Issuu

DECEMBER 2015

Local flavor Family-run restaurants become Local airports connecting family favorites in co-op country cooperative members

PLUS Improve indoor air quality The hole truth Soup as an antidote

DECEMBER Vol. 50 • No. 12 Peter A. Fitzgerald ED I TO R

Katherine Hackleman S E NI O R E D I TO R / W R I TE R

James Dulley Janette Hess Marcus Schneck George Weigel

CO N T R I B U T I N G CO L U MN I S TS

KEEPING CURRENT News items from across the Commonwealth

W. Douglas Shirk

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

How natural gas caught coal

L AY O UT & D ES I G N

And how that changes the world of energy

Vonnie Kloss A DV E R T I S I NG & C I R CU L AT I O N

Michelle M. Smith M E D I A & M A R K E T I N G S PE CI A L I ST

F E AT U R E

Local flavor Penn Lines (USPS 929-700), the newsmagazine of Pennsylvania’s electric cooperatives, is published monthly by the Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association, 212 Locust Street, P.O. Box 1266, Harrisburg, PA 17108-1266. Penn Lines helps 166,000 households of co-op consumermembers understand issues that affect the electric cooperative program, their local coops, and their quality of life. Electric co-ops are not-for-profit, consumer-owned, locally directed, and taxpaying electric utilities. Penn Lines is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts. The opinions expressed in Penn Lines do not necessarily reflect those of the editors, the Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association, or local electric distribution cooperatives. Subscriptions: Electric co-op members, $5.42 per year through their local electric distribution cooperative. Preferred Periodicals postage paid at Harrisburg, PA 17107 and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes with mailing label to Penn Lines, 212 Locust Street, P.O. Box 1266, Harrisburg, PA 17108-1266. Advertising: Display ad deadline is six weeks prior to month of issue. Ad rates upon request. Acceptance of advertising by Penn Lines does not imply endorsement of the product or services by the publisher or any electric cooperative. If you encounter a problem with any product or service advertised in Penn Lines, please contact: Advertising, Penn Lines, P.O. Box 1266, Harrisburg, PA 17108. Penn Lines reserves the right to refuse any advertising.

Family-run restaurants become family favorites in co-op country

12A C O O P E R AT I V E

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

CO N N ECT I O N

Information and advice from your local electric cooperative

TIME LINES Your newsmagazine through the years

SMART CIRCUITS

Efficient methods to improve indoor air quality 17

OUT D OOR A DV ENT UR ES

17 18

The hole truth 18

COUNTRY KITCHEN

Soup as an antidote 19

POWER PLANTS

Hello from a ‘certified gardening wacko’ 20

CLASSIFIEDS

PUNCH LINES

Thoughts from Earl Pitts– Uhmerikun!

Board officers and staff, Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association: Chairman, Leroy Walls; Vice Chairman, Tim Burkett; Secretary, Barbara Miller; Treasurer, Rick Shope; President & CEO, Frank M. Betley © 2015 Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited.

It’s time to say goodbye to pumpkins, hello to evergreens, snowmen

RURAL REFLECTIONS

Winter wonderland O N T H E COV E R The limited edition print, “The Best of Times,” is available from the Renfroe Collection of Fine Art, 916 Holly Hills Road, P.O. Box 867, Hartwell, GA 30643-0867. The cost is $60 unframed plus $16 S&H, and $290 framed (contact gallery for S&H charges). You can also reach the gallery by phone at 706-376-5707 or email at renfroeart@comcast.net. (This reflects only a portion of the full print; for a full view of the print, go to: www.pamelarenfroe.com.) All prints are guaranteed and major credit cards are accepted.

DECEMBER 2015 • PENN

LINES

KEEPINGcurrent Looking for mammals in Pennsylvania

Cellphones may provide lifeline for honey bees in Africa

The Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Pennsylvania Biological Survey are partnering in a project to map the current locations of the 64 known wild mammal species in Pennsylvania, and they need your help. The Pennsylvania Mammal Atlas is the first such project for mammals in the state. Citizen-scientists across the Commonwealth are being asked to visit www.pamammalatlas.com to browse maps, statistics, photographs and descriptions of each wild mammal species in Pennsylvania. Residents who register as a volunteer at the site can then share their own photographs of mammals they have photographed in the wild. After researchers and citizens gather information, species distribution maps will be updated, and researchers will have a much better understanding of where to focus conservation efforts.

A Penn State University project that relies heavily on cellphone technology to enhance honey bee pollination — and ultimately the entire food system in East Africa — is underway. University officials say the goal of the two-year project is to create an information-gathering and decision-support system that combines global positioning systems, geographic information systems, and cellphone technologies to translate field data into reliable, evidence-based management recommendations for small farmers.

Northern snakehead problems expand in Mid-Atlantic region

The invasive northern snakehead, a fish first confirmed in southeastern Pennsylvania in 2004, may also be bringing new diseases that could spread to native fish and wildlife. The northern snakehead is native to parts of China, Russia and Korea. Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey report that some adult northern snakeWatch for it: a new Penn head from the Potomac River south of Washington, D.C., are Lines coming in January infected with a species of December marks the final issue using this mycobacterium known to Penn Lines design. In recognition of the upcomcause chronic diseases among ing 50th anniversary of the magazine published a wide range of animals, by the Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association for rural electric cooperative members in Pennsylvaincluding mammals. nia, Penn Lines will debut a new look in January. In the planning stages for well over a year, the magazine’s new design will have a clean, fresh look, along with shorter features, more features, and more energy and industry content. In addition, the anniversary year of 2016 will feature specialized content, including reader input. The first issue of Penn Lines was published in October 1966, reaching 93,000 homes and businesses. Today, the magazine circulation is 166,000. Its current design debuted in November 2006.

