The Valley - October 2012 by The Valley Newspaper

Serving Mifflin County and the surrounding area.

The Valley A free newspaper dedicated to agriculture, self-reliance, frugal living, and modern homesteading. Tomorrow’s Media - A Day Early Volume 3, No. 10

By David Bielanko Photos courtesy of Tim Yarrington An Ancient Aphorism - “If we make the songs of a people, it matters not who may make their laws.” (Mountain Minstrelsy is an album currently being produced in Millheim, PA under the musical direction of David Bielanko and Christine Smith from the rock and roll band Marah. The album is slated for release in early 2013. On Wednesday October 31st, experience the entire Mountain Minstrelsy band live performing at the Halloween Extravaganza! at St. Luke’s Cultural Center, 117 Penn Street, Millheim, PA.) “IN MOUNTAIN MINSTRELSY” When I was sixteen or seventeen my friends and I used to ride around the hills of Central Pennsylvania in a little copper-colored diesel Isuzu. It was my buddy Troy’s car and Troy was a real fast driver. Today looking back, it all feels like a blurry dream from some other lifetime—the hairpin turns and the snowflakes dancing in the high beams. A lot of times I’m guessing we barely got away with it. At night we slept in an old cinderblock hunting cabin over in Sugar Valley. Outside it would be unimaginably dark. The Isuzu came equipped with a chest-pounding Pioneer

Complimentary

The Valley, October 2012

stereo system, so whenever we’d go out driving, we’d blast the Rock-n-Roll. Transfixed in the backseat, I would pin my eyes to the hot, orange bars of light that rose and fell on the dashboard perfectly in time to Motorhead or the first Ramones album, Grandpa Jones, Bill Monroe. I’ve always been hypnotized by the music and it was around this time I started to believe that I should maybe start making some music of my own. Aimlessly blasting down the old State Game Land roads, I remem-

ber feeling young and unstoppable. We frequented the cliffs above Interstate 80, old sulphur springs, and firetowers. From time to time, we’d blast through the little area towns; Rosecrans, Madisonburg, Tylersville, McElhattan, and Millheim. But there was nothing there, so we never stopped to get out. If you’d have told me back then that one day I’d be making a record in Millheim, I’d have simply not believed you. I thought Millheim was a ghost town, a

washed up little burg that’s time had long since come and gone. Several lifetimes later, in my thirties, while living in NYC and making a living touring in my own Rock-n-Roll band, I started to feel Central Pennsylvania pulling me back. And it was then that bandmate Christine Smith and I developed a new habit of jumping on the NYC to PSU Chinatown bus at any chance we could. (We even perfected this little maneuver where at the precise moment on I-80 West when the bus was about

200 yards past the exit called Mile Run, we’d rush up to the bus driver and explain that we were about to be sick and needed to get off, fast! The little Asian driver would look at us as if we were asking to be let out on the moon. He was a New Yorker and simply could not fathom a request to be abandoned in a cold wilderness. I’m certain he thought we’d instantly be eaten by bears or deer for all he knew. His eyes would carefully weigh up the options—funny looking white strangers being eaten by wild deer or the prospect of him having to clean a bus full of puke 45 minutes later when he arrived at the McDonalds on S. Atherton. He’d carefully break to the shoulder at the Jersey Shore, the exit where our prearranged pickup driver would be waiting. We always thanked him, tried to explain that we’d be fine as we vanished into the freezing, black night. I will not lie, the whole thing made us feel pretty clever. Then, watching his red tail lights vanishing westward down the highway a great sense of peace would swoop us up.) So long New York City. “GHOST WORLD” A long time ago some people found themselves living their lives in the mountains of Central Pennsylvania. They worked hard, fell in love, worried about stuff, got drunk, raised families, prayed,

Mountain Minstrelsy rehersing at Marah Headquarters during the winter of 2011-2012. (LtoR) Chris Rattie, Dave Bielanko, Jimmy James Baughman, Christine Smith, and Kai Scafft.

Lighting Brush Fires in People’s Minds

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Editor’s Corner

The Valley, October 2012

Wayne Stottlar Ahhh, Autumn! This has to be the best time of the year. The uncomfortable hot and muggy weather of the summer is now a distant memory. Some nights have set us to scrambling for the winter blankets, and some folks have even had their heaters running already. Somehow, I just can not bring myself to even think about heating until the month of October. Perhaps because that is when the woodstove got lit back in NH, and that fire didn’t go out until sometime in mid May. So being several hundred miles further south it just doesn’t seem appropriate to have a fire in September, even though lows in the 40s and even 30s a couple nights served as a reminder to make sure the chimney is clean. I had better start thinking about putting outside furniture away and putting the wood racks together for another season. I know by April I will have had my fill of dealing with wood, ash, smoke, and a sore back and be ready for summer, but right now I am looking forward to a flickering flame that warms the soul as well as the body on a chilly evening. I look forward to getting those faint whiffs of woodsmoke while walking the dog—it is all part of something very familiar and comforting. I

know everyone is different, but I seem to have a more happy existence when I am in tune with the coming and going of the seasons and the overall rhythms of nature. I think it is imprinted in our DNA. The modern world causes us to lose track of those rhythms, see if you can re-connect with yours. There was big news last month in downtown Lewistown! Culture came to Lewistown in the form of “Gallery 3West” an Art Gallery on Monument Square in the former Montgomery Wards Building. Taking advantage of the building design, the first theme was “Art Deco.” The event was well attended and we had a fabulous time admiring the art produced by local artists and the hard work put in by the MifflinJuniata Arts Council to bring this gallery into being. Finally, there is a brick and mortar place where art can grow in Lewistown. Just to be clear, I am not an over-thetop lover of all art, in fact, when fine art is mentioned I often look around for a tall glass of Drano to cure my ills. I admit it, some of it I don’t get, but that in essence is what art is, it talks to different people in different ways. I know when I like something, and I assume that it is the same way for people who are more “cultured”

than I feel when viewing a priceless piece by some famous artist. That is one of the things that Angela and Shane Niman mentioned to me in the days leading up to the event. They too see art in many different forms and disciplines. They understand that art can thrive in our area, if the interpretation of the word art is broadened to include all disciplines, not just fine art. There is talk of many exciting exhibits coming to Gallery 3West in the future. There will be a “Pop Art” exhibit planned next after the “Art Deco” exhibit has run it’s course. There is also talk of a Folk Art/Folk Music exhibit based on material from both disciplines from our local area. Another theme that caught my attention was one that would blend Animal Photography, Animal Art, Taxidermy and Fly Tying all into one “Outdoor Enthusiasts” exhibit, THAT exhibit will speak to many area residents I am sure. So in the simplest of terms, I have always defined the word “art” to mean “Community.” Art brings people together, communities together and allows us to better under-

stand each other, our neighbors, and our community, as well as where we came from and in some cases, where we are headed. This endeavor to bring art to Lewistown is an experiment and we all need to support it by attending the exhibits and getting involved. After all, our community is what we make of it. See Shane Niman’s piece on the Grand Opening on page 31. Ok, now for the rant/pet peeve. Does anyone else besides firemen and police officers enjoy the constant blaring of sirens that is becoming more and more prevalent? I mean, there used to be a time when it would be days between the times you would hear a siren. Having been a firefighter quite a number of years ago, I remember we were instructed to only use the siren when approaching an intersection or overtaking a vehicle. We DID NOT have the darn thing blaring non-stop from the time the call came in until we got on scene. I know that the do-gooders (and the firemen and police officers) will say it is for safety! But, it is obnoxious and UNNECESSARY! Several times a day anymore if you are outside the air is filled with sirens, the apparatus responding has sirens as they always have had, but now, every Tom, Dick and Harry on the fire department has a siren in their truck to go with the lights that would give you the impression that we are living in a police state. The bottom line is, that we have all been conditioned to think that policemen and firemen are some kind of special citizen, they are a little more important than everyone else, cause their job

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

is so dangerous. While they are extremely important to the smooth running of our community, they are NOT above any other citizen, and we should NOT be making concessions in the name of safety or anything else. When I was a fireman, we were told that we had to obey lights and speed limits while responding to the firehouse for a call and we also did not have our vehicles decked out to go to the apocalypse. Sirens were only used as stated earlier, (except of course for those few who were nothing more than large kids behaving as kids would) and if anything, the emphasis was on getting to the scene safely WITHOUT endangering anyone else. One wonders if that kind of thinking even exists anymore. My advice for all of them would be to lay off the sirens. a

The Valley, October 2012

Caution - Soap Box Moment

Part Two So, What Exactly IS a GMO, Anyway by Mary Anna Chenoweth

As mentioned last month, there’s more going on than most people realize when it comes to number three on the list of what we need to physically survive FOOD (number one is air, number two is water). The situation that we presently find ourselves in when it comes to food is the result of being told (brainwashed is more like it) in stages, over the course of about a century, that the “task” of feeding ourselves is such a monumentally complex global issue that we just can’t handle it any more. As a result, we are bombarded with the idea (sometimes straight out - more often in round about ways) that this “task” requires the wisdom of our governments to guide the expertise of increasingly questionable technology developed by science that has been increasingly co-opted by “the bottom line” of corporations whose Public Relations departments are busy green- washing their latest “improvements for humanity”. Now, there always have been, and always will be issues of food safety - usually arising from the impatience or greed or laziness or just plain stupidity that seems to inevitably crop up in our species from time to time. And no one will deny that good science can give us information and tools to make our lives better or that there have been times when dire problems needed prompt attention. One timely example - as Sue Burns’s excellent article in the September issue of The Valley clearly points out, mandated pasteurizing of milk was used in the 1800s as a stop gap in cleaning up certain urban dairies. But it was the incorrect diet being fed to the cows and the filthy conditions and work habits of the people involved with those dairies that were killing people – NOT raw milk in general. Science (and human experience) clearly shows raw milk produced correctly to be a healthy and safe food which does not require pasteurization – with the choice being left up to the consumer, not to legislation. Over the past five decades, good science has been proving what history and common sense have already taught us – the problems with food safety, as with many other issues both past and present, arise when we ignore or try to

manipulate Nature’s design. Yet today, after decades of near misses with pesticides, synthetic chemicals and agricultural systems that have the potential for widespread disaster, corporations - seemingly abetted by our governments - dangle generous research opportunities to attract genuinely dedicated scientists who are no doubt motivated by a sincere desire to help humanity. Unfortunately, some of these scientists appear unable to see the edge of the cliff that they are helping to push us towards with what seems to be the idea that they can “FIX” nature and make it “BETTER”. Whoah, Nelly – if that’s not a dangerously arrogant attitude, please tell me what is! Enter the GMOs - a term we’ve mostly all heard but probably know little about except that we also keep hearing that Genetically Modified Organisms are part of progress and will help to “Feed the World”. But what are GMOs and will they really feed us and the rest of the world? It’s true that for thousands of years we have been manipulating Nature for our own ends; choosing the best seed to plant or creating hybrids by breeding related plants together for specific traits are definitely modifying the genetics of an organism – whether or not you know what a gene is. But up to a few decades ago we always played by the rules – Nature’s rules. Now thanks to our increasing (yet still profoundly limited) understanding of genes, scientists have developed the science of biotechnology – which is not, in and of itself, a bad thing. But, before they have a chance to really understand this new science, some scientists are being employed to use it to piece together organisms that would never appear in Nature – basically treating those elegant and still mysterious building blocks of life like living Lego sets. So what’s all that mean, minus the cutesy (but apt) analogy? A GMO – Genetically Modified Organism – is a plant (or animal) that has been changed on a genetic level to exhibit certain traits that are considered ‘desirable’. This genetic change is being made by the addition of genes from unrelated species which can evidently be done in a variety of

ways but usually the desirable gene is physically ‘placed’ INTO the organism’s genetic structure. Which begs the questions, “How does one insert a gene into an organism’s genetic structure and what benefits will result from this change?” Well, the answer to that is a bit complex. Actually it’s REALLY complex because there are so many possible variations and methods and motivating factors, but we’ll take a stab at an extremely simplified answer just to get you started and then you can do your own research to flesh it out. Our theoretical scientist identifies the gene(s) of the trait that they want to add to our theoretical plant – let’s say a gene that will let this plant live even if it’s doused with a bunch of chemicals that will wipe out everything else in sight (presently, the number one trait in biotechnology is resistance to herbicides. This is a benefit?). To actually get this gene into the genetic structure of the plant, particles of gold are coated with the genetic materials and such things as ‘antibiotic resistance markers’ and ‘viral promoters’ are added to facilitate the process. They place this mixture into what amounts to a gun and “shoot” it into the plant. Oversimplified, yes, but you get the idea. The desired trait manifests itself, the plant doesn’t die when doused with a toxic brew and we are reassured constantly by the companies who support the research and development of biotechnology and by various agencies that this is just another step in human progress and that it is a safe process and just one more tool for the world’s farmers to use to help to feed the world. So, why are so many people questioning this technology? Why are farmers and scientists, doctors and physicists, nutritionists and a whole lot of average people claiming that GMOs pose a serious threat? Who can we trust and what can we do with what we learn and should we get a choice whether of not to eat this stuff and why should it matter to us? To attempt to begin to answer these questions, over the next few months we are going to be

Fifty Years Ago October 1962 Marrone’s Foodtown Market at 107 E. Market Street, Lewistown offered a variety of specials in Sentinel advertisements. Chuck roast was 43c per pound, boneless round roast at 79c per pound, while boneless rump sold for $1.09 per pound. Buddie Facial Tissues were priced at 5 boxes for 89c. “Famous” Harris bread, rye or pumpernickel, was 29c a loaf. Halloween candy specials per bag included: Brach’s candy corn, 29c; 40 lollipops, 39c; 3 Musketeers Juniors, 59c; and Milkyway Juniors, 59c. To stretch your dollars, Marrone’s offered T & C Stamps with every purchase, “Mifflin County’s Most Valuable Stamp.” One Hundred Years ago October 1912 Typhoid fever was spreading through Yeagertown and Reedsville. A Mann’s Narrows resident, Walter P. Beaver, was the fifth to succumb in ten days in the area. The Daily Sentinel noted, “In spite of continued and persistent efforts of local and State health officials to ascertain the source of the epidemic, they are still completely puzzled by the situation.” Samples of water and milk from

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Yeagertown and Reedsville have been taken and sent to the State laboratory for testing, but all came back negative. Those that died were all relatively young, most being healthy, working individuals prior to their final illness. Civil War Echoes October 1862 The Lewistown Gazette printed a letter from Major R. H. Falls, First Regiment, Pa. Reserve Cavalry to the ladies of the Kishacoquillas Valley. He acknowledging the receipt of a beautiful flag, a token of respect and appreciation for heroic and gallant conduct in the “terrible battle of Cedar Mountain.” Maj. Fall wrote: “The mere knowledge of our being remembered by our fair and loved ones at home will of itself be an incentive for us to press on in the performance of our duty of hamstringing and annihilating this unholy hell-born rebellion. You will never want for protection while there is a man left of gallant Capt. J. P. Taylor’s company.” (Author’s note: This flag is held by the War Library and Museum, Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), Philadelphia. Web site for the organization at http://www.suvcw. org/mollus/mollus.htm) a

Hostetler’s Naturals Quality Produce

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The Valley, October 2012

thoughts from the Bunker by jared kauffman

The Survival Cache Part 3: The Burial

I want to conclude my article on caching with probably the most important and probably the most time consuming step: burying your cache. If you haven’t read parts one and two of my three part article on caching, I want to encourage you to go online at www.thevalleynewspaper.com and read my recommendations on what a cache is and how to prepare your own. I also want to thank everyone who stopped by my table at The Valley’s August event in Reedsville. With deadlines and such I was unable to mention it before now, but you are greatly appreciated. There are precarious times ahead and I hope I am able to point some of you in the right direction. The last part of my “thoughts” on caching will involve the burial and a few sug-

gestions on security, placement, and retrieval of your cache.

