaries where he was taken after being found on the train tracks, the staff realized how loyal this dog was. child causes her to fade in and out of existence, making her simultaneously vulnerable and dangerous. An old colleague of Hank’s (Laurence Fishburne) can help her control her powers, but without energy from the quantum realm, she won’t survive much longer.

It’s up to Lang, reunited with his Ant-Man suit, and Hope, donning the similar Wasp suit with very little fanfare, to keep the quantum tech from falling into the wrong hands.

Ant-Man and Wasp are of course known as small superheroes, so perhaps it’s appropriate that this is a film of small aspirations. There’s no fate-of-theuniverse stakes here, it’s just a squabble over who gets to use the unproven quantum tech to save, at most, one life. That’s not the say that the characters won’t engage in fights, chases, or other action set pieces to achieve those ends, but everybody is unofficially okay with not letting the action get too far out of hand (relatively speaking, there’s still a skyscraper-sized ant suit and an actual skyscraper that can pop up at will in play). I can sort of understand the MCU wanting to go low-key with “Ant-Man and the Wasp” to balance out the enormous-

The Truth Has No Agenda

He reminded them of a muchloved canine folk hero in Japan, an Akita named Hatchiko, who waited for his owner at a train station, even many years after the owner had died. Thus, the staff decided on an Anglicized variant of the Japanese dog’s name and they nick-named this big dog, Haatchi. How ironic because that name would suit him perfectly.

Little B, AKA--Owen, is a boy [born August 25, 2005] with a rare genetic disorder, SchwartzJampel Syndrome, that has caused his muscles to tense, causing pain and damage to his joints. This disorder gives his body and face a twisted and unusual look. Because of this, Little B was becoming more and more withdrawn. He never wanted to be in public, because people stared at him. That changes when his step-mother, encourages their family to adopt the dog, Haatchi, she has read about

and seen on-line. Then Little B’s father learns about the dog and is also captivated by his looks and story. When Little B meets this giant three-legged dog with no tail, it is love at first sight and they decide to keep him.

There are many challenges for both dog and boy, and along with the challenges come some great rewards. The author basically keeps to the facts so it reads like an interesting article...it is fast paced! And, there is a delightful center-fold section with photos for you to view.

Animals can bring special joy and companionship into our lives.

Here is a real-life story to remind us that we all need a special “ani-mate” companion in our life!

What is most amazing about this book is that this story is not over.

Both Haatchi and Little B are still around, warming hearts and serving as inspiration! a

ness of “Infinity War”, but in the process we’re losing significance.

Aside from getting Ghost and the Pfeiffer and Fishburne characters into the equation, what reason does this movie really have to exist?

Part of my problem with “AntMan and the Wasp” is that AntMan is a silly superhero and we’re not far enough removed from the aggressive silliness of “Deadpool 2” (which is still in the top ten at the box office), not to mention the character’s more consequential MCU brethren in “Infinity War” (still in the top 15) for the film to feel like a breath of fresh air. This movie should have waited until,

say, November, where it would have been more effective as a bridge between “Infinity War” from April and “Captain Marvel” next March. As it is, we’re getting an occasionally fun, but ultimately flimsy superhero movie that falls noticeably short of its contemporaries.

Grade: C“Ant-Man and the Wasp” is rated PG-13 for some sci-fi action violence. Its running time is 118 minutes.

Contact Bob Garver at rrg251@ nyu.edu. a

The Valley, August 2018

28

Life in the East End

by Rebecca Harrop

We are water logged in the East End! After starting the month a little dry, we have just had anywhere from 8 to over 10 inches on our farm, from Sunday afternoon through Wednesday evening. We really got pounded Wednesday afternoon. At our house we got 2” in a couple hours, while Ben got 4” at his house in Siglerville. There are only a couple miles between us, but what a difference a couple miles makes.