PENN

LINES • DECEMBER 2015

Riders can now show support for veterans with new tag A new motorcycle registration plate, “Honoring Our Veterans” authorized by Act 17 of 2015, allows riders to show their support for veterans. It features the standard motorcycle registration plate design

Penn Lines survey deadline approaches The deadline for Penn Lines readers who were randomly selected to participate in a survey is fast approaching. In order to have your survey results recorded, the survey must be completed and postmarked before Dec. 15, 2015. Readers who did not return their survey were sent a reminder letter in midNovember, asking them to take a few minutes to provide their input. This survey is one of the important ways in which Penn Lines magazine and advertising staff gauges readers’ likes and dislikes, which helps determine editorial and advertising content. The questionnaire takes just minutes to complete and all responses are kept in strict confidence. If you were one of the readers who received a survey in the mail, please complete it and return it in the postage-paid reply envelope. As a bonus, readers who respond to the questionnaire by Dec. 15 will be entered in a contest to win an iPad Mini.

in blue, white and yellow with an image of the American flag and a bald eagle with the words “Honoring Our Veterans” printed on the bottom of the plate. Each plate costs $35, and $15 from each sale goes to the Veterans’ Trust Fund administered by the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to support Pennsylvania veterans and their families. The Honoring Our Veterans license plate has been available for passenger cars and light trucks since 2012, but the motorcycle plate is new this year. Motorcycle owners can apply for a plate by completing and submitting Form MV-914 (Application for Honoring Our Veterans Special Fund Registration Plate) found on the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation website at www.dmv.pa.gov by choosing “Registration Plates” in the “Vehicle Services” section and then clicking on the “Special Fund” tab. l

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ENERGYmatters How natural gas caught coal And how that changes the world of energy B y Pa u l W e s s l u n d

ENERGY MADE HISTORY last April when more electricity in the U.S. was generated with natural gas than with coal. It lasted only a month, but it signals huge changes that are making the landscape of power production a lot more complicated. In April, natural gas fueled 32 percent of the electricity in the U.S., compared with 30 percent for coal. In one way, that was a fluke, since electricity use typically declines in the spring and fall, and coal plants take advantage of those times to schedule maintenance. Sure enough, by May, coal was back in first place by 33 percent compared with 31 percent for natural gas. But recent trends will soon make the April ranking the new normal. As recently as 2005, coal sat way on top, generating more than half of all the electricity in the U.S. Natural gas provided just 19 percent. There are several reasons for this dramatic reversal. For one, utilities are retiring their coal-generating capacity at the rate of more than 3 percent a year since 2012, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). EIA estimates that the pace of coal plant closures could continue through 2020. Another reason for the trend is certainly concerns about coal’s effect on the environment and the resulting government regulation. The much-publicized natural gas drilling boom of the past seven years is also producing plentiful supplies of the 6

PENN

LINES • DECEMBER 2015

alternative to coal at relatively low costs. Another key reason for this trend is that natural gas generation technology is cheaper and easier to build than coal plants. Environmental rules make that cheaper technology even more attractive. Emission control has greatly increased the costs of building and running coal plants. The search for reductions in emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, which is blamed for climate change, puts even more pressure on coal. Natural gas emits about half the greenhouse gases of coal. The Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, announced in August, calls for 27 percent of the nation’s electricity to be generated from coal by the year 2030, and 33 percent by natural gas. Under that plan, renewable energy would rise from 12 percent now, to 21 percent. It all adds up to continued declines in coal as an electricity fuel, says Mike Casper, senior manager, generation and fuels, for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. The shift to natural gas, however, brings its own challenges, Casper notes, including a pressing need for new pipelines and new transmission lines, and coordinating renewables into the energy mix. “It’s all intertwined,” he says. “There are a lot of factors that need to be considered, including time, planning and costs to appropriately integrate new generation sources.” While the decline in coal will impact local economies in Pennsylvania that have long relied on coal production, electric cooperatives here are strongly positioned to handle these industry shifts, says Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association (PREA) and Allegheny Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Allegheny)

Industry officials predict natural gas will soon overtake coal as the No. 1 generation source for electricity. ENERGY CHANGES:

President & CEO Frank Betley. PREA represents the interests of 13 member electric cooperatives in Pennsylvania and one in New Jersey, while Allegheny is the wholesale power provider for these member systems. “Cooperatives here get about 70 percent of their power from non-carbonemitting nuclear and hydroelectric power,” Betley explains. “The rest is purchased on the market, so our exposure to industry changes will be minimal.” l Paul Wesslund writes on cooperative issues for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the Arlington, Va.-based service arm of the nation’s 900-plus consumer-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperatives.

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PENNlines

LOCAL

flavor

Family-run restaurants become family favorites in co-op country

ALL IN THE FAMILY: Ike Fry is in charge of roasting the turkeys served at Fry Brothers Turkey Ranch near Trout Run. Fry, who began working at the family business when he was 12, and his son and daughter-in-law, Nathan and Daniela Fry, inset, represent the fourth and fifth generations of the Fry family involved in the business.

PENN

LINES â€˘ DECEMBER 2015

By K at h y H ac k l e m a n S e n i o r E d i t o r / Wr i t e r

Turkey Ranch’s success is contingent on family and local residents who work there, and a combination of hungry locals and visitors who make up their customer base. As most people could guess, Fry Brothers Turkey Ranch, served by Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperative (REC), will soon be wrapping up its busiest season. “Our busiest single day is usually Mother’s Day, when we will serve around 1,000 people,” Nathan Fry explains. “Other busy days are Thanksgiving and Easter. We are open year-round except Christmas Day, but we really start to pick up in the summer when vacationers come through and add to our local regular customers. We are swamped beginning in late September through October when people are in the area to see the beautiful fall foliage, and we stay busy through the traditional turkey season of Thanksgiving and Christmas.”

Family tradition When Nathan Fry began clearing tables at the family restaurant at 14, he was just carrying on a family tradition.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY FRY BROTHERS TURKEY RANCH

he name — Fry Brothers Turkey Ranch – reveals two of the most-significant details about the restaurant located on top of Steam Valley Mountain off U.S. Route 15 at the State Route 184 exit in Lycoming County: its specialties are Thanksgiving-style turkey dinners and family. Currently, the staff includes three members of the Fry family — Ike Fry, who began working at the restaurant alongside his parents when he was 12, and Ike’s son and daughter-in-law, Nathan and Daniela Fry, who along with Ike manage the day-to-day operation of the restaurant. Like many independently owned restaurants in rural Pennsylvania, the Fry Brothers

BACK IN THE DAY: Howard Fry Sr., one of the original “Fry Brothers” who started the Fry Brothers Turkey Ranch, poses in front of the William Fry & Sons Meats sign at the family’s meat market on West Fourth Street in Williamsport in 1910.

DECEMBER 2015 • PENN

LINES

PENNlines

A HOT CUP OF COFFEE: Charlotte Dudkin, co-owner along with her husband, Stanley, of the Cedar Run Inn, pours a cup of coffee for a guest at the upscale dining establishment located in the tiny community of Cedar Run.