WHERE TO BURY: Placement of your cache is very important. When choosing your location, whether it be on private or public land, you must consider ease of accessibility. Can you retrieve your cache in a short amount of time? Is your cache site accessible from a road? Is there a risk of being seen during burial/retrieval? Is your cache site in a high traffic area, such as a park? Also consider the legalities of contents and location of your cache. I recommend scouting several locations before placing your cache, taking meticulous notes on the amount of vehicle and people traffic, visibility from roads or

trails, foliage, and if severe weather, such as flooding and snow, will affect accessibility. Do this for several weeks at various times of day. Placing your cache on public land is risky. This is something I do not suggest or encourage, but if need be, do so at your own risk. BURYING THE CACHE: At last the final step! After the perfect location is found, you know you haven’t been seen, and all your supplies are gathered, commence digging. Now, to leave the area look as undisturbed as possible there is a method I like to use when burying the cache. All earth removed from hole is placed on a tarp or a large plastic garbage bag. (As a side note I’m fond of contractor size garbage bags. These are a great addition to your gear as they make for an expedient rain poncho; ground cover for under your tent or sleeping bag; or an emergency shelter.) Mound the dirt over the cache making a slight hill, this will settle after a few rains and will prevent a depres-

Meticulous placement and attention to detail will help to ensure your cache will be there for you when you need it. Note removed dirt is piled on a tarp to aid in replacing soil and leaving surrounding areas as natural as they were.

sion from forming. Once cache is in place and buried at desired depth, the excess dirt is removed from site and scattered elsewhere. Do your best to restore the cache site to its original look. Leave no trace if at all possible, and don’t whatever you do, leave behind evidence that something was buried! I would recommend returning to your cache sites every 6 months to a year to rotate supplies and to make sure no one has made off with your cache. Take the same measures of security each time you visit your sites.

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I really consider caching to be a practical part of any emergency preparedness plan. I consider any steps I take to be more of an insurance policy rather than a “sky is falling” mentality. I know there are those who doubt my intentions and think all of this is foolishness. I hope you’re right for your sake. a

Sic Semper Tyrannus!

The Valley, October 2012

Looking out my Back Door Life on my Mifflin County Homestead by Mary Anna Chenoweth

Growing the Good Grains: Corn One Hundred and One Things (well, okay, Two Things) to do with Hominy Part Three As promised, here are two recipes using hominy. You will remember from your September edition that hominy is a homestead staple made by boiling mature, dry, heirloom field corn in a weak alkaline solution made from water and either pickling lime or clean wood ashes. There are three basic ways to use the resulting product. Hominy can be dried, ground and boiled with water, milk or broth to make that classic Southern dish, grits. The other two methods – cooking the whole hominy in a variety of ways or grinding it into dough – will be our present focus. First, let’s consider using whole hominy. The making of hominy is one of those chores that lends itself to the flow of the seasons. In our region of the world, it’s late fall or early winter by the time the corn has matured and dried to the point where it is ready to process;

perfect timing since cooking for long periods of time is far more comfortable for the cook (whether indoors or out) when the temperatures cool down. Coincidentally, cool, late fall days are also good weather for butchering, which is handy since the first recipe, requiring pork, would make a perfect addition to any Butchering Day Supper. What we’re talking about is a dish called pozole – pronounced po-`soh-lay – which comes to us from rural Mexico, the homeland of both the corn and the cooking method that gives us hominy. As with any food, there are probably as many way of cooking pozole as there are cooks who make it, but this recipe (which we found 30 years ago in “The Mother Earth News”) is very basic and a good place to start. Which reminds me, any readers from ‘down South’ will no doubt recognize this as a

distant relative of their very own Hog and Hominy, so if ya’ll feel like sharing your family recipes, we’d be glad to learn about them. Basic Pozole 2 pounds of fresh boneless pork 2 pounds of pork neck bones, or feet (actually a pig’s head is great for this but not always available) Partly cooked hominy made from 11/2 pound dry corn (see “The Valley”, September 2012) 2 tablespoons powdered dried chilies, or regular chili powder several limes garnishes Make stock by placing all of the pork in a large stock pot and covering it by an inch or two with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, ‘til the meat falls off of the bones, adding additional hot water if necessary to keep the pork slightly covered. Remove from the heat and strain. If you wish to remove

all of the fat, refrigerate the broth to allow it to harden. Meanwhile, pick the meat from the bones and fat and, if necessary, cut into bitesized pieces. Return the meat to the (skimmed) stock and bring to a simmer. Add the hominy, and powdered chili and cook ‘til the hominy is tender; this may take several hours. While the pozole is cooking, prepare the garnishes, which could include finely shredded raw cabbage or other fall greens such as kale, chopped raw onions or grated raw radishes. Also, wash and quarter the limes, removing as many seeds as possible. While the garnishes are optional, the limes are not. But if you can’t get good limes, the pork and hominy will still be a very good stew – it just won’t be pozole. At the table, each diner adds the garnish(es) of their choice, squeezes on a generous amount of lime juice and digs in! Next up, hominy cooked ‘til tender and ground into a versatile dough called nixtamal – say `nishta-mal – which roughly translates as ‘unformed corn dough’; right to the point, those old Aztec grandmas, who developed, named and bequeathed this wonderful food to us. This ground dough is the basis for tortillas (Mexican flatbread),

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and tamales (plain or stuffed dumplings, wrapped in corn husks and steamed) and once you make and eat the homemade versions, you may not want to go back to the commercially available kind. Nixtamal can also be used to make homemade corn chips, a tasty treat for homesteading snack-aholics or anyone else who enjoys doing things for themselves. So, how do we make these crunchy munchies? 1 ½ pound dry field corn (preferably heirloom varieties) of any color Make hominy with the corn, cooking until tender. Drain the hominy briefly and then grind several times to form a smooth dough. You can use any type of hand or electric meat grinder or heavy duty food processor. It should not be necessary to add liquid to the dough, the cooking liquid clinging to the corn should be enough – but tiny amounts of water are okay if the dough won’t hold together. When grinding the hominy into nixtamal add any flavorings you might desire; dried powdered onion or garlic, chili powder, finely rubbed herbs - anything you want to try will probably turn out edible. Plain, homemade corn

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The Valley, October 2012

Thots on...Genesis

A Bible Study for the Lay Christian by Lydia In 2 Timothy 3.16, Paul tells us, “Every inspired scripture has its use for teaching the truth and refuting error, or for reformation of manners and discipline in right living…” [NEB*] *Unless otherwise noted, all Scriptures are quoted from the New International Version. Genesis 16.1-2 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar; so she said to Abram, ‘The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her.’ Abram agreed to what Sarai said. Abram had a very human moment of doubt and decided that since God had not given him any children, he would name one of his servants as his heir. The LORD gently reminded Abram that his son, not a servant, would inherit the land. Then He showed Abram the night sky and once again reminded him that his descendants would be countless as the stars. Abram believed the LORD and his faith was credited to him as righteousness [Genesis 15.2-6] — but with his very next breath, he asked, “How can I be sure that I will possess the land?” How weary God must become! He blesses us richly, and then we turn around and question His ability to fulfill His promises! The LORD gave Abram a glimpse of the future and then, in an elaborate ceremony, established a covenant with him (In Jeremiah 34.18, we see another reference to this ceremony.) and

laid out the specific boundaries of the land his descendants would possess, which encompass a much greater area than the miserly strip of land on which modern-day Israel exists. [Genesis 15.18-21] God told Abram that his descendants would be slaves in Egypt for 400 years but that He would deliver them. [Genesis 15.13-14; Exodus 12.40] Note the timing of the promised deliverance: “and the fourth generation shall return here [Canaan], for the Amorites will not be ripe for punishment till then.” [Genesis 15.16 NEB] The deliverance of the Israelites had a dual purpose: to liberate Abram’s descendants and to punish the Amorites, who were the descendants of Ham (whom Noah cursed) living in Canaan. We tend to look at wars of conquest from a purely political point of view. Perhaps we should consider war from a broader perspective. Let’s take a look at Leviticus 18.24-25 (NEB): “You shall not make yourselves unclean in any of these ways; for in these ways the heathen, whom I am driving out before you, made themselves unclean. This is how the land became unclean, and I punished it for its iniquity so that it spewed out its inhabitants.” Think about that for a moment. The inhabitants of the land broke God’s laws and committed acts that were abominable in His sight, thus defiling the land and causing it to “spew them out”. If we read Genesis 18 in its entirety, we find that the things that God finds “abominable” are acts of immorality, incest and per-

Centering In Christ by Pastor Pat Roller Summer seems almost endless, but here we are sliding quickly into fall with leaves turning, temperatures lowering, and holidays looming. It has suddenly become time for harvest and gathering in of crops, vegetables and fruits. It is my hope that your harvests are easy to gather and plentiful. While we are thinking about harvest, remember Jesus’ comment about the harvest of souls. Matthew 9: 37-38 says, “When Jesus saw the crowds, he had

version. How did the land “spew them out”? With an invading army. Try applying this spiritual concept to world history, to the invasion and conquest of nations, then consider this: What might happen to our nation if we continue to defile the land? Will the land spew us out? Now, Abram and Sarai had lived in Canaan for ten years [Genesis 16.3], they were getting old and they still had no children. What do you suppose they did? That’s right! They decided to take another stab at helping God fulfill His promise! This time it was Sarai who came up with a plan: She would give her slavegirl Hagar to Abram so that Hagar could produce an heir. [Genesis 16.1-3] You can imagine how that turned out! Hagar became pregnant and flaunted her pregnancy in Sarai’s face. In her jealousy, Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that the girl ran away. [Genesis 16.6] Gosh, and it was such a great plan, wasn’t it. . . Now here’s the surprising part: God intervened. An angel appeared to Hagar in the wilderness, told her to go back to Sarai and submit to her, and then gave her this promise from the LORD: “I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count.” [Genesis 16.9-10] Why would God bless Hagar’s child in such a way? He was not the child of promise, but only man’s attempt to fulfill the promise. Nevertheless, he was still Abram’s son. The angel told Hagar to name her son Ishmael (God heard), because God heard of her illtreatment. Then he told her, “He will be a wild donkey of a man; we must find our center in Christ. The way to accomplish this is by

Rev. Dr. Henry G. Covert

hgc7@verizon.net Dr. Henry Covert is an ordained minister with the United Church of Christ. After a tour of duty in the military, he worked in law enforcement for twenty years as both a patrol sergeant and county detective. Toward the end of that career he began his studies for the ministry. He has served several parishes, worked in therapeutic communities, was a state prison chaplain, and acquired adjunct faculty status in the criminal justice department at Penn State University. Dr. Covert was the chaplain for Pennsylvania’s first execution in thirty-three years. He has a doctorate from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and has authored six books. • Ministry to the Incarcerated (ISBN 0-8294-0860-6) International market -paperback • Discovering the Parables: An Inspirational Guide for Everyday Life (ISBN 978-0-313-34962-1 ) International market – hard cover & e-book • Spiritual Reflections: A Journey Through the Scriptures (ISBN 978-0-313-35901-9) International market - hardcover & e-book • Christian Beliefs and Prayers (ISBN 978-0-692-01101-0) International market – paperback, e-book & Amazon Kindle • The Crucifixion of Jesus (ISBN 978-0-9833359-0-0) International market – paperback, e-book & Amazon Kindle • The True Church of Jesus Christ (ISBN 978-0-9833359-4-8) International market – Paperback, e-book & Amazon Kindle Lowest Prices: bookfinder.com, bookfinder4U.com, alldiscountbooks.net, cheapbooks.com, Amazon.com Please Visit: https://sites.google.com/site/christianbooksbyhenrycovert

his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.” [Genesis 16.1112] Ishmael’s descendants are the Arabs, and here is the beginning of the global terrorism that we face today. When Abram and Sarai decided to take matters into their own hands, they had no idea their impatience and meddling would have such far-reaching effects! Their short-sightedness has result-

ed in untold misery for millions of people, not the least of which are Abraham’s rightful heirs. God does not count time by the same measure we use. He is not bound by our timetable or constrained by our physical capabilities. God is God. He will fulfill his promises to us—but in His time and in His way, not ours. And he does not need our help to do it! He requires only our obedience. a

practicing the spiritual disciplines mentioned before.