Siglerville’s one and only street looked more like a creek than a road. The road by our old barn below Siglerville was flooded from the corner above the barn to below the barn at the Lower Creek Road intersection. It made it difficult for people living in New Lancaster Valley to get home that evening because this end of Honey Creek road is closed for a bridge repair. Ben had to take my Dad down to feed the calves because Dad’s truck was too low to go through the water. Uncle Dan had to walk through the back fields to get home from the robot barn. They did end up closing the road past the old barn then. Ben’s and our basement both had water in them. We had over two feet in ours. We have a sump pump in the cellar, but it quit working so Ben brought down the big pump they use on the spray tanks, but it quit working too. My mom had to make a flying trip to Lowes for a new sump pump. Ben and Dad got it hooked up and it pumped out the rest of the water pretty quick. The water even got in the furnace but thankfully not as much as it has in the past. Ben

Won’t need to water the garden for a few days.

will find some prime 4-H and FFA livestock Saturday, August 11th at the Livestock Auction starting at 10:00 am. You can fill your freezer, or if you don’t need the meat yourself, you can use the Buy Back program to support the 4-H and FFA kids. Don’t forget the Benefit Auction Saturday, August 11th at 6:00 pm. There are lots of items and gift certificates donated by local businesses and individuals to be auctioned off by Don Chesney. The wood carvings will also be included in the auction. There is something for everyone at the Mifflin County Youth Fair & Open Show so come on out to the Fair!

Once the fair is over it seems like the end of summer is coming so fast. School will begin before we know it. I for one am not ready for it yet. It seems we just started summer, but looking

started it and it ran, so we are grateful for that. There was 6” of water in the lower end of our garden around the squash, zucchinis and the cabbage plants.

Thankfully it didn’t reach my dahlias! That would have been bad. By Thursday morning all the water had drained out of the garden and the yard only had a couple spots were there was still water. It’s pretty amazing when you think about the amount of rain we’ve had that it could just recede that fast. The water over at the old barn was back in the creek bed when Dad and Mom went to feed calves Thursday morning around 4:30 am. I think Dan said it was down a lot even late Wednesday evening. All things considered, we could have had a much worse mess than we did.

I saw some videos and photos from other areas that showed a lot more flooding, so it just shows no matter how bad you think you have it, someone else is in a worse The Walleye were especially situation. cooperative this trip.

So while all the flooding was at the garden, my peach tree, and happening I was in Erie with my the crops in the field, I know fall brother Ernie walleye fishing. I is just around the corner. So for missed all the “fun.” It was actuthose of you who still have vacaally sunny and gorgeous in Erie. tions, I hope you have a safe and We had caught our limit by 11:00 happy time. For the rest, enjoy the am. Normally we are out until remainder of summer by visit2:00 or 3:00 pm before we get our ing some of our local parks for a limit. I love fishing in Erie, it is day or a couple hours. Summer so much fun. There are a couple picnics are a great way to spend of the wineries in the area we some time. We wanted to go always like to visit while we are more ourselves, but as usual time there. I brought Mom a couple slips through our fingers. With bottles back for doing my barn that I’ll end this month’s article work while I was away. from the East End! a

I’m sure you all know the Mifflin County Youth Fair & Open Show starts August 6th and runs through the 11th. It is always a fun time. We will be extremely busy the week before and the week of the Fair. It’s is a crazy, hectic, week but very rewarding in the end. I miss showing animals myself, but I enjoy seeing the young kids out there doing it.

I just want to remind everyone to come out and show your support for the youth and adults of our county during fair week.

Stop in the green building and see all the exhibits and displays and check out the vendors there.

There will be a “Cash & Carry” Baked Goods auction Tuesday August, 7th, starting at 6:00 pm for all the Open Show Baked Goods entered. Of course you

An Udder Day An Udder Dollar

by Gabrielle Swavely

August is a very important month for the majority of Centre County. If you’re like me you’re counting down the days until the 144th Centre County Grange Fair, or maybe you’re just planning a day trip to the fairgrounds with your family. Regardless of if you spend one day or ten at the fair, keep in mind it is more than just fun and games.

The roots of the fair run deep with agriculture. While at the fair you can visit the many buildings displaying beautifully grown crops handled with the utmost care or visit one of our main attractions: the livestock barns.

In the dairy barn you can see all seven breeds of dairy cows and get up close and personal with

these sweet animals. People of all ages spend weeks preparing for the fair and finally their hard work will pay off.

The fair is an amazing place to learn about the dairy industry.