“My great-great-grandfather, William Fry, came to the United States from Germany in 1870, and he opened a meat market,” he explains. “William’s sons, Howard Sr. and Raymond, were involved in a number of food industries and restaurants in the Williamsport areas. In 1938, they bought a bunch of land here where the restaurant is located. They raised their own turkeys, and opened the restaurant on Mother’s Day in 1939 with an opening day crowd 10

PENN

LINES • DECEMBER 2015

of about 1,000. That was back when turkeys were a delicacy that not many people were able to eat regularly.” During World War II, economic changes led to the closure of the restaurant, but the family’s turkey-growing business thrived, thanks to the government’s purchasing of thousands of turkeys annually to feed U.S. troops. “The turkeys were all free-range out in front of the building,” Nathan Fry says. “My grandfather used to tell about how the government would hire watchmen for the turkeys, but their job was also to be lookouts for enemy planes that might attack.” The restaurant, still featuring turkey dinners, reopened in 1945. In 1950,

Howard Fry Sr. died, and his widow, LeMoyne, and son, Howard Jr., operated the restaurant until the younger Howard and his wife, Lois, purchased it in 1967. Ike wasn’t yet a teenager when he joined the family business with his parents, Howard and Lois. “Butchering turkeys was Dad’s first job, and he’s worked here his whole life,” Nathan Fry says. “He’s been instrumental in keeping the business going for decades, and he still comes in every day to roast turkeys, place orders and in general, keep things running.” And it takes a lot of turkeys, ordered from suppliers these days instead of raised by the family. The restaurant, which seats 300, serves about 100,000 people annually. The most-popular meal is the No. 1 special — the Thanksgivingstyle turkey dinner with all the traditional side dishes. “We have tremendous local support, and visitors remember us and come back,” Nathan Fry says. “Eating here brings back a sense of nostalgia. Lots of people came here with their parents and grandparents, and they bring their kids here.” In addition to having a loyal customer base, Nathan Fry says much of the restaurant’s success can be attributed to its 40-some employees. “We have a fantastic employee team,” he notes. “Family members have always been involved. My dad has three brothers and a sister, who all worked here growing up. My grandmother (Lois) worked here for 60 years, and she had a cousin, Helen Beck, who spent 59 years here as a waitress. My brother and I worked here growing up and a lot of our friends did, too. We are a lot of people’s first jobs. A lot of the kids we have working here now, their parents worked here, too. It’s a blessing to work with family and people who have become like family.” The significance of family assistance in operating such a time- and energyconsuming business as an independent restaurant cannot be stressed enough, say Jeremiah and Jerrica Ott, son and daughter-in-law of Dave and the late Jane Ott, for whom Dave & Jane’s Crabhouse is named.

their remote, mountainous location, the dining room has a seasonal schedule. They do two seatings each day, with a limit of 40 at each seating, so reservations are recommended.

Fine dining

WELCOME: Charlotte Dudkin, pictured, and her husband, Stanley, operate a 13-room bed-andbreakfast located along the Pine Creek Rail Trail in Lycoming County. Their 40-seat, fine-dining restaurant has seasonal hours.

Although the restaurant, a member of Adams Electric Cooperative located on the Pennsylvania-Maryland state line near Fairfield, Pa., has only been in operation for just over 20 years, Dave Ott has a longer history of providing tasty seafood to customers. “When I was a kid,” Jeremiah Ott says, “Dad had a carryout place for crabs. He would go to the crab trucks and docks and buy the crabs. Today, we buy crabs from some of the same crabber families. They have been selling crabs to us for generations. Now they bring them to us.”

Fresh daily The Otts have fresh crabs delivered to the restaurant daily — something regular customers have come to expect — as the most-ordered menu item is the all-you-can-eat crab meal. “Sometimes, we have people waiting for the truck so they can get the biggest, freshest crabs,” Jerrica Ott says with a laugh. “We also have people who call and ask, ‘Are they here yet?’” Now in their mid-30s, both Jeremiah and Jerrica Ott have been working at Dave & Jane’s Crabhouse since they were 16. The family tradition is continuing as the oldest of their four children is working at the restaurant and they hope the younger ones will join them as they get old enough. Family makes up a significant percentage of the 30-some employees, many

Located along Pine Creek near the popular Pine Creek Rail Trail, the restaurant provides what Charlotte Dudkin describes as fine dining, featuring chicken, duck, seafood, beef and pork dishes, along with vegetarian meals. Several of their menu items have not changed since they opened. The couple is happy to comply with requests to keep the menu because they believe customer service is at the heart of a successful business, even if it’s a business they just “happened” into. “We had family members who had a cabin up here,” Charlotte Dudkin explains. “We were thinking of retiring here, so we were here looking around.

of whom have been at the restaurant since Dave and Jane Ott opened it in 1995. For customers, the Otts rely on local residents who are regulars, along with tourists who are visiting Gettysburg area historic sites. “Local residents come back again and again because they know they will get the best, freshest seafood cooked with our secret seasonings, while visitors come for a new experience,” Jerrica Ott says. “Some people who come here from other parts of the country don’t know how to pick crabs, have never even seen crab, so we give them a lesson if they need it.” While the Fry and Ott families rely on local residents, along with advertising and travelers who happen upon their restaurants along their busy highways, Charlotte and Stanley Dudkin, coowners of Cedar Run Inn, depend primarily on people who seek them out or who are staying in their 13-room bed-and-breakfast. That’s because they are miles from any main highway in the tiny Lycoming County community of Cedar Run (population in the mid-two figures), where they are served by Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperative. ALL-YOU-CAN EAT CRABS: Jerrica Ott, daughter-in-law of Dave It’s a customer base that Ott and the late Jane Ott, prepares to serve a plate of all-youhas worked for the husbandcan-eat crabs to a customer at Dave & Jane’s Crabhouse. The and-wife team for nearly menu item is one of the most popular requests at the rural Fairfield seafood restaurant. three decades. Because of DECEMBER 2015 • PENN

LINES

PENNlines any background in this business, but we learned by doing. What I enjoy most is meeting the different people who come here. Everyone is so nice. I don’t know whether it’s the calm atmosphere, or that most people are on vacation and they are so relaxed, but I don’t think I have had five people who were obnoxious in the 27 years we have been in business.” The Dudkins, the Frys and the Otts all say they have very few customerrelated problems. Much of the reason for that, they believe, is because there’s always an owner — a family member — on site to handle any situation that might arise. And it doesn’t hurt that the majority of customers are repeats — people who have become friends over the decades. l

Restaurant reboot By K at h y H ac k l e m a n

Independently owned restaurants are often managed by families, but sometimes the owners only seem like family because they have worked together so long and so closely. Such is the case with Brad Russell and Frank Morrone III, who started out as friends, but now seem more like brothers after working together for nearly 20 years. Russell and Morrone are the owners of Pier 87 Bar & Grill, served by Sullivan County Rural Electric Cooperative and located along State Route 87 north of Montoursville. Their biggest challenge has not been how to work well together, but how to regroup after flooding on the Loyalsock Creek from Tropical Storm Lee demolished their building on Sept. 7, 2011. But regroup they did, coming back stronger than ever with new ideas and new features.