When the busyness of harvest is over, time doesn’t slow down. We are rapidly headed into the harried schedule of the holidays. During both of these times we need the calming assurance of God’s presence with us holding us steady in times when we feel like the proverbial “chicken without its head.” Centering in Christ and staying grounded in the Scriptures helps us find our way in difficult times. Gathering with others who come to worship together helps us know we are not alone and we can find encouragement. May you experience God’s grace in your harvest and your life in His presence. a

compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest’.” Taking care of our own spirit is the beginning of sharing Jesus with others. Do not neglect your own faith: Bible study, prayer, gathering with others for worship. Even in the midst of busy times, or perhaps because of busy time;

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The Valley, October 2012

Adventures on Our Nourishing Journey by Sue Burns

Chocolate - Are We Under Its Spell? A new British survey has revealed that 9 out of 10 people like Chocolate. The tenth lies. – ~ Robert Paul According to my observation, October officially kicks off our nation’s ongoing dietary stimulant plan. Dependence on dietary stimulants, most notably, sugar, caffeine, alcohol, and chocolate, happens year round, but it really seems to gear up with the first plastic pumpkin sighting and slows down a bit when the Easter Bunny has crawled into his burrow for a long summer’s nap. Have you noticed it too? Especially obvious is our obsession with chocolate. It is as if we become captivated by cocoa in the fall and winter. Perhaps you are aware of the transformation of your friends, family, and yes, even yourself. Of course we eat chocolate in the spring and summer months but it seems to me that something almost magical happens with the emergence of those

little goblins on All Hallow’s Eve. We know the bags of M&M’s are no longer tucked away on some grocery store shelf located in aisle three. Oh no, they are FINALLY taking center stage! It is almost as if we innately sense that this decadent dark substance is one of the primary “feel good” vehicles that can deliciously transport us out of the inevitable dark, dreary, cold days into “the most wonderful time of year.” Now, let’s get this straight right from the start. In past articles, I have thrown some faux food “under the bus” and for good reason. But I am NOT going

to tell you to give up chocolate, for its very name means “food of the Gods.” With firm conviction, I proudly advocate shunning hot dogs, but chocolate? Not so much. I would certainly lose the women’s vote if I ever suggested such a thing. Instead, I propose giving chocolate the seasonal spotlight it deserves. Surprise! Here Goes: What is Chocolate? Just in case you have not taken a spin or two through Hershey’s Chocolate World… The magic of chocolate begins with the harvested cacao beans extracted from cacao pods, growing on a Theobroma Cacao (meaning Food of The God’s) tree in a tropical environment. The pods are crushed, the cacao beans removed, and they are left to ferment for about six days. The highest quality chocolate comes from beans that are allowed at least a week to ferment and then another week to dry naturally in the sun. Most mass produced products use accelerated or artificial drying techniques. After drying, the beans are roasted, graded, shelled, broken into nibs, and ground. The resulting paste is called chocolate liquor (no alcohol). Next, the cocoa butter is removed from the chocolate liquor by a pressing process. The remaining residue is cocoa powder. At this point, the chocolate process differs depending on the recipe and formulation of the manufacturer. If the chocolate is low quality, the pulverized cocoa powder will be mixed with vegetable fats, sugar, and flavorings to become substandard chocolate. If the chocolate is going to be higher quality, cocoa butter will be re-added to the

chocolate liquor, along with other ingredients like sugar, vanilla, and milk. The newly mixed chocolate travels through a series of rollers to smooth out the texture before traveling to the conching machine. Conching is the final step in determining the flavor and texture of the chocolate. The conching machine, so-called because the original design resembled seashells, kneads and massages the chocolate mixture for a period of time ranging from several hours to several days. The speed, temperature, and length of the conching process determines the final texture and flavor of the chocolate, as conching smooths the chocolate and mellows any remaining acidic tones. After conching, the chocolate is tempered in large machines that cool it to precise temperatures in order to produce shiny, smooth bars. Finally, the chocolate is poured into molds, wrapped, and ready for shipping.

•

Why We Love Chocolate: Chocolate has a melting point slightly below the human body temperature so it “melts in your mouth.” In other words, YUMMY! In addition, chocolate contains four negligible (but noteworthy) pharmacodynamic (acting like medication) substances. These substances include: • Theobromine- A central nervous system stimulant and appetite stimulant. Theobromine is the reason you should never give

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a dog chocolate. Their systems can not break it down as readily as a human, thus it can be lethal. • Caffeine- Increases mental clarity, awareness and resistance toward fatigue. In other words—a stimulant. Phenylethylamine – A stimulant chemically similar to amphetamines. Phenylethylamine raises blood pressure and blood glucose levels. The result is an alert feeling and a sense of well being and contentment. It is believed to work by making the brain release b-endorphin, an opioid peptide which is responsible for pleasurable effects. Phenylethylamine is known as the “love drug.” It is a chemical that mimics the brain chemistry of a person in love and helps to relieve depression. Serotonin- Chocolate does not contain serotonin per se, but it does have tryptophan, a serotonin precursor, that the brain can transform into serotonin. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, meaning it is found in the brain and is important in transmitting nerve impulses. Serotonin is

sometimes referred to as a “happy” hormone because it greatly influences an overall sense of well being. It’s not a stimulant in the chemical sense, but certainly in terms of mood. Take special note: Dark chocolate is the only kind of chocolate that increases serotonin. When choosing dark chocolate, be aware that to reap health benefits, the chocolate should contain upward of 60 percent cocoa. Diana Walcutt, Ph.D., of Psych Central offers an important note: Drinking milk with dark chocolate negates the health benefits of the chocolate, so avoid combining the two. That is a tough break for cocoa. Can anything that tastes this good really be “good” for us? YES!! •

•

Chocolate is considered a complimentary food. That means it contains all three macro-nutrients; carbohydrates, protein and fat. A one pot meal. How great is that?! Also, in case you have not noticed, there has been an increasing amount of pro-

Continued on page 19

The Valley, October 2012

Julie Mac’s Wisdom from the Kitchen, Home, and Garden

Buried Treasure The days are growing shorter. The air is crisper. The sounds of geese fill the air as sunset approaches. Frost glistens across the landscape. Fall is whispering its arrival. The world knows it’s time to get ready to go to sleep for the winter. Time to harvest the last of your garden. Time to reassess what you did this year in anticipation of the next growing season. It’s time to feed your soil. What?, you say, in the fall? Yup! Fall is the best time to put back in what you took out. Once you pull out the last of your withered vegetable plants and compost them, you can begin the renewal. My novice gardening friends often miss this important step. They will pile in the peat moss and manure in the spring right before they till. While this is helpful, they don’t realize that proper planning in the fall will allow them to skip this step later on when the excitement of putting in your first seeds

consumes you. It gives the soil time to nourish and invite the worms in to play. It will give your little wiggly friends something to eat during the winter months and keep them healthy. By the time the warmer weather arrives your soil will be filled with that magical thing called worm castings. The best bit of natural gold your garden could ever receive. There are a bunch of different amendments that will do the trick. Compost from the bottom of your bins, shredded fall leaves, grass clippings from the last few mowing sessions of the year, manure from your animals if you have them, wood shavings from your chicken coop….and the list goes on! You see, in Fall what you would never do during the growing season is acceptable now. You don’t have to worry about manure being too “hot,” it will break down over the winter months. You don’t have to worry about adding fresh straw or leaves to your garden. While these are often used

during the summer months to provide much needed mulch to your plants, the fresh additions of these mulches will at first rob your soil of nitrogen. If you don’t have the proper balance of nitrogen to begin with you will notice that your plants will lag in growth in the spring until the mulches begin to break down. People will pour fertilizer on their plants not realizing what is going on underneath. Add the important amendments now so that this won’t be an issue. This is especially important if the area where your garden is situated is fairly new. Once all that you have is heaped into your garden plot, if you have a tiller, give it a good go around. If you don’t have one or know someone you can borrow one from, you should take a pitchfork or shovel and at least turn the soil over once. Yes, I know, it’s a lot of work but it will be worth it come spring. You are delivering the amendments right to the wormies area of cohabitation. Once the soil is frozen over they can’t come to the surface to feed on what you have added. You will find that what you have piled into your garden will still be sitting there when it comes to plant. I have made that mistake. One year I ended up raking out what I had added in the previous months because all it had done was blown around in the Winter wind. It was a mess and really stalled my planting schedule. Not only that, but I was highly aggravated

by the time I was finished. Who needs be irritated when springtime should be so much fun! Have a wonderful October. Enjoy the world. Dream about the robins first appearance in spring. It’ll be here before you know it. a

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The Valley, October 2012

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The Valley, October 2012

The Horse Scoop by Traci Hanna Yoder

All About “De-Worms” What do we need to know about worms and dewormers for our horses? Horse owners should know which parasites they are deworming for and what product they need to use. The most common worms our horses have are Large Strongyles, Bots, Ascarids, Pinworms and Tapeworms.

Ascarids are the Large Roundworms. The adult stage is found in the intestines. The female then passes eggs into the manure. The horse grazes and picks up the larvae, which migrate into blood vessels. After being carried to the liver and lungs, the immature worms are coughed up and swallowed. These mature in the

When purchasing a new horse, it is best to deworm them before put-

ting them in the pasture with other horses. Goose, my new addition, was given Equimax upon arrival.

small intestines and complete the life cycle. Bots are the maggot stage of the bot fly. We have all seen the eggs attached to our horse’s legs, belly and throat. The horse licks its legs, the larvae attach to the lips and tongue. They then attach to the lining of the stomach where they remain for several months. Large Strongyles or Blood Worms attach to the walls of the large intestine, where the females pass large numbers of eggs into the manure. After the eggs hatch, they are swallowed as the horse grazes. The larvae migrate to the arteries of the large intestines. As the artery walls are damaged, blood clots are formed. When the blood clots break away, this can cause colic in the horse. Pinworms are very irritating and cause the horse to rub its tail. This causes hair loss and soreness or injury to the tail and rump. Horses can get pinworms from contaminated water, feed, or bedding. Tapeworms can cause digestive issues, malnourishment and colic. Tapeworms are often difficult to diagnose and can go undetected and untreated for a long

period of time. Horses become infected with tapeworms from a mite in the grass. The best way to know which worms your horse has is to have your veterinarian take a fecal sample. Your vet can determine which dewormer would work best for the parasites your horse has. For those who want to deworm on their own, I often get questions at East Gate about what dewormers to use on horses. There are many different brand name products that can be used to deworm horses, but each of these fall into one of three chemical classes; Macrocyclic lactones (avermectins and milbemycins), Benzinmidazoles (compounds ending in “-endazole”), and Tetrahydropyrimidines (pyrantels). So now you say “WOW! I can’t even say those words! Well, most importantly, you need to know which name brand products fall under which chemical class. Macrocyclic Lactones (mostly the Ivermectins) deworm for the broadest range of parasites. These are effective against most all common adult equine parasites (except tapeworms), and will also kill some larvae. This helps greatly in reducing colic that is related to the migrating larvae of the strongyles. These products you know better as Zimectrin, Durvet Ivermectin, and Bimectin. Also in this category are Moxidectins such as Quest Gel. Ivermectins and Moxidectins with Praziquantel are used to control tapeworms. Those brands would include Equimax, Zimectrin Gold and Quest Plus. Benzinmidazoles (-endazoles) work against most adult parasites. Fenbendazole kills large strongyles, pinworms, lung worms and ascarids. Oxibendazoles work against large strongyles, pinworms, roundworms, and threadworms. On the feed store shelf these products are recognized

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as Anthelcide EQ, Panacur, and Safeguard. Tetrahydropyrimidines (Pyrantels) control large strongyles, pinworms and round worms, but at double-dosing rates can also kill tapeworms. Pyrantel Tartrate is used in daily-feed dewormers. Pyrantels are found in Pyrantel Paomate Paste, Strongid, Tapecare, and Equi Aid. Knowing which chemical classes these products fall into can help you determine how to develop your own rotational deworming schedule. For best parasite control, rotate between the different chemical classes. Some parasites may survive with one dewormer, but will be eliminated in the next rotation with a different chemical. Do not just switch brand names! Check the label and rotate the chemical for the best deworming program. Here is an example of a Rotational Deworming Schedule: January (Pyrantel such as Durvet Pyrantel Paomate) , March (Benzimidazole such as Safeguard), May (Ivermectin with Praziquantel such as Equimax), July (Pyrantel Paomate again), September (Benzimidazole such as Anthelcide EQ), October (Ivermectin such as Durvet Ivermectin). Hopefully this helps you to develop a successful deworming program that will keep “deworms” away from your horse! a

The Valley, October 2012

LIbrary Lines

Constitutional Violations from page 13

Your Mifflin County Library

E-readers arise by Paul Bryan Friends of the Mifflin County Library Here’s a quiz for readers: (1) Do you read a newspaper? (2) Do you read books made of dead trees? (3) Would you upload, download and reload electronic devices to fulfill your reading needs? If you said “Yes” to 1 and 2 (pretty obvious since you’re reading The Valley printed on paper), you are a good, old-fashioned reader. If you agree to 3, you are joining about 100 million other Americans who have a Nook, Kindle, I-Pad, or other e-reader in the biggest revolution since Johannes Gutenberg borrowed money from his brother-in-law Arnold and invented moveable type around 1440. In those past 572 years there have been lots of changes, but until about ten years ago, the book was still basically inked letters striking paper, and then bound to produce reading material. Now come electronic readers with screens that temporarily hold words and pictures that a person can read, just like a book. If you recall your novice years with personal computers, you remember the “One Big Fear”: What if I hit the wrong button and everything disappears? With e-reading you may still make a mistake, but reading material is easily recoverable and the Nook or Kindle or Tablet you use will hold thousands of books, some you buy and own, and some you borrow free from the Library. The Mifflin County Library is right on top of the trend toward e-readers. Statistics show that e-books may account for as much as 10% of circulation by the end of 2012. So while the disappearance of libraries is still predicted

by some, they underestimate the adaptability of libraries and the advances of technology. The Mifflin County Library offers free classes to owners of e-readers who want to download books. The beginner can go through the steps to check the availability of a desired book, then borrow it for two weeks or so, and read it at leisure. Not only are the Mifflin County Library and Juniata County Library sources for free e-books, but any card-carrying local library member can also apply for a card from the Free Library of Philadelphia and open a huge new collection of about 14,000 e-books. There are many sources of downloadable e-books; Amazon. com boasts of 800,000 titles available. The supply is available, the e-readers are ready, and you have a lifetime of reading material at hand – mostly free. The e-reading tsunami is upon us, so jump right in. Ask your favorite librarian what is in stock at your local branch. You’ll be pleasantly surprised. Your library will not become irrelevant no matter what leaps the technology makes. Here’s a closing quiz: (1) Did you know you can join the Friends of the Mifflin County Library on the Internet? Just go to mclibraryfriends.org and click on “membership.” Join and you’ll support library programs like Kids Summer Reading and help buy books, e-books and periodicals that are then made available to all Library patrons. Happy reading and e-reading! Paul Bryan is President of Friends of the Mifflin County Library and an omnivorous reader. a