You can see exactly where your milk comes from and the care that the farmers have for the animals.

Everyone in the dairy barn is excited to be there and they’re just as excited to have you all visit them.

So come visit me at the dairy barn at this year, ask questions and learn new things. And while you’re at the fair, don’t forget to get all three of your daily servings of dairy, whether it be through pizza, a cheeseburger, or ice cream. See you at the fair! a

Essential Oils from page 20

Kudos to Alex for finishing this course while being a mom to a newborn and a one year old! So proud I am!

As always: thank you for reading and thank you for your support. Please come visit us on Jack’s Creek Road in Lewistown, or now at The Barn in Lemont (next door to Happy Valley Brewery). We love visitors at Shade Mountain and we LOVE to chat, so if you have questions: bring them in! If you are interested in learning more about natural skin care or essential oils: we teach classes and do make & takes!

Join us on Facebook to view our schedule and sign up, or give us a call at 717-248-8847. ~Tamela a

in homes when there are young children present.

So to any mom out there who has young kiddos...don’t fret. We CAN use our beloved oils safely in our homes with some simple guidelines and precautions. As always, learn and research before doing anything that affects your precious little ones. My hope is that the knowledge I have gleaned from AromaHut and my own personal studies on the subject will create a safe and happy home, not only for my own children, but for my nieces and nephews, friends and customers. Thanks for reading!

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The Valley, August 2018

The Truth Has No Agenda

29

The Valley, August 2018

30 Grangers are Doers from page 25

ebration for the Centre County Pomona Grange Young Patrons of Husbandry (YP of H). It will be Eighty years old. You might think that this group is made up of the young members of the Grange, well originally it was but today members are all ages and some are as they call themselves Young People of Heart. Please come to the meeting in December 2018 to be part of the celebration or attend one of the quarterly YP of H meetings.

In July you found Grange members from all over the state staying in the big green tents and their RV’s while attending the PA State Grange Family Festival. If you are a Grange member and have never attended, please contact the PA State Grange office at 717-737-8835 to find out how to attend next year. This event is a way to meet Grange members from around the state and enjoy the fellowship with them. There are always many seminars and craft events that you can participate in.

While you are reading this and planning your schedule be sure to pencil in the Garlic Festival at the Boal Mansion on September 9, 2019. Centre County Pomona Grange will be hosting a food booth there and hopes to see many of you. It will be a day filled with many activities, good food and lots of fun things. I hear that there just might be garlic milkshakes to purchase and try.

Lastly, I would like to mention that you will find many Grange members participating

Our Yesteryears from page 14 the foot and shows a stockade made of logs set in earth and extending 13 feet above the ground.

The model includes a firing stand running along the interior of the foot of wall with loopholes for firing. Above the firing stands is a platform,that allows defenders to kneel and to fire. Two blockhouses are located at opposite corners for lookouts and allows defenders to shoot along the walls if attackers got close to the stockade.

Completed model in 1941 contained piles of rocks and clubs placed on the firing platform for further defense if needed. A log cabin barracks can be seen inside, originally to house fifty men, although records show a garrison of fifty men. The shingles were individually hand split and shaved to replicate full-sized shingles.

in fundraisers for the rest of the year. Some of these will be to help build up the much depleted operating funds for the individual Granges. Some of the others will be to help Centre County bring the PA State Grange Session to Happy Valley in October 2019.

The event will bring hundreds of people to local hotels, eating at various restaurants and visiting the many sites of the county while they conduct the business of the Grange. This means that to bring funds to the area Grangers need to raise funds to make it happen. Please consider donating to this great cause, by supporting the 2019 PA State Grange Host Committee’s efforts. You might see sandwich sales, sticky roll sales, bingo and many much more including the current sale of Sheetz coupon books that sell for $10.00 but contain over $20.00 in coupons. If you would like information feel free to call me for information at 814-359-2851 or GracieGrandma55@yahoo.com.

Any suggestions for fundraising ideas will be greatly appreciated.