AFTER THE FLOOD: Frank Morrone III, left, and Brad Russell stand on the deck of the new Pier 87 Bar & Grill north of Montoursville. The two owners rebuilt the restaurant after it was destroyed in 2011 by Tropical Storm Lee, top right. The new building is 6 feet higher and features a beach, fishing hole, patio and Tiki bar.

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FRY BROTHERS TURKEY RANCH,

27 Route 184, Trout Run, Pa., 570-998-9400, www.frybros turkeyranch.com DAVE & JANE’S CRABHOUSE,

2989 Tract Road, Fairfield, Pa., 717-642-6574, www.daveand janes.com CEDAR RUN INN,

281 Beulah Land Road, Cedar Run, Pa., 570-353-6241 PIER 87 BAR & GRILL,

5647 State Route 87, Williamsport, Pa. 570-435-0290, www.thepier87.com

“We bought the building in July 2010 at a sheriff’s sale,” Russell recalls. “We had not been in business long when Tropical Storm Lee hit. That morning, we put all the furniture up 3 feet, figuring we were going to take on a little water. By the time we returned, half of the building had just disappeared. There was nothing left. We never found much of it; it just disappeared.” After taking a breather to decide how to proceed, the men broke ground on their current building in September 2012. They reopened on Valentine’s Day 2013 with only minor changes to the menu. But there were other major changes — the building is now set on 67 cement pylons and it is 6 feet higher than their original building in an effort to avoid a repeat of the flood of 2011. These changes have allowed them to provide a swimming hole with a rock diving platform, a place to fish, a beach, a patio and a Tiki bar on their four-acre plot. They can now seat 99 inside in their 5,000-square-foot building, with a deck and patio area that can triple that total on a summer weekend. The men employ between 30 and 45 people, depending on the season. As for what sets them apart from other restaurants, Russell says, “The views are breath-taking and the food is fantastic.” Although most of their customers are from the Lycoming County area, the restaurant also draws from all over central Pennsylvania with regulars from State College, Wilkes-Barre, Scranton and Harrisburg, who come for the delicious food, which includes daily seasonal specials. PHOTO PROVIDED BY JOHN ZELEWICZ

The day we saw this place, we decided to buy it. Neither of us had any experience in either restaurant or hotel management, but we figured if it didn’t work out, we would just have a really big house.” Fortunately, she says, the bed-andbreakfast and restaurant staff walked them through the first months, teaching them what they needed to know about the business. Now, her husband takes care of the maintenance and lawn, and helps with the cooking. Their son, Phillip, has been the chef for 15 years and their daughter-in-law, Emily, is a waitress. Charlotte Dudkin’s role is, as she says, “doing whatever needs to be done.” The couple has six employees in addition to the family. “It’s been a wonderful experience,” Charlotte Dudkin says. “None of us had

I have a family that gives me endless strength. At your electric cooperative, we get our strength from a family as well. Itâ€™s a family of over 700 cooperatives â€” who all work together. And together, we have strength. We have a greater ability to provide a reliable source of electricity. We also have greater purchasing power, which enables us to keep costs in check. Together, weâ€™ll always be looking out for you, your family, and your community.

TIMElines

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

1985 TO HEAR enthusiastic cooperative members talk about the early days of rural electrification, you might think that once it became possible on paper to form electric cooperatives, the rest was easy. Just get the word out that you were starting a cooperative and people would line up at your door to sign on the dotted line. Right? Not quite, according to Pennsylvania cooperative pioneers. There were many barriers to rural electrification, and often those barriers were in people’s own minds. While most farmers in the 1930s would have loved to get electric service, a few of them couldn’t picture how it could help them. And while some signed up with a cooperative the first chance they got, others held back. The poverty rural people experienced during the Depression made them cautious, fearful and sometimes despairing. Many didn’t know how they could come up with a $5 co-op membership fee, let alone pay a minimum of $2.75 or $3 every month. They thought electricity was a luxury they simply couldn’t afford. Some people didn’t believe a rural electric cooperative would ever succeed, while others were suspicious for political reasons and still others believed the installation of electricity was “too worldly” for simple farmers. But the believers pressed on with patience and persistence, and once rural residents saw that electric service was possible for them, their skepticism turned to excitement, and the electric cooperatives found themselves working feverishly to keep up with the demand.

1975 The South Mountain Fairgrounds in Arendtsville comes alive each fall when people gather to enjoy the tastes, smells, games and festivities of the annual Apple Harvest Festival. 14

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1995 At first just a trendy topic, a growing number of Pennsylvania farmers see the expanding commercial market for ratites (emus, rheas and ostriches) “taking wing.”

2005 Pennsylvania joins 14 states, and several environmental groups in suing the U.S. Department of Energy for failing to adopt stronger energy-efficiency standards for household appliances.