So what is a GMO anyway from page 3

one trait in a plant, using genes from unrelated species, and then getting the transgenic seed into the ground presently costs a biotech company an average of around $136,000,000.00 dollars. The average cost to develop traits with conventional hybridization is $1,000,000.00 dollars. Yes, those are millions we’re talking about. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm……

looking at specific aspects of the issues and ramifications surrounding GMOs. We will deal in FACTS (I’ll try to limit the cutesy analogies - really) that you can easily confirm as you, hopefully, dig deeper on your own. Here’s one fact to get you started: the process of fixing

that to win the fall election he needs an October surprise and declare that emergency. What about our Constitution? It describes presidential power broadly. There is nothing in our Constitution that authorizes an E/O or limits what a president can do with it. How do you feel about this President having such unbridled power with great difficulty to stop him? E/O can be revoked by legislation. However, our Democratically-controlled Senate, who does not pass a budget for over 1000 days and does not read thousand page laws, will certainly not act in our best interest utilizing constitutional principles. #5 Czars. At last count, Pres. Obama has appointed 45 czars since taking office over 3 ½ years ago. Knowing precisely how many is a problem because such appointees are not being held accountable or made available to Congress. That means this administration has more czars than Imperial Russia had in its entire history. In other words, Abraham Lincoln’s government of the people, by the people, for the people has given way to unelected bureaucrats who are unaccountable to anyone except the president. For example, we have a diversity czar, energy czar, income redistribution czar, internet czar, urban affairs czar, disinformation czar, voter list czar, behavioral czar, zoning czar, Great Lakes czar, and on and on, ad nauseam. Where does it all end? These are all political appointees to promote political objectives. Our Constitution requires the Senate to confirm all presidential nominees for officer positions. Appointing czars who have not been vetted or confirmed by the Senate effectively usurps the rightful authority of cabinet officers who have gone through the constitutional process. This is evidence of more lack of transparency and accountability. Our President is subverting the power of Congress to act as a constitutional check to the executive branch. That is unacceptable. #4 Regulation. Washington, under Pres. Obama, is in a regulatory growth spurt. We are today covered by a vast web of rules and regulations, endless policies and programs, all emanating from a central government, mostly the work of agencies and bureaucracies that, for all intents and purposes, operate outside the consent of the governed.

The term bureaucracy comes from the French for desk and the Greek for rule. In assuming more and more tasks in more and more areas beyond its constitutionallyprescribed responsibilities, modern government has done great damage to American self-rule. We are simply over-regulated. What part of limited government doesn’t our President understand? We can see before us a persistent pattern of disregard for the powers of the legislative branch in favor of Obama’s administrative decision-making without, and often in spite of, congressional action. To me, this violates our Constitution’s separation of the legislative powers of Congress and the executive powers of our President. #3 Failure or Refusal to Enforce Laws. Our President has ignored many laws that he is obligated to enforce. The DOJ no longer enforces the Defense of Marriage Act and has effectively become a race-based enforcement unit. Homeland Security does not enforce our borders, sues states which try to protect their borders, and Obama’s new policy creating the Dream Act which never passed Congress. The EPA has become a law unto itself with cap and trade and new drilling prohibitions. Obama claimed executive privilege to avoid a total investigation and disclosure into Fast & Furious. The list goes on and on. However, the point to be made is when the chief enforcer shows profound contempt for our Constitution, he needs to be reminded that no one is above the law…not even our President. #2 Debt. Out of control federal spending and debt are burdening current Americans and saddling future generations with a giant, unaffordable debt and an intrusive government. Economically speaking, no solution to the problem could be simpler than the obvious one: spend less than we take in and start paying down the debt. Pres. Obama has added more debt to the U.S. budget than all other presidents combined. The President and his party have failed to pass a budget in over 1000 days. Our sovereign credit rating has been lowered under Obama. No nation can borrow and spend its way to prosperity. Congress is responsible for the national debt and limits (supposedly) the government’s authority to borrow from credit markets through the statutory debt limit, which as passed $16 Trillion. The Democrats in the Senate take their instructions from Obama. No list

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of Pres. Obama’s constitutional violations would be complete without including the debt he and his policies is racking up by the second. Our Constitution does not give our limited federal government the power to incur debt for all the purposes this administration is using borrowed money for. This is a back-breaker. #1 10th Amendment. Most of the problems and violations discussed here have a basis in the 10th Amendment. It says that the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people. To me, this could not be clearer. If it is not in the Constitution, it is left for the states or the people to decide. With about 50% of our people in entitlement programs, many want government to solve all their problems. Many existing federal programs are not authorized by our Constitution, as they involve activities and issues that were meant to be left to the states and the people. These examples today are just a few of what our federal government is really doing to us in the guise of doing things for us. We need to remind them that constitutional constraints on federal power were put there for good, practical reasons. The Tea Party movement is one of the most significant citizen efforts in recent times to revive America’s founding principles. We support adherence to an originalist interpretation of our Constitution. We support reduced government spending, reduced taxes, reduction of our national debt and federal budget deficit and limited government. We believe that our federal government has gotten too large and powerful. Our unifying focus is on fiscal conservatism and our Constitution’s core beliefs. We disagree with President Obama who described our Constitution as deeply flawed. Our Constitution is the real thing. Ewe should revere it and, more importantly, live under it. We should follow the principles of the 3 L’s: limited government, Liberty and Living within our means. The President and much of our federal government in Washington, DC no longer feel bound to our Constitution nor to the limits expressly placed on it. We promote self-reliance, personal responsibility, and focus government on the few, specific, limited powers to which it is authorized under our Constitution…Period…End of Story. a

The Valley, October 2012

Roads Less Traveled by Lynn Persing

Cinnamon Well here it is the Sunday of newspaper deadline, and as usual, I’m just starting my article. I would have had it done a couple hours ago, but I made the mistake of proofreading Sue Burns’ article on chocolate and *poof* —goodbye concentration. I was doing my best to proofread stories about the decline of the dollar, deworming your horse, preparing your garden in the fall, and GMO’s, but nothing was going to get my mind off chocolate—especially now that I found out it’s good for you (I had heard the rumors, but I was still skeptical). That’s it, there was no way I was going to be able to write my article until I went out and bought some. By the way Sue, CVS has Divine dark chocolate (and Godiva), so there’s no need to run all the way to State College to Wegmans. Look at all that gas

money you’ll save—now you can buy more chocolate! Ok, now that I’m all loaded up on tryptophan, I can commence my article by divulging another little secret that I discovered this week. Cinnamon is good for you! Ok, well maybe this isn’t

quite as wonderful as being given the green light to eat dark chocolate, but it is good to know, isn’t it? When I was a youngster I’d get sick, Mom always made me some cinnamon toast as I started to feel better and gain my appetite. You too? What a coincidence.

which are mostly garnered from http://www.organicauthority.com/ health/11-health-benefits-of-cinnamon.html

cognitive function and memory.

1) 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon per day can lower your bad cholesterol (or LDL).

10) Cinnamon has been found to be an effective natural remedy for eliminating headaches and migraine relief.

2) Cinnamon may help treat Type 2 Diabetes by lowering blood sugar levels and increasing the amount of insulin production in the body. It turns out that cinnamon is one of the oldest known spices and has many health benefits. But be careful when buying. For premium health benefits you want to buy “true cinnamon” (Ceylon cinnamon) and not cassia, which is what is sold in most grocery stores. Cassia is often also referred to as Chinese cinnamon,” “Saigon cinnamon,” or “Java cinnamon.” Unfortunately, there is no way to really tell which type of cinnamon you have, so it may mean a call to the manufacturer if it is not specifically stated on the labeling. Ceylon (true) cinnamon will, of course, be more expensive. Have you EVER known the good stuff to be cheaper? Me either. Without further ado, here are the health benefits of cinnamon,

3) Cinnamon has antifungal properties, and it’s been said that candida (yeast) cannot live in a cinnamon environment. 4) Cinnamon can reduce the proliferation of leukemia and lymphoma cancer cells. 5) Cinnamon has an anti-clotting effect on the blood. 6) Honey and Cinnamon combined has been found to relieve arthritis pain. 7) When added to food, cinnamon inhibits bacterial growth and food spoilage, making it a natural food preservative. 8) Just smelling cinnamon boosts

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9) Cinnamon fights the E. coli bacteria in unpasteurized juices.

11) Cinnamon can also help stablize blood sugar (which is great for weight loss). A couple of dashes in your morning tea or cereal is all it takes! 12) Cinnamon is high in nutrients It is a great source of manganese, fiber, iron, and calcium. Ok, so don’t just throw caution to the wind and starting eating cinnamon by the handfuls. It can be harmful in large doses (especially cassia cinnamon), and as always, it’s best to consult your doctor before starting any type of new regimen. Since true cinnamon has anti-coagulant (basically blood thinning) benefits, those who have blood disorders and problems with their blood clotting are advised to steer clear. Where can you get it? Well that’s easy. I haven’t checked

continued on page 14

The Valley, October 2012

Understanding the Constitution by David Molek

Obama’s Top 10 Constitutional Violations I recently spoke at the Mifflin County 912 Tea Party Rally about our President’s top 10 constitutional violations. Since Barack Obama took office, we seem to have become a nation in which our President acts without acknowledging our Constitution. One of the biggest changes that 2011 brought (in large part due to the tea parties, their effect on the 2010 elections and their effect in recent 2012 primary elections) is the centrality of our Constitution to our public discourse. Where does the government get the power to do that? Here’s my list of Obama’s top 10 constitutional violations. Remember that these views and opinions are my own. #10. Delegation. The Obama administration has ad-

vanced the view that everything is socialized under the jurisdiction of the government, subject to be regulated, distributed, denied or taken away in the name of social justice. The rule of law is being supplanted by the rules and regulations that accompany government statutes. We have seen an explosion of red tape, massive economic costs of federal regulation and politicized and inequitable rules. People need to elect representatives who will take their constitutional responsibility seriously and make the tough decisions of lawmaking and public policy and not delegate them to unaccountable bureaucrats in administrative agencies. Obama’s progressive liberalism wants more centralized government authority exercised

by government bureaucrats. He is moving ever further away from our original principles and constitutional design. In this new conception of our Constitution, government is unlimited, subject only to the perceived wants of the popular will. This conception has significantly weakened the very foundations of American constitutionalism. #9. Recess Appts. President Obama again crossed the threshold of constitutionality when he gave recess appointments to officials who were subject to Senate confirmation, even though the Senate was not in recess. That rendered the Senate’s role of advice and consent almost meaningless. It is a grave and flagrant constitutional wrong. Obama’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is perhaps the most powerful and unaccountable bureaucracy in the history of our nation, headed by a powerful and unaccountable bureaucrat with unprecedented authority over the economy. Obama circumvented Congress to recess appoint this man. The same applies to the NLRB, which also occurred when the Senate was not actually in recess. There is no telling where such disregard may go next, but the trend is clear. Our Constitution provides for a strong chief executive, not a king, or a ruler, but one whose

powers derive from our Constitution. This is another gimmick to facilitate passage of his agenda and ignore separation of powers. #8 Bailouts. Where in our Constitution does it say our limited federal government can bailout automotive companies or subsidize the housing market? The current administration has done both. It has and will cost us hundreds of billions of dollars. Obama, with these actions, has undermined the rule of law, distorted markets and rewarded political allies. These actions empowered unlimited, unreviewable and often secret bureaucratic discretion. Due process and separation of powers issues abound. The GM bailout, as an example, is personal to me. I had owned GM stock for over 20 years as part of my IRA. When GM was getting into financial difficulty, I understood the risk I faced under the law, or at least I thought I did. What happened next? President Obama encroached into the bankruptcy process with a sham sale, took my stock and gave it to the UAW. The federal government basically confiscated $10,000 from me (and many other people) and gave it to a union ally of our President. Executive branch overreach is a definite threat to and violation of our constitutional system of checks and balances and an affront to the rule of law. #7 Education. Federal edu-

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cation policy has all the defects that fueled activists’ ire this election season: skyrocketing spending of over $25 billion per year, bureaucratic meddling, unfunded federal mandates to our local schools and overreach into states’ constitutional authority. And it still leaves children behind their potential. The Obama administration has maneuvered around Congress by issuing waivers to states who agree to the federal policy demands. These waivers represent a dramatic overreach into school policy with national standards and tests. This is a deliberate pattern by Obama to circumvent lawmakers in an area of law which is not even mentioned in our Constitution as an area of federal responsibility or power. We need to stop the spending spree, restore federalism and promote parental choice in education. #6 Executive Orders. Pres. Obama has made clear that he’s determined to continue pushing his socialistic agenda, regardless of constitutional limitations on his power. He aims to have his way by issuing more and more executive orders. So, far, he has signed 128. For example, he issued an executive order instructing the DOJ to cease defense of the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996. An executive order cannot trump existing law. E/O 13603 about National Defense Resources Preparedness, to me, is an ominous sign of possible things to come. That E/O is a blueprint for a federal takeover of the economy, energy, water, transportation, health resources, food and commodities during the full spectrum of emergencies. Hopefully, this President doesn’t simply decide