So, as I end for now, you can see that the Grange does and will always continue to be a very busy community organization that is always working for the betterment of the community and advocating agriculture. Be sure to visit the Centre County Grange Fair during the middle of August at the Grange Park in Centre Hall. Its official dates are August 17 – 25, 2018. You just might have the time of your life. a

The Fort Granville model remains today one of the most popular exhibits with school children. The lure of history calls to them as they gaze on the fort’s

Clowns, Christmas and Cognitive Dissonance from page 19 I encourage you to consider their pro-Christmas perspectives. However, at the end of the day, their arguments and justifications are an attempt to defend a tradition that is not Biblical, was not practiced by first or second century Christians, and only began when a group of third century Christians needed a Christian excuse to join in a pagan celebration. I believe the only reason these counter arguments are eagerly welcomed and perpetuated is, as I said above, that no Christian WANTS to believe their Christmas celebration is wrong. Furthermore, when someone WANTS to believe something, they tend to be very forgiving with any logical inconsistencies with the supporting evidence. In contrast, I loved celebrating Christmas. I WANTED these pro-Christmas arguments to be correct and believable. I WANTED to be able to celebrate Christmas without my reasoning convicting me. Therefore, if I could have my preference, I would choose to be able to celebrate Christmas. Unfortunately, I cannot reasonably conclude that celebrating Christmas is acceptable to God, and at the end of the day, it is God’s opinion of Christmas that matters to me, and not, for example, the opinion of Answer In Genesis. And that leads nicely into this…

Independent of your decision to celebrate or not celebrate Christmas, please understand that many Christians HAVE made the choice to stop celebrating walls and imagine the days of the French and Indian War. The model can be seen in the Carriage House at the McCoy House Museum, 17 N. Main Street, Lewistown, PA.

In the early 2000’s, George Heath provided additional information to the historical society about the students involved in the model’s construction. The names of the following students graduated from Lewistown High School, Class of 1941, of which George was a member.

A 1941 Sentinel news clipping announcing the exhibit of the model in the museum of the county historical society, then located in the basement of the Lewistown Municipal Building.

Drafting: James Grumbine

John R. Grumbine

Reed A Snyder

Clarence Sheriff James Rush Construction:

Abram Henry

Charles Brindel

Fred Orme, Jr.

Christmas. However, some of our Christian brothers and sisters have accused us of either trying to earn salvation, condemning the celebration of Christ birth, belonging to a cult, or “living under the law.” None of which are true.

Please understand that rejecting the December 25 tradition is not about trying to earn salvation. We too understand salvation is a free, God-given gift found through belief in Christ alone. Many of us who reject the December 25th tradition do so because we believe the Bible is clear when it teaches that God’s people should be set apart from the evils of the world – regardless of how those evils are packaged. Adding “good” Christian intentions to a pagan celebration is like adding “good” applesauce to a jar of spit, and then expecting God to enjoy our celebration of Him. Throwing Jesus a birthday party because we love him shouldn’t require that He tolerate the aspects He hates.

Furthermore, we do not reject Christmas because we are in a cult, or disapprove of celebrating

Christ’s birth, or are Jewish. Many of us participated in Christmas, but now we see Christmas from a different perspective. As with any issue, seeing things from different, even opposing perspectives allows broader objectivity. We have experienced the Christmas debate from the INSIDE (pro) perspective and the OUTSIDE (anti) perspective. We have enthusiastically participated in the tradition, and we have deliberately stopped participating in it.

Sadly, our antagonists who only consider the issue from the “we still participate in it” perspective believe their pro-Christmas opinions to be “well-informed,” “fact-based,” “intelligent,” and “unbiased.” Something else to consider, did you know that the Pilgrims did not celebrate Christmas? Their reason being it was a pagan practice. (http://theweek. com/articles/479313/when-americans-banned-christmas). Finally, I applauded all you dear souls who had the fortitude and perseverance to reach this point in my article. I expect good things from you! a

Centre County Grange Fair and Encampment August 17-25, 2018

Harry Miller

Charles Miller

Lloyd Weston

Fred Myers

John R. Hackenberry Fenton Aurand

John Durst

Lyman Guss John Goodwin

Eugene Speece, Sr.

The next time you drive by the west end of Lewistown, check out the blue and gold historical marker at 1200 W. Fourth Street.