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SMARTcircuits

by James Dulley

Efficient methods to improve indoor air quality IF YOUR family is used to having fresh air in the house, winter months can be a challenge. People often think the filter on their heat pump will take care of indoor air quality. It does help remove particles from the air, but only the ones that stay suspended. Central heating systems with efficient variable-speed blowers, which run slower and longer, will improve air quality. Particles in the air are only one aspect of good air quality. The humidity level and other odorous and unhealthy chemicals also play a role. Just open the cabinet under your sink where you store cleaners, and you will realize the “soup” of stuff you breathe. Even though not all particles make it to the heat pump filter, you could try installing a high-quality, pleated media filter. It will cost more than the 99-cent fiberglass one, but it is much more effective. This is especially true for the smallest of particles. Room-size electronic air cleaners are effective for removing those tiny particles that pop up when you plop down in a chair. They don't use much electricity and are quiet. Although it sounds counterintuitive, vacuum cleaning often creates much smaller particle concentrations. If it smells like you just vacuumed when you are done, it’s likely the fine particles are leaking out of the vacuum cleaner. Think about installing a central vacuum, which vents outdoors, or buying a new portable vacuum with a HEPA (highefficiency particulate air) exhaust filter. Keep the indoor air properly humidified so you can set your heat pump thermostat lower by a few degrees and still be 16

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comfortable. A heat pump-mounted central humidifier works well during cold weather, but it may not run long enough to adequately humidify the air during milder weather. Using several room humidifiers is also effective. Keep in mind, there is not one ideal humidity level for every home. Typically, 30 to 50 percent relative humidity provides comfort and healthy indoor air. To avoid window condensation in cold climates, it will likely have to be set lower as the outdoor temperature drops. During winter, the best way to reduce indoor chemical pollutants in the air is simply to use less of them. Try using natural cleaners that are vinegar- and citrus-based. Bringing fresh air into the house is necessary and not always inefficient. Since the heat content of the air itself is not high, opening several windows on a windy day can exhaust much of the stale, chemical-laden air. Another option is to have your HVAC contractor install a damper in the return duct. The damper is ducted through a filter and leads to the outside of your home. When running the bathroom fan

or range hood, the negative pressure created will draw fresh air indoors. The most efficient method to bring in filtered fresh air is a heat recovery ventilation system. The outgoing stale air transfers most of its heat (up to 80 percent) to the incoming cold fresh air, and vice versa during summer. Most models have their own duct system. Window models, similar to a window air conditioner, are effective for a single room. If you have easy access to your attic, push away the attic floor insulation over the return air duct passages. Interior wall stud cavities are usually used for return air. If the attic floor sheathing is not sealed well over them, dirt from the attic can be sucked into the return ducts and energy will be wasted. Remember to seal any gaps with caulking and replace the insulation. l Have a question for Jim? Send inquiries to JAMES DULLEY , Penn Lines, 6906 Royalgreen Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45244 or visit www.dulley.com.

OUTDOORadventures

by Marcus Schneck

The hole truth

A HOLE in the ground is a

MARCUS SCHNECK is the outdoor writer for The (Harrisburg) PatriotNews and its website, PennLive.com. He also writes for many outdoor publications and is the author of more than two dozen books. Keep abreast of his adventures and writings at www.marcusschneck.com.

wondrous thing. It’s a big reveal. Something happened here. Something did something here. Something lived, or lives, and likely will live here. A hole in the ground is a beginning clue in an exciting mystery, like the minute or so before the opening theme rolls for a television crime drama. It’s the first, scene-setting chapter of a crime novel. From that initial clue, we can begin divining the life of some wild thing. A freshly dug hole in a sunny, weed-covered bank of a cut along an interstate highway in late winter? A groundhog has ended its winter sleep and is preparing for mating season

just around the corner. The more removed from the first day of spring, the more likely that it was a mature male, probably a couple of years old. A hole in the muddy bank along a small, meandering stream with silt-clouded water flowing out of it? There’s a muskrat den in that bank and one of the occupants is home. It probably was observing your approach and dove for cover moments earlier. A series of quarter- to halfinch-diameter holes scattered across the lawn on a damp, spring morning? Nightcrawlers coming to the surface to escape soil-flooding from last night’s rain. Remember the flock of robins that was bouncing around that

THE HOLE STORY: Every hole tells a story about what dug it and what lives in it.

same area earlier? You can take it from there. An inch-diameter hole opening under the bird feeder? A mouse has been cleaning up the seeds knocked out of the feeder by the foraging hordes of birds. Here’s a tougher one. Halfto three-quarter-inch-diameter holes everywhere under a grove of deciduous trees like you haven’t seen in 17 years and a droning buzz that seems to be coming from every twig and leaf? The 17-year cicadas are back. And, then there are holes in the snow … l

DECEMBER 2015 • PENN

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COUNTRYkitchen

by Janette He ss

Soup as an antidote AH, DECEMBER! It’s the month of non-stop eating. But sometimes, after days of heavy snacks and super-sweet desserts, all we really want is a bowl of soup. Satisfy your need for soup by trying one — or all — of this month’s recipes. Created in a slow cooker, Cheese Tortellini Soup is an easy, one-dish meal. Try it vegetarian-style or with sausage. Either way, it just may become a new family favorite. Enchilada Soup is a flavorful blend of fresh ingredients and pantry staples. It, too, utilizes a slow cooker for ease of preparation. Salmon Chowder is traditional winter fare. When prepared with boneless, skinless salmon from a can, it comes together quickly on the stovetop. The mild Monterey Jack lends richness without overwhelming the flavor of the salmon. Soups are the perfect antidote to holiday eating, so counteract all of the decadence with a freshly prepared bowl of your choosing. l A trained journalist, JANETTE HESS focuses her writing on interesting people and interesting foods. She is a Master Food Volunteer with her local extension service and enjoys collecting, testing and sharing recipes.

SALMON CHOWDER 3 tablespoons butter 1 generous cup finely chopped onion 2 cloves garlic, finely minced 6 tablespoons flour 5 1/2 cups milk 2 cups frozen corn 1 14 1/2-ounce can petite diced tomatoes 2 5-ounce cans boneless, skinless salmon, drained* 2 teaspoons dill weed 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1 cup (4 ounces) Monterey Jack cheese, finely grated Cayenne pepper for garnish Add garIn soup pot or Dutch oven, sauté onion in butter until nearly soft. flour. in Stir soft. are garlic and onion lic and continue cooking until both stir over and Cook pepper. and salt dill, salmon, s, tomatoe corn, milk, Add and stir to medium-low heat until thickened, about 10 minutes. Add cheese serving. before pepper cayenne with Sprinkle heat. from Remove e. combin Makes 8 to 10 servings. may be *Note: Peeled, cooked shrimp or leftover grilled, flaked salmon salmon. canned for ted substitu

ENCHILADA SOUP 1 large boneless, skinless whole chicken breast 1/2 cup chopped onion 1 can red enchilada sauce 1 14 1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained 4 cups unsalted chicken stock (from a box) 2 cups frozen or canned corn 1 to 2 cups cooked rice 1 package taco seasoning mix Sliced black olives, grated cheese and sour cream for garnish

Place chicken breast in slow cooker and cover with onion, enchilada sauce, tomatoes, black beans, and chicken stock. Cook on low for 5 to 6 hours, or until chicken shreds easily. Completely shred chicken and then add corn and rice. Adjust seasoning with taco mix, starting with 1/2 package and taste-testing until desired “heat” and saltiness is achieved. Heat through and serve with garnishes. Makes 10 to 12 servings.