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The Valley, October 2012

The Mind Is A Wonderful Thing: Unlock Your Power To Make Changes by Lynn Ralston Are there things about your attitudes or behaviors that you would change if you could? Would you quit smoking, lose weight, improve your health, control anxiety or experience drugless, painless childbirth next time? Are you sick and tired of dealing with a problem and looking unsuccessfully for solutions from others? Are there physical or emotional things that are unwanted, unhealthy, annoying or out of control? The truth is that each of us has the absolute power and ability within us to take control and make changes, rather simply. We begin this life with a long path of learning ahead and we store information in our mind as we go. We experience the hot stove burner through burned fingers in early years and store that information in the subconscious mind as a folder with an image and emotional tag. Next time we see the stove, the conscious mind recognizes the image, recalls the bad experience and makes the decision not to touch. This lesson is stored as part of us, part of our automatic behavior files. In other

words, as adults, we do not stand in front of the stove and wonder if it would be alright to touch the red, hot burner. We just “automatically” know and avoid the behavior. Our experiences in life are stored as information, which determines our beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. Some of us have stored files that say it is OK to smoke, to eat unlimited amounts of food and to always be late. Others have stored files that cause them to always be afraid of something, or to respond to challenges with anxiety or to worry or expect the worst. Some have files that say they’ll never be successful or not as good as others. Some have stored files saying that you just have to put up with hot flashes, with pain or high blood pressure. We store millions of things in our minds, some good, some bad and some of them no longer useful. The good news? We can change any files, any attitudes or behaviors at a chosen time. We simply go to the storage location by using a natural state of mind, that shift in consciousness known as hypnosis. You can undo

PA Cleanways

Tire Recycle Challenge by Pam Sechrist

September 15th was this years Tire Challenge with four counties competing. The last few years Mifflin County has received the Flat Tire Award for recycling the least amount of tires. The winner received the Gold Rim Award for collecting the most tires. Huntingdon County held the Gold Rim Award every year until Perry County came on board and they held it. This year, Juniata County

started a new Affiliate and joined in the Challenge winning with 1700 tires. Congratulations goes to Teddi Stark who is the new Affiliate Coordinator for Juniata County. Mifflin came in second with 1162 tires. Huntingdon had 1112 tires, and Perry came in last with 714 tires. Which makes a grand total of 4,688 tires being properly disposed of. In the end there are no losers when we can

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or change things just as easily as you created them. Have you ever spoken or heard these words? “I changed my mind.” “I used to think that . . . but now I think.” “Mind over matter.” “Automatic pilot.” We are actually speaking about the process that occurs in our mind. Hypnosis is very widely misunderstood even by some professionals. The biggest obstacle in choosing to use hypnosis and hypnotherapy is the lack of real understanding, which creates fear and doubt. Lots of people think it is some odd state of mind produced by a performer on a stage who somehow gets control of our minds. NOT TRUE. (Sorry entertainers!) Hypnosis is not brainwashing. In hypnosis, no one can control your mind or make you do anything you do not want to do. You are always in control! Hypnosis is simply a state of relaxation and concentration, a shift in consciousness. It is not sleep! You experience this shift in consciousness naturally every day. It is part of how we were created. In fact, it is so much a part of us

that it would be impossible to “outlaw” it. We fail to recognize a hypnotic state because we think hypnosis is something else. Some of the confusion is related to the fact that you are aware of things going on around you while in this state. Day-dreaming is one example of this hypnotic state. Sometimes you shift into it while watching TV or a movie or while driving. Have you ever driven somewhere and all of a sudden you arrive realizing you do not seem to remember the trip? You had shifted into a state of hypnosis. Now that you understand hypnosis is not what you were led to believe, you are free to “change your mind” about it! You can now begin to think of making those changes you want to make, once and for all, safely and successfully using hypnosis and a hypnotherapist as your guide. At Changes Hypnotherapy, most changes require just one session, which lasts about an hour. Some such as smoking cessation and weight loss require at least two sessions. You can use hypnosis for hot flashes, pain management, stress, anxiety, confidence, surgical preparation, healing, cancer recovery, fears, sports performance, public speaking, wart elimination and so much more. Start your changes today by calling Lynn Ralston, R.N., CHt., at 814-422-8783. a

properly dispose of close to 5000 tires. We are starting our fall cleanups with September 29th being the first one in Armagh township on Havice Valley Road. We will be doing another International Coastal Cleanup. This dump site is one of our illegal dump sites that was surveyed in 2010. This will be a rain or shine cleanup date. On October 6th we plan do Big Ridge Road in Granville Twp. We will be doing the entire length of the road. It would be a good idea if everyone would take their trash home with them instead of throwing it out the car window. October 20th we will do a dump

site in Union Twp if we can get all the paper work done in time. On November 20th we plan to do Jack’s Mnt. All the dates are tentative. If it should rain or snow, we will move the dates up to the next date available with all dates moving up. If you want to know what we may be doing on any weekend and would like to volunteer to help, you can check the www. keeppabeautiful.org web site or call Pam Sechrist at 717-899-6701 to see if dates have been changed.

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sticks do not have to be refrigerated. It’s the perfect time of year to indulge in some apple cider with cinnamon, or to have some warm, nutritious oatmeal with some cinnamon sprinkled on top! I’ll leave it up to you to find some other creative ways to incorporate a little cinnamon into your diet each week. a

locally, but I’m sure Rose at Nature’s Harmony would order it for you if she doesn’t carry it. Other places online include Penzey’s Spices (they have stores too if you visit any big cities), Amazon, and The Spice House. Ground cinnamon is said to be best if stored in the refrigerator; cinnamon

PACleanWays of Mifflin County Keep PA Beautiful Affiliate Coordinator 717-899-6701 a

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Growing the Good Grains from page 5 chips are plenty tasty, although this is one place where I would recommend the addition of a little salt; ¼ to ½ teaspoon stirred into each cup of hominy before you grind it should be enough to bring out the flavor without adding too much excess sodium. Basically, you form the chips by making tortillas then cutting them up. About 2 to 3 tablespoons of dough is about the right amount to work with. Tortillas are traditionally patted out by hand, a skill that takes a bit of practice, to say the least, but one we should at least try to develop. A tortilla press, available in many cooking catalogs, makes things quicker and easier. The dough can also be rolled out between pieces of waxed paper with a rolling pin (this also takes a bit of practice). Be inventive. Remember, the thinner you roll them out, the better they’ll cook - 1/8 inch or slightly less as your skills improve. It doesn’t matter if they look a bit wonky, they’ll still taste good. When your tortillas are made, cut them into whatever size shapes you want. To make your corn chips, deep frying is an option. Shallow frying, works too, you just have to flip the chips. Second press olive oil, or what ever oil you use for cooking, works for this (see Sue Burns’ article in the August 2011 edition) or you can throw caution to the wind and go whole hog, frying up your chips with the fat used by traditional cooks – lard! To bake, set the heat at 375 degrees and use a baking sheet lined with unbleached parchment paper (which can be used repeatedly). Place the chips closely together, plain or lightly brushed with oil. Bake 10 minutes then remove the tray, flip the chips and continue to bake ‘til they are golden brown (or ten to fifteen minutes more if you’ve used blue, green or red corn – check them as you go along to find out the correct time). Your homemade corn chips will crisp up as they cool; store in an airtight container in a cool place or in the freezer for long term snacking. For other ideas and recipes using hominy, try: The Craft of the Country Cook by Pat Katz www.whatscookingmexico.com For more detailed info on hominy, nixtamal and much more, this website is a good place to start. a

The Valley, October 2012

Our Environment Our Culture The Taylor House A Brief History by By Michael Lennartz, Taylor House Manager Last month’s article was written by Mike Lennartz and accidentally attributed to another staff member. It’s an interesting read about a historic building in downtown Lewistown. So it is reprinted here with appropriate credit. The late William Silverwood Taylor III (former owner of the IGA grocery store in Belleville, Pa.) and his wife Jane graciously donated half the cost of the building at 23 North Main Street in Lewistown to Community Part-

nerships RC&D Council in 2004. Community Partnerships mortgaged the other half of the cost and moved to the building in 2004 making it our non-profit organization’s headquarters. The Taylor House was built in 1908 by the Dr. William S. Taylor, DDS. After the construction was complete, he and his first wife moved into the new brick building where he had his dental office on one side of the first floor and the rest of the building was his residence. His dental practice thrived until his death in 1951. Taylor and both his wives were active in many professional, civic and fraternal organizations during their lifetimes. His first wife (Florence) died in 1932. She was the mother of William S.

Taylor Jr. He was remarried to his second wife (Esther) in 1934. Most notably, Dr. Taylor was a member of the Lewistown Borough Council and also on the Board of Directors for the Lewistown Municipal Authority. After Dr. Taylor passed away, his second wife lived at the residence until her death in the 1980s. She rented the office part of the building to different business and other physicians during the next 31 years. After much renovation and restoration on the first floor by past and present staff and volunteers, the first floor of the building is now office space for Community Partnerships RC&D and the second floor is a large, luxurious apartment. The building has been visited by members of the Taylor Family on many occasions and the Taylor family donated the original dental certificate and license of Dr. Taylor to the Community Partnerships RC&D organization. The certificate has been framed and is on display in the front office of the building. Along with the certificate, there is a large framed picture of Dr. Taylor and some other artifacts of his dental practice.

Community Partnerships RC&D Council’s home is located on 23 North Main Street, Lewistown at the Historic Taylor House. How did we get these digs? The late William S. Taylor III (former owner of IGA Belleville) and wife Jane graciously donated half the cost of the building before we moved in 8 years ago.

One major artifact of Dr. Taylor’s practice was found in the basement of the building. At the time it looked like a large block of cement under the cellar steps. After inspecting the block, it was found to have been engraved on all 4 sides with Dr. Taylor’s name. After struggling to get the 400 lb. block out of the basement, we at Community Partnerships were surprised to find that it was not cement and that after professional cleaning it turned out to be pure marble. It is on display outside the building on the front sidewalk for all to see as they go by the building. Historians think it may have been a carriage step. In 2011, Community Partnerships RC&D

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Council (the building’s owners) were presented with a plaque from the Downtown Historic Building Association as the property was added to the list of properties with historical significance to Mifflin County. The Staff and Officers of Community Partnerships RC&D are very proud of the building and look to the future to preserve and protect the heritage of the building and property. Stop by and see our Headquarters in downtown Lewistown and find out more about our programs in culture and the environment. * Special thanks to the Lewistown Sentinel, Forest Fisher and the Mifflin County Historical Society for information on the history of the Taylor House a

The Valley, October 2012

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

What’s in a Diet? How do you keep your rabbits healthy? If that sounds like a loaded question, it is. There are a number of factors that contribute to their health, but the first is nutrition. Rabbits are herbivores, meaning that they are designed to consume plant material. In some cases, rabbit owners do opt to feed a fresh diet of fruits and vegetables. But for most people, this type of diet is difficult to maintain. Not only is it expensive but the amount of fresh forage needed to maintain a large breeding herd can certainly be an obstacle. Not to mention that the only green seen during a Pennsylvania winter is on the Christmas tree. Instead, many rabbit owners choose to base the diet on a high quality commercial pellet, formulated

specifically for the sensitive systems of our long-eared friends. Commercial pellets are nutritionally balanced for every stage of life. There are high energy formulas for active breeds, low protein formulas for dry bucks and does and rich formulas for nursing does and litters. With so many options, choosing one can be overwhelming at first glance, but there are a few specific things to look for. A quality rabbit pellet does not contain colored crunchy bits, seeds or other “treats.” In my early rabbit-owning days, I remember we used a pellet with these little bits mixed in. The rabbit picked out all the treats and wouldn’t eat the pellets. Since the plain, brown pellet is the healthy part of the meal, it’s important

that they’re not picking around other pieces. Most feed stores carry plain rabbit pellets in recognizable brands. Blue Seal, Purina and Manna Pro are three big names that are available locally. Most of these pellets range from 15 to 18 percent protein and one to three percent fat. The formula you choose will depend on your rabbit. Pet rabbits are generally less active, less stressed and require a lower maintenance diet. They often do best on a low protein, low fat formula. On the other hand, breeding or show rabbits are exposed to more stressors and require a higher protein and fat diet. Older rabbits may also require richer formulas. The highest protein feeds are generally best for wool rabbits or young rabbits who are still growing. As a general rule, I find that rabbits do best on ½ cup pellets per five pounds body weight. After starting a new pellet, it is usually good to do a weekly wellness check for the first few weeks and make adjustments for individuals that feel a bit thin or have gotten too flabby. Rabbits

under six months of age may be fed more than adults while they continue to grow. Some sources recommend freefreeding unlimited pellets before six months of age, but that can lead to digestive upset during the weaning process. Instead, I offer a ration and a half or two rations per weanling per day. This limits the food enough to encourage more fiber (which I’ll talk about next), but ensures that they’re receiving enough vitamins and minerals to grow. It is also important that pellets are stored properly to maintain their quality. Pellets Sunny the Rhinelander waits patiently for stay freshest in a cool, dry his dinner. Sunny spent an evening at Oak Ridge Rabbitry in 2010 while traveling environment. Keeping unopened bags on a pallet is the through The Valley to meet his new owner. best way to prevent moisture to wear down rabbits’ constantly or mold in the bag. Opened bags growing teeth and also gives the can be stored in an airtight trashrabbit something to munch on can or plastic storage container. during the day after they’ve finAs a general rule, pellets are ished their pellets. There is some freshest within 4 months of the fiber already included in pellets, mill date found on the bottom of but there is no substitute for hay the bag. For this reason, I usually itself! only purchase about 2-4 weeks of When choosing hay, locally pellets at a time. grown grass hay is best. Alfalfa In addition to pellets, fresh or clover hays are too rich in grass hay is very important. I can’t calcium for adult rabbits, so stress this enough! Fiber keeps the digestive system moving, helps Continued on page 22