It was dedicated March 27,1947.

The inscription reads: Fort Granville - Erected in 1755-56 along the river just south. An important link in the chain of early frontier defenses. Destroyed July 30, 1756 by French and Indians under Capt. Coulon de Villiers.

It’s a time long gone and mostly now forgotten, but the French and Indian War, Fort Gran-

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ville and the mysterious French letter are part of Mifflin County’s rich heritage.

NEXT MONTH: About six miles south east of Lewistown along a winding mountain road, rests a small village situated near the railroad line. The gathering of houses is but a vestige of the small company town of Hawstone, named for the former Haws Refractories Company plant located at the base of the mountain there along the south side of the Juniata River. The settlement was founded in the early decades of the 1900s when the Haws Company of Johnstown, Pennsylvania decided to build a silica brick plant in Mifflin County. In September, Hawstone – Stories of a Century Old Town.

HISTORY IS OUR STORY PASS IT ON! a

Historic Bellefonte Cruise, After Action Report

By Bill Pantle

The Valley, August 2018 Mifflin County Youth Fair from front page tee organized a benefit auction.

On Saturday night of the fair at 6:00PM, we sell donated items with the proceeds used to pay premiums and buy supplies to operate the open show (open to all Pennsylvania residents—re-

improved over the years and we keep striving to make it better.

We welcome positive ideas and suggestions. The Fair Committee does most of the work at least 10 months of the year to make it happen. If you would like to help at the fair, just let us know.

Come to the fair, enjoy good food, good times with friends, free

30th Anniversary of the Historic Bellefonte Cruise 15-17 June 2018

As the Centre County Courthouse clock struck six o’clock Friday 15 June, the cars, trucks and

gardless of age). This auction has taken on a life of its own and has become a Saturday night staple.

The auction now supplements the

shows, games, contests, and much more. Admission is free, parking is only $4.00 per vehicle starting at 4:00 PM. This year’s state

Best in Show, ‘57 Chevy convertible All photo’s Courtesy Bill Pantle

motorcycles began celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Cruise – they were once again cruising the streets of downtown Bellefonte.

whole fair, including all youth activities. 2018 is the 60th year anniversary for FFA in Mifflin County. A quilt commemorating that has been made from last year’s Quilt Blocks that were exhibited at the fair. The queensize quilt will be auctioned off at the Benefit Auction Saturday night, August 11th, with proceeds going to the local Big Valley FFA Chapter. Our Fair has grown and

There were classics, beaters, family rides, beautiful restorations, all out there beating the block, having fun – but,no burn-outs.

The streets shut down promptly at 7:30 and Johnny Gems and his Knuckleheads

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til the music stopped well after 10:00 pm.

Close to 500 cars, trucks and motorcycles began rolling in at 7:00 AM Saturday for the professionally judged car show. Gary and Carol Stevens won Best in Show with their 1957 Chevy Bel Air convertible.

More than 15,000 visitors enjoyed not only seeing all the cars, trucks and motorcycles on display but, they also enjoyed: the music of the Beach Party Boys from Canada, the amazing food court, face painting and balloons for the kids, Rama Lama, etc. It was a long day and most folks were anxious to get home, but some of the hard-core remained for one last cruise around town following the awards ceremonies.

struck up with their American Graffiti Rock and Roll Tribute for the traditional Sock hop on “the Diamond.” Folks were twisting, jitterbugging, gyrating, and just enjoying themselves and the music. The Diamond was packed

But the Cruise weekend did not end there and then. The Soap Box Derby began their event at noon on Sunday. They had a super turnout and we expect to see more soap box racing on Allegheny Street in the future.

Once again, we’re looking forward to seeing all of you back at the 31st Annual Historic Bellefonte Cruise next year. It’s always held on Father’s Day weekend. a

theme is FARMS, FAMILIES, FAIRS, & FUN.

Come out and see us between August 6 through 11. If you have any questions, look us up—we will be happy to answer them.

You can find us at www.mcyouthfair.com and on Face Book @ miffcoOpenShow. Enjoy the fair and have fun. Email lutherj1211at gmail.com. a

The Truth Has No Agenda

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The Valley, August 2018

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