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CHEESE TORTELLINI SOUP 6 ounces cream cheese or reducedfat cream cheese OR 6 ounces white American chee se* 4 cups vegetable or chicken brot h 16 ounces frozen cheese tortellin i 2 14 1/2-ounce cans Italian-seaso ned diced tomatoes 1 bag (5 to 6 ounces) fresh baby spinach Freshly ground pepper 1/2 pound cooked, thinly sliced Itali an sausage, if desired Parmesan cheese, for serving Cut cream cheese or American chee se into cubes. Place broth and chee se in microwave-safe dish. Heat until chee se begins to soften and melt. Remove from microwave and, using whisk or immersion blender, mix until smooth. Combine frozen tortellini, tomatoes and spinach in slow cooker. Pour brot h mixture over ingredients. Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper. Cook on low for 2 hours. Carefully stir and then cook an additional 1 to 2 hours. If desi red, add cooked Italian sausage shortly before serving. Offer grated or shav ed parmesan cheese on the side. Makes approximately 10 servings. *This cheese is sold by weight in most deli departments.

POWERplants

by George Weigel

Hello from a ‘certified gardening wacko’ GREETINGS, Penn-Liners. I’m your new garden partner in print, taking over the soiled quill from new retiree Barbara Martin. I could bore you with a resume, but I thought you’d rather hear why my balding, non-gardening brother calls me a “certified gardening wacko.” OK, I admit I enjoy the scent of compost, get excited over a new hydrangea variety, and appreciate a bag of cow manure for Christmas. But I can blame this wacko-ness at least partly on genetics. My heritage is crawling with people who got down and dirty. Or in other words, my roots literally are about roots. I didn’t know my grandfather very well — he died when I was a toddler — but I do remember his half-acre vegetable rectangle next to the alley out back. Grandpa would hoe the long, straight rows of this consummate Victory Garden, dig up potatoes like hidden Easter eggs, and shake a burlap bag of pest-repelling limestone dust over the plants. My dad was more a tomato and fruittree guy. What I remember most about his gardening is battling the rabbits and groundhogs — ones so defiant they’d eat ripening peaches from up in the branches. My mom liked anything with chlorophyll — old-fashioned wildflowers, unusual new perennials, roses, tomatoes, even weeds. GEORGE WEIGEL is a Pennsylvania Certified Horticulturist, author of two books geared to gardening in Pennsylvania, and garden columnist for The PatriotNews/Pennlive.com in Harrisburg. His website is http://georgeweigel.net.

Actually, I think she liked weeds best. She loved pulling weeds. Give her a 5-gallon bucket, a skinny trowel and a stool, and she was as happy as a groundhog in a peach tree. My grandfather-in-law, Pappy Wetzel, made a career out of caring for a fruit-tree orchard in Adams County, and Grandma Wetzel was big-time into flowers. Grandma Wetzel had this loosely designed flower bed (OK, she just stuck in whatever she liked) that was filled with the classics — Shasta daisies, old-fashioned bearded iris, a couple of roses, even a few cherry tomato plants in cages. Me? I’m a conglomeration. The Cumberland County lot that WELCOME, GEORGE: Our new gardening columnist, George Weigel, is a down-to-earth fellow — literally. my wife, Sue, and I tend is more of a plant lab than anything. Some would say “horticultural zoo.” since for The Patriot-News and Pennlive.com. I violate most landscaping rules in I’ve also worked as information guy order to cram in as many new and differfor a garden center, became a Pennsylvaent plants as possible — primarily to eval- nia Certified Horticulturist, started my uate things for my garden-writing career. own garden-consulting business for doI morphed into that after starting out as it-yourselfers, done tons of talks for gara newspaper reporter and sports writer. den clubs and garden shows, and One day in 1993, Patriot-News (Harris- became a member of the Garden Writers burg) features editor John McGinley Association, the Hershey Gardens Advistopped by my desk and asked, “You sory Board and the Pennsylvania Hortilike to garden, right? How’d you like to cultural Society’s Gold Medal Plant write a garden column?” Awards Committee. At the time, the paper was pulling Most recently, I wrote two Pennsylvarandom articles from the national news nia-targeted books — the “Pennsylvania wire and was getting calls from gardenGetting Started Garden Guide” (2014) ers pointing out that orange-tree prunand “Pennsylvania Month-by-Month ing tips weren’t very helpful in central Gardening” (2015). Pennsylvania. When I’m not typing my way into That launched my garden-writing carpal-tunneldom, I lead garden tours career and led to voracious reading, unbriboth regionally and abroad. dled seminar-attending, high-octane experOnce in a while, I even go out in my imentation, and the incessant questioning own garden, where I can be found of every horticultural expert in Zone 6. pulling weeds and chasing groundhogs. I’ve been doing garden columns ever After all, I have a heritage to uphold.l DECEMBER 2015 • PENN

LINES

PENNLINESclassified ISSUE MONTH:

AD DEADLINE: Penn Lines classified advertisements reach nearly 166,000 rural Pennsylvania households! Please note ads must be received by the due date to be included in the requested issue month. Ads received beyond the due date will run in the next available issue. Written notice of changes and cancellations must be received 30 days prior to the issue month. Classified ads will not be accepted by phone, fax or email. For more information please contact Vonnie Kloss at 717$233-5704.

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CLASSIFIED AD SUBMISSION/RATES: Please use the form below or submit a separate sheet with required information. Electric co-op members: $20 per month for 30 words or less, plus 50¢ for each additional word. Non-members: $70 per month for 30 words or less, plus $1.50 for each additional word. Ad in all CAPITAL letters: Add 20 percent to total cost. Please print my ad in all CAPITAL letters. PLACE AD IN THE MONTHS OF: . WORD COUNT: I am an electric co-op member. Attached is my Penn Lines mailing label. Name/Address or Mailing Label Here: Enclosed is payment in the amount of $ . I am a non-member. Address is noted or attached at right. Enclosed is payment in the amount of $ . 1

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

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CONSULTING FORESTRY SERVICES NOLL’S FORESTRY SERVICES, INC. performs Timber Marketing, Timber Appraisals, Forest Management Planning, and Forest Improvement Work. FREE Timber Land Recommendations. 30 years experience. Call 814-472-8560. CENTRE FOREST RESOURCES. Forest Management Services, Wildlife Habitat Management, Timber Sales, Appraisals. College educated, professional, ethical foresters working for you. FREE Timber Consultation. 814-571-7130. CRANE SERVICE NEED A LIFT? Crane service for all your lifting needs. Experienced, fully insured, Owner-Operated and OSHA Certified. Precision Crane LLC, Linesville, PA 814-282-9133. ELECTRIC MOTORS FARM, COMMERICAL, INDUSTRIAL, NEW AND USED MOTOR SALES. Complete repair facility with over 30 years experience. Most sizes in stock. Emergency repair available. Ludwig Electric LLC. 814-948-4471.