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The Valley, October 2012

Sojourner Perspectives by Mark Ostrowski

Demise of the Dollar One doesn’t need to dig very deeply to realize that our economic system, based upon the dollar, has been built on a fault line that is about ready to rip open. We have been experiencing tremors for years and the big quake will soon hit us. Its magnitude will be off the Richter scale. How can I be so certain about this? Currently the US owes 16 trillion dollars. That’s $181,000 per person! Please promptly pay your share, so we can get out of this situation! OK, so you get my drift! That’s how I know we are in trouble. Tell me, how do you think our competent bureaucrats can get us out of this mess? (After all, they are the ones who got us into it in the first place, aren’t they?) Well, they’ll just print more money! Easy, presto and away we go! I know, I sound aggravated and I am, this is not what our founding fathers envisioned at all. They believed that a sound currency pro-

moted a sound economy, which in turn enhanced the living standards of every citizen. They had experienced the ills of printing paper money to finance the revolutionary war and experienced inflation of 5000%! It is noted in the book entitled Financial History of the United States, by D R Dewey that by 1781 a bushel of corn sold for 150 Continental dollars. Barber shops papered their walls with the bills and sailors, upon returning home and being paid off in bundles of this worthless money, had suits made with it and paraded through the streets in what in its better days would have passed for thousands of dollars. As a former sailor, I can so relate; all that time at sea, for what? This paper money was the object of scorn and the saying “not worth a continental” became a popular phrase. Our founder’s experience prompted them to forbid the printing of paper money in article 1,

section 10 of the Constitution. In 1792, the Coinage Act simplified the process of issuing a standard coin into circulation. It specified that a dollar would include either 412.5 grains of silver or 27.5 grains of gold, both 90% pure with 10% alloy added for strength. Does that sound like our money today? No! In 1913, our Congress permitted men of privilege to commandeer a sound monetary system that had served the public interest well for over 100 years, replacing it with a paper money system called the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve isn’t even a government entity, it is privately owned. Why should private bankers make money on the use of our currency? In fact, why should a bank be able to manufacture money in the first place? This is exactly how our system works. You go to the bank to borrow money and the illusion is that your neighbor has money deposited there, so you think that you’re indirectly receiv-

ing his funds to make your home purchase. Actually, the bank is permitted to loan many times the amount of money it has on hand in deposits. This is called fractional reserve banking. Essentially the bank is loaning out money it doesn’t have and receives interest on this non-existent money as well! In addition if you default on the loan, the bank ends up with a real asset instead of its illusionary dollars. Pretty sweet deal, right? Why aren’t we all bankers? Truth is, if you attempt this on your own, you’ll be arrested for fraud since you can’t loan, sell or rent something that doesn’t exist. Tells us something about the morality of this type of arrangement, doesn’t it? This set up works because all banks are tied into the Federal Reserve System and they accept each other’s checks, simply because that’s part of being in the system. This causes our currency to inflate. The real inflation breathing dragon, however, is the federal government. By having the private bankers print ever more money to fund government expenditures of all shapes and sizes; from wars to studying the flight pattern of Frisbees, the feds have an unchecked mechanism for taking money invisibly from your wallet. You still have the same

number of dollars, they simply don’t purchase as much as they once did. If we were allowed to vote on every spending item our government wanted to embrace, they would be hamstrung. So they’ve found a way to do it behind our backs, but realize this; inflation, pure and simple, is theft. Now our government has brought us full circle back to the days of the “Continental,” and we are on the cusp of serious financial ruin. They will continue to print money to fund ever burgeoning government programs, to stimulate the economy (quantitative easing, we just commenced round 3 and round 1 alone devalued our dollar some 25%.), and to bail out those institutions and industries that are “too big to fail.” What are we to make of all this? How can we protect ourselves from financial panic and the accumulating storm clouds of inflation that are on the horizon? I strongly suggest you place a portion of your assets in silver and gold. This is real money, as our founders understood and wanted us to use. It retains its value because it can’t be easily counterfeited and it takes work and great effort to mine, refine and produce coins and ingots from the raw ma

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The Valley, October 2012

Woods, Water and Wildlife by Deb Brackbill

Fall For Hummingbirds Contest Attract migrating hummingbirds to your feeders for a chance at prizes. Hummingbirds are being found with increasing frequency in the fall and winter seasons in Pennsylvania. About 99% of the hummingbirds that are found east of the Mississippi are Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, but sometimes during fall and winter other species of hummingbirds pass through Pennsylvania as they travel from breeding grounds in Alaska to wintering spots along the Gulf Coast. Ornithologists are very interested in learning more about these wayward little birds. Your participation can help contribute to the growing body of information about migrating hummingbirds. If you are able to

get a confirmed hummingbird to visit your feeders, you can win a prize. In addition, researchers with federal banding permits would like to band the late season hummingbirds, if the homeowners are willing. NOTE: Maintain a clean feeder whenever you leave it out for birds. It is recommended that you clean the feeder at least weekly, more often if the sugar mixture gets cloudy. The mixture for the feeders should always be 4 parts water to 1 part sugar. No additives or dyes are ever needed. If temperatures drop below freezing, bring the feeders in overnight. It is a myth that keeping feeders up will prevent them from migrating in the fall. They will come and go

as they please. We are only helping them fuel up in their journey. PRIZES: Any hummingbird species that can be confirmed will be entered into a $100 drawing. Any species other than the Rubythroated Hummingbird will automatically win $25. This contest will run from 10/1/12 to 1/31/13. Contest is sponsored by Kauffman Insurance Agency in Mifflintown and Lost Creek Shoe Shop/Optics from Oakland Mills. Contest is limited to anyone in the Juniata, Mifflin, Perry, and Snyder County area. Anyone in the state, outside of the above areas who are getting hummingbirds, is still welcome to contact us for further information. They can be eligible for other prizes and contests going on. Contact information: Find us on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/FallForHummingbirdsContest Chad Kauffman 717-436-8257; Aden Troyer 717-463-3117 or email chadkauffman@earthlink. net a

Penn State Video Learning Network earns national award Many jobs now require a bachelor’s degree, but only 27 percent of Pennsylvania residents age 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or higher, according to the Pennsylvania State Data Center. To help more Pennsylvania adults access higher education, Penn State has created a statewide network of 20 video classrooms that offer accelerated education programs. The Penn State Video Learning Network (VLN) is being honored with the 2012 Shirley Davis Award for Excellence in Synchronous Distance Learning by the National University Technology Network (NUTN). “Our mission is to serve Pennsylvania adult learners that need to earn credentials and degrees at their hometown Penn State campus,” said Rosemarie Piccioni, director of the Penn State Video Learning Network. “Every credit has to count, so our courses run for seven-and-a-half weeks, and credits earned often can be used for a certificate and also applied toward a degree program. We also offer general education credit courses to help an adult students begin their jour-

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ney.” The Davis Award recognizes institutions providing synchronous distance learning of a superior nature. It will be presented Sept. 18 during NUTN’s Network 2012 Conference in Kansas City. NUTN is a professional development network for the advancement of teaching and learning in distance education. Penn State Video Learning Network classrooms are equipped with identical video conferencing systems that enable live delivery of courses from one Penn State campus to up to three other campuses. Courses are held on nights and weekends and also include online components. Current programs include Business Essentials for Professionals and Labor Studies and Employment Relations certificate programs and a pilot RN to B.S. in Nursing degree cohort. The Penn State VLN is currently available at the following Penn State campuses: Altoona, Berks, Brandywine, DuBois, Erie, Fayette, Great Valley (two VLN

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The Valley, October 2012 Chocolate from page 7 chocolate PR using the buzz word, antioxidant. An antioxidant is defined as a substance that reduces damage due to oxygen. The most notable damage caused by oxygen in humans comes from our ongoing metabolic processes and the resulting by products called free radicals. Free radicals are wild, crazy, unstable and unbalanced molecules wreaking havoc where ever they roam. Of course oxygen is necessary for life, but it can also be dangerous. Without the assistance of antioxidants to tame our free radicals, oxygen can cause us to ‘rust.’ Our body does have antioxidant enzymes, but they can weaken over time. Our defenses can be boosted by the ingestion of antioxidant containing foods, namely fruits, vegetables and chocolate! Why do plants contain such a high amount of antioxidants? Well, humans must breath oxygen to survive, but plants opt to avoid oxygen, releasing it whenever possible. Maybe that is why trees often live longer than humans. Chocolate to the Rescue! Antioxidant foods are rated by their ORAC or “oxygen radical absorbance capacity,” which is a food’s ability to calm free radicals. According to Dr. Ronald Prior, a USDA nutrition researcher who has studied the antioxidant potential of chocolate, “dark chocolate is going to be on the high (ORAC) end, higher than most fruits and vegetables.” Data from the USDA and the Journal of the American Chemical Society concurs by showing “dark chocolate, per 100 grams, has twice the ORAC of milk chocolate, four times the ORAC of raisins and ten times the ORAC of raspberries.” In fact, the fruit next in line with the highest ORAC value after dark and milk chocolate is prunes. Take your pick. Chocolate or prunes! There is ongoing research that the milk in chocolate may significantly erase the ORAC benefits by more than half, so dark chocolate is best for keeping that spring in your step. I must stress the importance of eating a variety of antioxidant containing foods from fruits and vegetables as well, for it is the combination that is going to be beneficial. In addition to antioxi-

dants: • Chocolate supplies us with a good source of magnesium, copper, iron and zinc. • A daily serving of dark chocolate can also help lower blood pressure and improve insulin resistance according to a joint study between Tufts University in Boston and the University of L’Aquila in Italy. The findings do not suggest that people with high blood pressure consume dark chocolate in lieu of taking their prescribed medication, but that the flavonoids in dark chocolate may have a positive effect on blood pressure and insulin resistance.

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Chocolate Classifications: •

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Cocoa powder: This unsweetened powder is pulverized, partially defatted chocolate liquor. Unsweetened chocolate: Also known as “bitter” or “baking” chocolate. This is pure chocolate liquor, composed solely of ground cocoa beans. It contains an equal amount of cocoa butter and cocoa solids which gives a rich deep chocolate flavor to baked goods. Dark chocolate: Chocolate that contains chocolate liquor, sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla and sometimes, lecithin (an emulsifier). There are no milk solids added in dark chocolate. The cocoa content of commercial dark chocolate bars can range from 30% (sweet dark) to 70- 80% for extremely dark bars. Bittersweet chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate also fall into the “dark chocolate” category. Bittersweet chocolate: Chocolate, as defined by the FDA, which contains at least 35% cocoa solids. Most bittersweet bars contain at least 50% chocolate liquor, with some bars pushing 70-80% chocolate liquor. This chocolate often has a deeper, more bitter flavor than sweet dark or semi-sweet bars. However, the amount of sugar in the chocolate is not regulated, so one manufacturer’s “bittersweet” bar may taste sweeter than another’s “semi-sweet” bar. Semi-sweet chocolate: This is primarily an American term, popularized by Nestle Toll House semi-sweet chocolate chips. Semi-sweet chocolate contains at least 35% cocoa

solids, and is generally assumed to be darker than sweet dark chocolate, but sweeter than bittersweet. However, the lack of regulations regarding sugar content means that these classifications are relative and not consistent • Reliable Propane & Heating Oil Delivery across brands. • Budget Payment Plan Sweet dark Call today chocolate: is to learn about our • 24/7 Emergency Service “dark chocoNEw CustOmER • Heating Equipment Service Plans late” in the sPECiAls! sense that • Safety Trained Professionals it does not • Over 80 Years Experience contain milk solids, but it still has a high percentage of sugar and is much sweeter Our Business is Customer Satisfaction than other types of dark 717-248-5476 • 1-800-PROPANE (776-7263) chocolate. Many brands of sweet dark chocolate have only 20-40% • “Candy coating” chocolate: widely and frequently craved cocoa solids. Also known as “confectionfood. A popular explanation for Milk chocolate: In addition ery coating,” “summer coatthis feeling of addiction is that to containing cocoa butter ing,” or “compound coating.” chocolate contains mood-enhancand chocolate liquor, milk These terms refer to candy ing (psychoactive) ingredients that chocolate contains either conproducts that are flavored like give it special appeal. However, densed milk (most European dark, milk or white chocolate many of these compounds exvarieties) or dry milk solids. and substitute vegetable or ist in higher concentrations in Milk chocolate must contain palm oils for cocoa butter. other foods with less appeal than at least 10% chocolate liquor These products are cheaper chocolate. (in the United States), 3.39% than most chocolates, and Professor Peter Rogers from butterfat, and 12% milk soldo not contain significant the University of Bristol, UK, ids. Milk chocolates are typiamounts of chocolate liquor; explains: “A more compelling cally much sweeter than dark thus, they do not have a explanation lies in our ambivalent chocolate, and have a lighter strong chocolate flavor or attitudes towards chocolate — it color and a less pronounced an appealing mouth feel. is highly desired, but should be chocolate taste. However, they have exceleaten with restraint (nice, but White chocolate: White lent melting and molding naughty). Our unfulfilled desire chocolate gets its name from properties, and thus are often to eat chocolate, resulting from the cocoa butter it contains, used in candy making for restraint, is thus experienced as but does not contain chocodipping. Be careful to never craving, which in turn is attributed late liquor or any other cocoa mix candy coating with real to ‘addiction’.” products. As a result, it has no chocolate, as the fats are not pronounced chocolate taste, compatible and the resulting Chocolate is high in caffeine. but commonly tastes like candy will be unattractive and While eating chocolate may perk vanilla or other added flavordiscolored. you up, chocolate is actually not ings. By law, white chocolate very high in caffeine. One ounce must contain a minimum 20% Chocolate myths of dark chocolate has about one cocoa butter, 14% milk solforth (20 mg per oz) the caffeine ids, and a maximum of 55% of a cup of brewed coffee (80-120 It is time to dispel these false sugar. There are some “white mg per cup). However this is teachings about chocolate. chocolate” products available something to be aware of if you that contain vegetable fats are caffeine sensitive. Chocolate is Addicting- I know instead of cocoa butter— you chocoholics out there will these should be avoided from Chocolate is high in fat argue that this is true, but in terms a taste standpoint, as they This is true, but it is not unof a true addictionm it is false. contain no cocoa products at According to Science Daily (Sep. all, and are not technically 12, 2007), chocolate is the most Continued on page 30 white chocolate.

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The Valley, October 2012

At The Barnyard Corn Maze is fun for the

entire family

It’s fall, it goes by awful quick, and it is one of the happiest times of year to be in our wonderful outdoors. Here in central PA the weather is usually almost perfect, with reasonably warm daytime temps and seasonally cool nighttime temps, perfect weather to take the whole family

The fun starts here!

out a couple miles down Ferguson Valley Road to the “At The Barnyard Corn Maze.” More than just a maze, Jamey and Theresa have begun creating a destination location at their farm. Not only will you find a maze through the corn that the whole Brady Bunchesque family takes part in creating, but there are many other themerelated activities to provide fun for the younguns. There is a rope maze, two

oversized, brightly-colored Adirondack chairs in the field where the younger kids can sit while Theresa, dressed as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz (this year’s theme) will read stories to them. There are pedal 4-wheelers available, as well as a pumpkin patch where you can purchase pumpkins to take home. Jamey and Theresa have thought of everything as they have beautiful red wagons to haul around your pumpkin purchase, your offspring, or, as I saw while there, BOTH! There is a snack bar set up on the premises with plenty to drink and eat, including hot dogs and hamburgers grilled on the spot. Also available are story books from the Spookley the Square Pumpkin series, based on a story by Joe Toriano that deals with bullying in a manner that gets through to kids. Theresa mentioned that she is trying to add as much educational material as

possible to the whole “At The Barnyard Corn Maze” to create a learning experience in addition to fun. As mentioned earlier, Jamey and Theresa have combined two former families much like The Brady Bunch, although in this case, Come build your own family memories “At The Barnit is four kids from yard Corn Maze one side and two area families. There is even talk of from the other. But possibly offering their own maple combinations don’t seem to matsyrup in the spring months. There ter, the whole family is working are lots of ideas thrown about together on this enterprise. While amongst the family and Theresa I was there they all seemed to says that, “we all discuss ideas but be having fun working together, Jamey is the type of guy that can which would translate into an take an idea and make it happen, excellent family experience for so we all have our talents that we potential customers. The family combine and Jamey makes the has been at this endeavor for four ideas take life—we are a great years now and they have a focus team.” to make their farm a year-round The planning for the maze destination for families. Jamey starts long before the first seed is told me that even with the bad planted in spring. The six chilweather last year, they had about dren are all given paper to design 4,500 people go through the maze what they would like to see in a during the 5-6 weeks that they are maze. The papers are compiled open. Their best year ever saw by Jamey and Theresa who pick about 6,000 people travel through out the best parts of each plan and the maze. In the future they hope incorporate that into that years to offer Christmas Trees for sale maze. A real “Family Affair,” in a Santa’s Village type setting, which would be a lot of fun for

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Continued on page 21

The Valley, October 2012

Modern Energy and Alternative Heating with Curt Bierly What “Fuel” should I choose to Heat My House and DHW? There are many different “fuels” available to heat your home and to supply Domestic Hot Water (DHW) for you and your family. Which “fuel” you choose depends on how much money you are willing to budget toward these “necessities” and how much extra money you are willing to spend for the convenience of having these “necessities” used in conjunction with an automatic heating system. Also, you may select one fuel over the other for environmental concerns, i.e. some fuels are renewable (wood, solar, wood pellets), some fuels are not (oil, natural gas, propane, coal). Electricity can be produced from either renewable or nonrenewable “fuels.” Some fuels are “green” (wood, solar, wood

At The Barnyard Corn Maze from page 20

product being sold is needed every day/month/year as compared

pellets) and some fuels are not (oil, natural gas, propane, coal). Providing fuel to satisfy your needs and the needs for power companies is “Big Business.” Big business is charged with making a profit for its shareholders, which is certainly understandable. Profitability is better and more consistent if the

to a one-time sale. Thus, as an example, oil and gas companies (BP, Exxon, Shell, etc.) would rather sell oil and gas fuel every day/ month/year in lieu of selling you a solar panel where you would receive the “fuel” in the form of sunshine at no cost. Certainly it is understandable that oil and gas companies are not interested in promoting solar products unless mandated to do so. So, in what direction do you think our country should be moving? Toward renewable or non-renewable energy? There is an abundance of information available on the subject. Before

is also open by appointment for groups, schools or organizations that might want to come out during the week. Just call to make arrangements—see ad on page 34. The kids will love it, you will love it, and you will be supporting another local farmer become more sustainable on their land. You will also be supporting a wonderful neighbor and a great family, See you there! a

sorry, couldn’t resist. Jamey said with the erratic weather this year, the field gave him fits as he likes to start mowing the new maze pattern as soon as the corn is knee high. The problem this year was that half of the field failed when the other half was knee high, causing Jamey to replant and try to work around the different lengths of growth. When I was there, both plantings looked pretty much the same and it was hard to envision what it must have taken to make everything come together so perfectly in time to open the maze. This year the Barnyard Corn Maze is featuring Hay Rides, Full Moon Weekends, and a Moonlight Maze. They are open at 4:00 pm on Fridays, and Saturdays at noon for the general public. Closing times vary, but you can check their website at www.atthebarnyard.com or by calling (717) 4373648 to check on times. The Barnyard Corn Maze Your hosts, Jamey and Theresa

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you buy, study the information carefully and make an informed decision which way you want to move. Below is a spreadsheet I constructed ranking each form of “fuel” on several parameters. Hope it helps!! Curt Bierly is president of the bierly group incorporated of which Stanley C. Bierly is a division. He graduated from Penn State with a BS in Mechanical Engineering and is a member of the Penn College HVAC Advisory Board. You can contact him at 814-349-3000 or cbierly@bierlygroup.com. a

The Valley, October 2012

Recipes-Crafts-Gifts With Debra Kulp Frozen Peanut Butter Dessert 1 (8oz.) pkg cream cheese 1 cup peanut butter 1 pkg. graham cracker crumbs 5 tbsp butter 1 (16-oz) container whipped topping 2 cups powdered sugar 1 cup whole milk 1/3 cup sugar 1/4 cup peanut butter Crust: In a medium bowl combine sugar, butter, and 1/4 cup peanut butter, mix. Add graham cracker crumbs and mix. Set aside 2/3 cup crumb mixture. Place cracker crumb mix in a 9” X 13” (plastic container with lid) dish and press. Filling: In large bowl, combine cream cheese, 1 cup peanut butter, powdered sugar and mix well. Fold in whipped topping and pour over cracker crumbs; sprinkle remaining crumbs on top. Cover with lid. Freeze overnight and serve frozen. Horseradish Sauce Yield- approx. 2 cups 1 cup mayonaise 1 cup whole buttermilk 2 tbls prepared horseradish 1/2 tsp Old Bay seasoning

1/8 tsp salt In a medium bowl, whisk together, mayonaise, buttermilk, horseradish, Old Bay seasoning and salt. Cover. Refrigerate for up to 1 week. BBQ’d Pork Spare Ribs 4 lbs. country style pork ribs 1 cup chopped onion 1 tsp chopped garlic 1/4 cup olive oil 1 cup tomato ketchup 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed 1/3 cup balsamic vingar 1/4 cup hot sauce 3 tbls Worcestershire sauce Place ribs in a greased 13’ X 9” baking pan. Cover and bake for 60 minutes at 350 degrees. In a large sauce pan, saute the onion and garlic in olive oil until tender. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a full boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for 15 minutes uncovered. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Drain excess fat from the ribs. Baste lightly with BBQ sauce. Grill for approx. 30 minutes longer, continue to baste and turn while grilling. a

What’s in a Diet from page 16

the water clear and prevents algae growth. Water left in the container for more than a day or two tends to get cloudy and eventually becomes a breeding ground for bacteria. All in all, a pellet and hay diet is enough for most rabbits. I find that they stay healthy and maintain firm flesh condition and coat. However, I do occasionally offer fresh foods as a treat in the summer. Small pieces of carrots, sprigs of parsley and leaves of romaine lettuce are big hits in our rabbitry! Just remember that any new foods should be introduced gradually to prevent digestive upset. Any time I offer fresh foods, it is in limited portions and I usually don’t offer it to weanlings or young juniors (under 6 months old). Sometimes it truly is the simple things that make a difference. At most shows, you can walk by any judges’ table and hear them commenting on the condition of their class. There is a critical balance between well conditioned and too “something”- whether it be thin or flabby. Offering the right foods in the right amounts is the first step to a healthy herd. a

timothy, bermuda or other grasses are preferred. By buying from a local farmer, you have more control over the quality and cut you’re purchasing. However, hay is available in some feed stores and online if other options aren’t available. Most rabbits seem to prefer the softer second cut hay, but first cut is highest in fiber and better for wearing down teeth. Rabbits should have hay available at all times. Usually a heaping handful is enough to get my little guys through the day, but larger breeds may go through it quicker. A wire hay rack is the best way to keep hay clean and off the floor of the cage. You can also stuff hay in cardboard paper towel roll tubes or toilet paper tubes to keep it clean and off the floor as long as possible. The rabbits love to chew on the tubes when the hay is gone! Fresh water rounds off a healthy diet. This may seem like a no-brainer, but rabbits stay in much better flesh and fur condition if they have access to a fresh water supply. Replacing the water in dishes and bottles daily keeps

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The Valley, October 2012 the most interesting trivia about WHY we make and like certain food. Deviled eggs, the joys of Velveeta, Jell-O and many others. This is a wickedly good read along with recipes and full color illustrations. This is a great book for a gift!

Mail Pouch Books by Carleen B. Grossman The month of October finds us enjoying the autumn glories, special goolish events, a World Series, and sometimes taking part in plain, old-fashioned autumn housework. I have tried to provide books for you that will celebrate these various occurrences. I hope you enjoy these reads as much as I did! OCTOBER By Richard B. Wright Copyright 2007 This novel, written by Canadian Richard Wright was a winner of the prestigious Canadian Giller Prize. However, YOU NEED TO

BE EMOTIONALLY STRONG TO READ THIS BOOK! The novel is about life and mortality, it follows the protagonist into the realm of cancer and how this horrible disease brings us to the autumn of our lives! The essence of the story is that when we are faced with confronting this disease our lives become reflections of our past for us. Family, friends and our own past actions are all carefully examined. The main character of this book does just that as he confronts, in his 70s, the burdens of helping his adult daughter and a personal acquaintance from 60 years ago. He discovers through his own life reflections and he

then comes to terms with the fact that we cannot always do the things or have the answers to what we expect life to bring us. WHO PUT THE DEVIL IN DEVILED EGGS?: A Food Loverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Guide to American Favorite Dishes By Ann Treistman Copyright 2011

CASEY AT THE BAT: A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the year 1888 By Ernest L. Thayer & Christopher Bing Copyright 2000 This 32 page book will delight both children and adults! It resembles a vintage scrapbook of baseball and history. Believe me, it is FUN! It is packed full of baseball memorabilia that will

This book celebrates American traditions as you journey with the author to find out some of

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captivate young and old readers as they share tidbits. This book is a great family keepsake book. YANKEE MAGAZINEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S VINEGAR, DUCK TAPE, MILK JUGS & MORE: By Earl Proulx Copyright 1999 What a fantastic source of useful information! Enjoy simple, practical ways that you can recycle STUFF while saving money, time and natural resources. All items mentioned are common objects from around your house. Learn how to cover furniture scratches with a dab of iodine, clean auto grease off you hands with olive oil, clean a clogged shower head with vinegar and many more tricks! a

The Valley, October 2012

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The Valley, October 2012 The Mountain Minstrelsy Project from front page got drunk; they worked in lumber camps, mills, mines, and once in a while they made up a song or two. When they died, they left little behind, mostly just some gravestones lying out there, forgotten, weathered, gray slabs sleeping beneath dead leaves in the little ancient cemeteries of Brush Valley, Potter County, Tioga, Lock Haven, Roulette, and Rote. Today we blow by ‘em in cars, on our

“song catcher” might just simply forget to attach your name to the damned things—thankless—insulting even. Why? (I was born in the 1970s, so please don’t take my word for any of this) If I had to guess, I’d say because it was too cold out, or maybe ‘cause it was too hot, or because there were sleds of logs to be heaved over mountain tops, boulders to be pulled outta mud holes, pigs to butcher, kids sick with prune belly, Indians, and panthers—life was way too tough out here to sit

Dave and the bands nine year old fiddle player, Gus, playing banjo here in the Sanctuary of St. Luke’s Cultural Center.

around celebrating a damn fool guitar player or some old broad scratching away on a homemade fiddle—life simply got in the way of such foolishness. Lately I’ve realized that at some point not too long after my own death, someone will play one of my songs for the last time too. I can’t remember exactly how many albums I’ve made, 7?, 8?, 10? It doesn’t matter. The second we die, our real broadcast begins. Our brand new “ghost world” radio stations will start transmitting our legacy back to the living world for better or worse. The world will continue along in its own direction, racing down the highway away from our fading song, ascending over mountains and sinking into valleys, weaker and weaker and eventually we will be all together gone—static. The channel is changed. How long does that take? Jeez, not long I’m thinking... not long when you look at it that way. I am disproportionately into music. I admit that now. Music has afforded me travel and freedom and a million priceless memories from the cobble stone streets of Italy to dingy dumpThe former church office, now record- ster alleys behind nightclubs in ing studio, which features Dave’s 40 Texas or Toledo. I have always year old tape machine sporting a sign done what I wanted to do surthat reads, “Expect a Miracle.” rounded by the people I wanted

way to soccer practice, anti-RAM Center meetings, Walmart, and we’re on the phone. Being a song writer in the mountains of Central Pennsylvania in 1856 was a hard and thankless job. It payed nothing. It came with no benefits and afforded you no fame or recognition. There were no “drive time” radio spins, no ASCAP checks, and no drink tickets. And then, to honor your finest compositions even further, some absent minded

to do it with. But music is also a slippery slope; it’s what keeps me up nights studying the scratchy old polkas, field recordings and vibraphone jazz. I don’t really know what I’m looking for in it? I wish I did, maybe if I did, I could stop...stop sitting up searching with my ears for some old secret combination of chords or some magic turn of phrase, or a message from another time that never fully reveals itself. It’s a blessing and a curse.