FENCING HYDRAULIC POST DRIVER FOR RENT. Easy hookup and transportation. Safe, simple operation. Convenient, costeffective alternative for setting wood posts by hand. $200 for first day, $175/additional day. 1-800-KENCOVE. FINANCIAL FREEDOM DO YOU NEED CASH NOW? No buying — No selling — No boss. Computer needed. Jim Vargo 314-614-6039. www.smileyougotcash.com. GIFT AND CRAFT IDEAS SPECIAL OFFER — BOTH COOKBOOKS FOR $12. “Country Cooking” — $5, including postage. “Recipes Remembered” — $7, including postage. Both of these cookbooks are a collection of recipes from men and women of the electric co-ops of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Payable to: Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association, P. O. Box 1266, Harrisburg, PA 17108. Write Attention: Cookbooks. HEALTH AND NUTRITION Tired of all those medicines — Still not feeling better? Do you want to feel better, have more energy, better digestion, less joint stiffness, healthier heart/circulation and cholesterol levels? Find out how to empower your own immune system — start 1-26 today! It’s safe, affordable, and it works. Call 800557-8477: ID#528390. 90-day money back on first time orders or call me 724-454-5586. www.mylegacyforlife.net/believeit.

PENNLINESclassified HEALTH INSURANCE DO YOU HAVE THE BLUES regarding your Health Insurance? We cater to rural America's health insurance needs. For more information, call 844-591-2797 (PA). Call us regarding Medicare supplements, too. LAWN AND GARDEN EQUIPMENT HARRINGTONS EQUIPMENT COMPANY, 475 Orchard Rd., Fairfield, PA 17320. 717-642-6001 or 410-756-2506. Lawn & Garden equipment, Sales — Service — Parts. www.HarringtonsEquipment.com. LIVESTOCK AND PETS PEMBROKE WELSH CORGI Puppies — AKC, adorable, intelligent, highly trainable. Excellent family choice. Reputable licensed breeder guaranteed “Last breed you’ll ever own.” 814-5873449. FOR SALE: New pony saddle, excellent shape, brown with 14inch seat. Lots of silver. Great for pleasure or show. $325. 570744-2675 or 570-250-1513. FOR SALE: Pony driving cart. Rubber tires, immaculate condition. Easily holds 3 people. Use for pleasure or show. $450. 570-744-2675 or 570-250-1513. COLLIE – JUST IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS — 11.1. AKC registered sable/white and tri color puppies. Full white collars from parents with great temperament and personality. Very intelligent pets. Call 814-793-3938. BEAUTIFUL ALPACA and also agora goat yarn. Some wool added. Various weights and colors. All from our own animals. No synthetics. Call Sue Graver at 717-487-0785. NIGERIAN DWARF GOATS. These are small dairy goats. Beautiful and friendly. Now taking reservations for 2016 babies, both doelings and bucklings. Please call Sue Graver at 717-4870785. LOG CABIN RESTORATIONS VILLAGE RESTORATIONS & CONSULTING specializes in 17th and 18th century log, stone and timber structures. We dismantle, move, re-erect, restore, construct and consult all over the country. Period building materials available. Thirty years experience, fully insured. Call 814-696-1379. www.villagerestorations.com. MISCELLANEOUS BECOME AN ORDAINED MINISTER — Correspondence Study. The harvest truly is great, the laborers are few, Luke 10:2. Free information. Ministers for Christ Outreach, 7558 West Thunderbird Rd., Ste. 1 - #114, Peoria, Arizona 85381. www.ordination.org. MOTORCYCLE-SNOWMOBILE INSURANCE For the best INSURANCE RATES call R & R Insurance Associates from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 800-442-6832 (PA).

CLEARFIELD COUNTY, Lumber City. 35 acres mostly wooded, secluded yet accessible, timber, natural gas, large metal commercial building, spring water. $175,000. Call George. 814237-1000. LYCOMING COUNTY, Upper Fairfield Township — 54.85 acres, small stream, hunting, spring water, privacy. No OGM transfer. Asking $300,000. Call 570-433-3783. RECIPES AND FOOD SPECIAL OFFER — BOTH COOKBOOKS FOR $12. “Country Cooking” — $5, including postage. “Recipes Remembered” — $7, including postage. Both of these cookbooks are a collection of recipes from men and women of the electric co-ops of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Payable to: Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association, P. O. Box 1266, Harrisburg, PA 17108. Write Attention: Cookbooks. SAWMILLS USED PORTABLE Sawmills and COMMERCIAL Sawmill equipment! Buy/Sell. Call Sawmill Exchange 800-459-2148. USA and Canada. www.sawmillexchange.com. SHAKLEE FREE SAMPLE Shaklee’s Energy Tea. Combination red, green and white teas that are natural, delicious, refreshing, safe. For sample or more information on tea or other Shaklee Nutrition/Weight Loss Products: 800-403-3381 or www.sbarton.myshaklee.com. TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT 30 GALLON DOUSING TANK — Put in place but never used. Inspector wanted larger tank. 412-427-9100. TRACTOR PARTS – REPAIR/RESTORATION ARTHURS TRACTORS, specializing in vintage Ford tractors, 30years experience, online parts catalog/prices, Indiana, PA 15701. Contact us at 877-254-FORD (3673) or www.arthurstractors.com. VACATIONS AND CAMPSITES NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Florida condo rental. Two bedrooms, two baths, pool. 200 yards from beach. NA February. No pets. $500 weekly, $1,800 monthly. Call 814-635-4020. RAYSTOWN VACATION HOUSE RENTAL. Sleeps 11, fireplace, four bedrooms, table for 12, 2 flat screen satellite TVs, 2 flbaths, 2 hfbaths, linens/towels provided, boat parking. Minimum two nights. Call 814-931-6562. Visit www.laurelwoodsretreat.com. VIDEO TRANSFER/PHOTOSCANS TRANSFER YOUR VHS, VHS-C, HI-8, and mini-DV to Archival DVD. Professionally scan your old photographs, slides, and negatives to an Archival DVD. Color restoration software used on every scan. 100% services done in-house. A gift sure to be appreciated. To connect your past with the future, call Craig. 814592-6638. Clearfield, PA. contactwisemediagroup@gmail.com.

NURSERY AND GARDEN

WANTED TO BUY

TWO 1971 ERA INTERNATIONAL Cub Cadet garden tractors. Both have mower decks. One has roto tiller, manuals for one. Both need work. Fun project. $650 both. More information. 814-2283266. nick@reitter.net.

CARBIDE – Paying cash/lb. — Some examples of items that have carbide pieces at their tips for cutting or drilling are: coal mining machinery — roof bits — road bits — gas/oil/water well drill bits — machining inserts as well as many others. We will pick up your materials containing carbide pieces. We will extract the carbide item from the part in which it is held in most cases. 814-395-0415.

PENNSYLVANIA HUNTING LAND WANTED OUR HUNTERS WILL PAY TOP $$$ to hunt your land. Call for a free base camp leasing info packet and quote. 866-309-1507. www.BaseCampLeasing.com. REAL ESTATE

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BEAUTIFUL LODGE WITH 78 ACRES next to Blue Knob State Park. Two bedroom, great hunting, near ski area. Five miles from interstate 99. Call 814-404-4662 or email: bknisel@comcast.net.

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DECEMBER 2015 • PENN

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Thoughts from Earl Pitts, UHMERIKUN! It’s time to say goodbye to pumpkins, hello to evergreens, snowmen

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

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During the last couple of months, my better half, Pearl, has gone nuts. Absolutely, stark-raving, 100 percent punkin-spice nuts. Everything she brought in the house since the first of October smells like punkins. I don’t know what it is. Every fall, the smell of punkins is the go-to, nose-smelling selection for your females of the species. I’m not much of an evergreen guy, either, but let me tell you, right now I’m ready to trade in the punkin smell for some evergreens. Now, honestly, being a guy, I don’t get the punkin thing. I always thought Punkin Spice was one of them girls in the Spice Girls singing group. You know, Scary Spice, Posh Spice, Old Spice and Punkin Spice. She was the one with the orange hair. No sir. Let me tell you what punkin spice is. Starting the first of October, the women decide our world should smell like punkins for at least two months. Now — being a man — I can think of a long list of odors to associate with fall. How about roasted turkey and giblet gravy? (Sniff) Oh man! The gentle waftin’ of fireplace smoke. The nasal sting of a freshly discharged shotgun. That’s what fall smells like to men. Not punkins. And it ain’t just the smell neither. Mark my words, if I’m drivin’ Pearl through the country and we happen to pass a punkin farm, we’re gonna stop. I mean, she’ll have me hit the brakes like a baby stroller just rolled into the street. And again — I do not understand women. When it’s coming up to Easter time, she don’t get the idea to stop at an egg farm. But come October, we got to find a punkin farm. Because Pearl has got to pick her own punkin. You ever been to a punkin farm? That’s women and kids running around screamin’ and guys lookin’ around to make sure nobody they know sees them there. Yeah, good times. I’m just glad the punkins have finally shriveled up. Compared to them, I don’t even mind the snowmen so much. At least not yet.

Wake up, America. Maybe next Easter, I can get her to the pig farm to pick her own ham.

I have thought this for a while and today, I got more proof — this country is raisin’ up a generation of the softest, squishiest kids to ever live. I heard this story about where a school district somewhere in Washington state has banned the game of tag. They said they wanted to “protect the emotional safety of all students involved.” OK, first off, what in the world is “emotional safety?” Worryin’ about the safety of your kid has been a long tradition in America. Don’t run with scissors. Don’t stick nothin’ metal in your electric outlets. And don’t run out in the street without lookin’ both ways. But that’s your physical safety. Because you don’t want them to put out an eye, get zapped or hit by a bus. But I don’t know what this “emotional safety” thing is all about. And No. 2 — tag is the greatest kid game ever invented. And I’m including freeze tag, spud, tag backs, no tag backs and ghost in the cellar. Because first off, you as a parent or a school system do not have to buy any equipment. Second off, you do not have to lay out a field. There are no lines, no fences, and you do not need a clock or a scoreboard. All you need is hands and feet. Third off, the NFL wants our children to “Play 60.” Tag qualifies. Of course, now in some schools they can’t play tag — on account of the emotional safety of all students involved. So they’re probably gonna come up with a tag video game so kids can sit on their hind-ends and play tag in the emotional safety of their living rooms. What the heck happened, America? Wake up, America! Bannin’ TAG! Just wait til these touchy-feely, Kumbaya, selfrighteous pinheads realize the emotional turmoil caused by Red Rover. Your child may never leave the house. I’m Earl Pitts, Uhmerikun. l

RURALreflections Winter wonderland MOST OF US have already experienced the season’s first snowfall even though winter hasn’t officially arrived. The season’s change brings with it new activities and wintry scenes, along with the opportunity to get creative and take some great photos of people and animals. Our 2015 “Rural Reflections” photo contest has ended and the winning photos in the categories of most artistic, best landscape, best human subject, best animal and editor’s choice will be printed in next month’s issue of Penn Lines. Winners will receive a $75 prize, and runners-up will receive a $25 prize. It’s time to begin submitting your photos for the 2016 “Rural Reflections” contest. To be eligible, send photos (no digital files) to: Penn Lines Photos, P.O. Box 1266, Harrisburg, PA 17108-1266. On the back of each photo, include your name, address, phone number and the name of the electric cooperative that serves your home, business or seasonal residence. The best way to include that information is by affixing an address label to the back of the photo. Remember, our publication deadlines require that we work ahead, so send your seasonal photos in early. We need spring photos before mid-January, summer photos before mid-April, fall photos before mid-July and winter photos before mid-September. Photos that do not reflect any specific season may be sent at any time. Please note: photos will be returned at the end of each contest year if a self-addressed, stamped envelope is included. l

Carol Brotzman Claverack REC

Carson Musser Adams EC

Diane Layden Valley REC

Molly Deneen Bedford REC

DECEMBER 2015 • PENN

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