bankrupt, and cold. It was terrifying. Tied hands. It was in this state that we imagined a different approach.... We would make a new album with our neighbors for a band. We would care nothing for its marketing or accessibility. We would slave to the atmosphere of the place discussed “DOWN IN THE VALLEY in the old writing, PRAYING” The idea to make an album then we’d fill in of “Mountain Minstrelsy” songs the gaps as best came to us fully formed in the we could so the winter of 2011. We’d been out music could hold touring through the fall and reup to our lives here turned triumphantly to celebrate today. We would the holidays with loved ones do it employbefore commencing the recording old fashioned ing of a new “original” album techniques; analog Christine Smith co-member of Marah with David, that January. We were excited tape, barbershop is also co-directing the Mountain Minstrelsy Project about the future but we were vocals, tubas, field shown here in a photo captioned “Mommy, Gus and recordings, harmo- G” stupid to let our hopes get high. ny singing, mono We’d been at this a long time rehearsed songs and recorded mixes, a square dance caller, and frankly we should have them too. Our goal was to simply and the wash board. Our album known better. On January 2nd make a record loosely based on would be fiercely out of step with a college girl (we know her as the old Shoemaker collection the times; a record that the world “airbags”) slid on an icy State that captured the atmosphere and wasn’t waiting for. It was to be a College street and her Jetta enormous “sense of place” that we smashed into the wheel of our large commercial disappointment. collectively felt the book contouring van and we were suddenly We thought we might be on to tained. grounded. In the days to follow something. With Henry Shoe Central Pennsylvania has we began to hemorrhage money. maker’s “Mountain Minstrelsy” a slow, seductive magic. It’s Then other bad stuff happened: book in hand, we realized it was beautiful to be sure, but it also family stuff, fighting, depression, possible to co-write some new possesses a forbidding ancient and then we ran out of heating oil. songs with dead people. We could aura. So much has happened. The At night we sealed ourselves off create an era blurring patch work mountains themselves are so old of re-imagined, re-invented, Yan- in places that it appears that God kee mountain music and it might has sandblasted them down to serve to open up some new roads soft green humps—as if one day for us going forward—it would they may be all together gone. In come with no expectations—we November, the ridges are the color could side step the self promotof iron rust and for a few days in ing, the bios, and media one mid-Spring they are green like sheets. It would be an album that could not be judged on its date of Continued on page 29 release, much less against any of our previous work. It would be our first non-Marah record. It was time to put some distance between ourselves and our own past. Ch- ch- ch- changes. For the last The “cigarette stare,” Chris Rattie and bunch of months Jimmy James Baughman reherse at we’ve toiled away Marah headquarters in the former St. Luke’s church into a tiny room off of the kitchen house in downtown and listened shivering to The Millheim (it’s now Mills Brothers vinyl above the din appropriately called of a tiny electric space heater. We St. Luke’s Cultural felt desperate and stranded—we Center.) We made very much wanted to do good an analog recordBand member Kai Scafft at Marah headquarters, work, but we had become stuck, ing studio in there, is part of another band called “Chicken Tractor

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Deluxe.”

The Valley, October 2012

coupled with warm crusty bread, and three resources for simple meal planning and cost savings – enjoy!

Savvy Cents & Sensibility by JoAnn Wills MBA

The Pantry Challenge I love a challenge! Do you? This month I present a challenge to you called the “pantry challenge.” In a nutshell, the pantry challenge consists of eating from your pantry inventory – cooking daily meals based on what you have in the pantry. For some of you the challenge may actually be no challenge at all as you may have many months’ worth of pantry foods. Others may

find the pantry challenge nearly impossible because the pantry resembles Mother Hubbard’s cupboard – empty! Some of you may even wonder why one would even consider a pantry challenge. You may think it sounds boring; could complicate meal planning; and could just add one more thing to an already full ‘to do’ list. I say nonsense! Pantry challenges can offer you a clearer vision of where your food dollars are going every month, and how much money is actually being used or wasted on food. Let’s get started! Pantry challenge phase one - First begin by taking an inventory of everything in your pantry, and remember to check the expiration dates as A well stocked pantry provides “piece of mind.” you conduct the inven-

11/30/2012

RESOURCES:

tory. I suggest taking everything out of the pantry so you can do a quick clean of the space as well. Next, create rows of the food inventory on your counter or table – use a space that permits you to line up the foods. For example, place all the soups in one row, nut butters in another row, vinegars & cooking oils in another row, etc. What matters most is that you create a pantry inventory system that works best for you. Once the inventory has been completed, the space cleaned, and rows created, return the items to the pantry. Third, do a quick inventory of other food items in the house – frozen, boxed, etc. Now, it’s time to use a little creativity. Contemplate how the food items you have on hand could be combined to make meals, and try to estimate how many meals could be made from on-hand items. Could you possibly and creatively get through a day or two; a week, perhaps a month? Resist the urge to shake your head, throw up your hands, and give up – remember it’s called a “challenge!” If you take the time to seriously conduct such a challenge, you invest in gaining knowledge about your food monies. There are a ton of recipes in books, newspapers, and on the Internet that take few ingredients and prep quickly. Use a search engine to locate recipes with five items or less. You may be amazed at the number of recipes and sites that are available. Pantry challenge phase two – the second part of the phase requires you to begin to keep very accurate records of money spent on food 11/30/2012 for one month.

Every time you go to the grocery store, farmer’s market, convenience store, restaurant, coffee shop, etc., make note of money spent on food. I don’t care if it’s just a pack of gum – record it. Ok, I can intuit the heads shaking and hear the deep sighs – belly up to the challenge! It’s for your benefit and financial health. Treat yourself to a cute mini notebook/ tablet to record food money spent. After the month is up, review your records. What did you find? Are you spending serious cash on eating out frequently or daily lattes to prepare you for your daily grind? Has record keeping uncovered a spending pattern such as more spending on certain days of the week or times in the day? Perhaps record keeping has unearthed that you are really in check with your spending – balance is good. What’s the point in all of this? The point is to give you a clear vision of food spending costs. We all must eat. It is an expense that we cannot avoid in some fashion; however, it is possible to spend wisely and get the most for your money. Oftentimes, record keeping uncovers serious spending hemorrhages that can be repaired quite easily with knowledge and commitment. What should you be spending on food costs? Well, there are no hard rules because groceries are not a fixed expense. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the average family spends about 12.5 percent of income on food; however, the Department of Agriculture places the food figure at 9.8 percent. So which percentage should you use? In my opinion, I would suggest aiming for 10-15 percent of household income, which gives a bit of wiggle room. I intend to continue the topic of food through November and December. As we roll into the holiday season, I think it is beneficial to gain knowledge and wisdom on the topic of food spending. Oftentimes during the months of November and December, we see our food spending increase substantially. It is my goal to present “food for thought” and resources so you can make informed choices about your food spending though the end of 2012. I leave you with one great pantry recipe for “Texas Black Bean Soup” that makes a superb meal

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Betty Crocker 5 Ingredient Dinners Fast http://www.bettycrocker.com/ menus-holidays-parties/mhplibrary/everyday-meals/5 Faithful Provisions - A great website for recipes, coupons, and cost savings. http://faithfulprovisions.com “Eating Well For Only $2 A Day” A Price Per Serving Guide To Eating Well For Only $2 A Day by Chris and Trisha Tecmire A great book chock full of wisdom and recipes! The recipes are created for single serving yet can be adapted to serve families. Texas Black Bean Soup 2 cans black beans – rinsed/ drained (may sub bagged legumes or 1 can black & 1 can pink beans) 2 cans diced tomatoes w/green chilies (sub fresh tomatoes & chilies from the garden) 1 can roasted tomatoes (or make your own!) 4 cups liquid – make it chicken broth, water, or a combination of both 1 can or frozen package of corn 1 can chopped green chilies (these will add a bit of spicy kick – omit if you don’t enjoy spicy!) 5 green onions chopped – I like to snip mine with scissors 2 Tablespoons chili powder 1 teaspoon ground cumin 3 cloves minced garlic 1 ½ teaspoon salt (added at end of cooking time) Dump everything (except salt) into a Crockpot and cook on high 4-5 hrs or low 8-9 hrs. Add the salt & turn off the pot. Garnish with sour cream, cheese, or cilantro before serving. Enjoy! a

Penn State earns award from page 18 classrooms), Greater Allegheny, Hazleton, Harrisburg, Lehigh Valley, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Schuylkill, Shenango, University Park and York, and the Lewistown and Williamsport learning centers. Penn State Continuing Education offers a venue for adults to return to the classroom on their own terms. Continuing Education is part of Penn State Outreach, which serves more than 5 million people each year, in all 67 Pennsylvania counties, all 50 states and more than 100 countries worldwide. a

The Valley, October 2012

Grosze Thal Nachbaren (Big Valley Neighbors) by Jeptha I. Yoder Ein Grusz in unsers Schöpfers Namen. Mir hen schön Herbst Wetter. Die Blätter an die Bäumen fangen an mit unterschiedliche schöne Farben. Trauben und Feigen sind reif. Der Sech-und-Zwanzigst waren wir in der gemein ans Mose C. Yoders. Von McClur waren Yost I’s und drei Yüngste, (Dan Y.) Lydia A. und Daniel J. (Jacob Y.) alle Hostetlern und Daniel M. Yoder (Mose S.). Von andere Theilen waren Johannes I’s, Christ S’s und Jonathan Y’s und Familien, alle Hostetlern. Samuel N’s, Elisabeth M. und Mose C. (Joseph S.) alle Yodern. Die (Dan Y.) Lydia A. tät auch Freundschaft besuchen über die Wochend. Jesse S. Hostetlers und Familie waren in Lang Leen Ost gemein bei ihr Sohn die Isaak R. Hostetlers. Der Zweyt September war Kirchengasse Gemein ans Joseph S. Yoders. Lang Leen West war ans Thomas S. Yoders. Am Abend gingen wir alle ans Unckel Christ M. Yoders. Andere dort waren Eli S. Hostetlers und Familie. Ans Christs fürs Mittagessen waren Samuel J’s Hostetlers von McClur, welche

waren im Grosze Thal am besuchen über die Wochend. Der Neint waren wir in der Gemein ans Manasse J. Yoders. Von McClur war sein Vater Johannes E. und Bruder Sam, und Johannes I. (Isaak B.) alle Yodern. Von Kirchengasse Theil waren Aunt (Salomon) Mareily R., Uria S’s, Yost J’s und Familien alle Hostetlern. So der Herr Will, ist unser Gemein ans Eli S. Zugen nüchst mol. Ost Lang Leen war ans Rudy N. Hostetlers. Der Sechszeht war Kirchengasse Gemein ans Joel M. Yoders. Lang Leen West war ans Isaak Y. Hostetlers. Ost Milroy war ans Joseph D. Yoders. Nachmittages waren meine Eltern und Ich ans Grosz Unckel Isaak S. Yoders und auch ans Menno Zugen. Tobias Hostetler und Lydia (Joseph Yoders) von Penns Thal waren ans Isaaks. Ans Mennos waren ihre Schnur witwee (Daniel M.) Leah E. und meistens von ihre Familie, und Johannes D., alle Zugen, Sam E. Hostetlers und Jüngster, und Michael N. Yoders und zwei Kindern. Noah D. Hostetlers waren hier da wir heim kommen, Sie hatten (sohn) Johannes I. Yoders fürs Mittag. Eli S. Hostetlers

und Familie waren bei ihre Eltern Christ M. Yoders fürs Mittag. Christian greetings! What nice weather we are having! Some foliage is turning color with the cooler (not really cold) temperatures. One of the first is the Virginia creeper. The hummingbirds fed on remaining flowers right into mid-Sept., enjoying flowers of hyacinth and scarlet runner beans, scarlet sage and more. Grapes, figs, and persimmons are still on the menu of fruit snacks. New arrivals are a dau. Mary H. on Sept. 1, joining one brother, to John J. and Lydia R. Grands are Eli Y. and Betsy L. and widow (Solomon C.) Mary R. Greats are Jacob S. and Franey L. all Hostetlers. First-time parents, to Leah R. are Jacob B. and Salina B. Yoder on Sept. 4th. Grands (all fisrt-time) are John H. and Leah Z. (Host.) Yoder; Moses S. and Rhoda L. (Yoder) Hostetler. Greats are Jacob B and John B. both widowers and Yoders and widow Leah N. Hostetler. Sam R. Yoder (65 yr. 3 mo. 20 days) died Sept. 18, after being home several days, following a hospital stay, with cellulitis and

complications for two weeks. Born May 28, 1947 he was the only child of the late Rudy H. and Zizzie H. (Speicher) Yoder. Surviving is his wife, (of 43 years of marriage) Barabara H. of 92 Paspberry Lane, Belleville, PA 17004; three sons and one dau., David R. married to Mattie R. (Hostetler) of 90 Raspberry Lane, Thomas S. married to Emma Y. of 200 Raspberry Lane, Joel J. at home, and Elizabeth B. married to Noah C. Speicher of 200 Cedar Grove Lane, Milroy, PA 17063. Also seventeen grandchildren. Preceded by a son John M. (36) in June 2010 and an infant grandson. Funeral by Jacob Z. Hostetler in house; by Sam N. Yoder in barn. Pallbearers were; John S. Jr., Jacob M., Menno R. and Henry R. hauled by Johnathan N. all Hostetlers. Friends and acquaintences attended from surrounding communities, the farthest being David Bylers of Lowville, New York. Katie J. (Byler) cancer patient, wife of Menno J. Zook, has been in a more “restrictive” condition lately. Mail will reach them at 10674 Back Mountain Road, Milroy. We were sorry to hear that fire (arson suspected) claimed the sawmill at (Uncle) Christian Z. Speichers in the wee hours (around 3:00am) of Wednesday (Sept. 12) morning. Heard the fire chief commented that when there is an arson, there is usually another one soon- Apparently the case, as the next forenoon, fire gutted (it’s still standing) an older (small) barn on the corner of

Siglerville and Naginey Roads. Mrs. Emanuel B’s Yoder (Elizabeth B.) is in New York at her dau. the Moses D. Yoders for an indefinite stay. Great Uncle Isaac S. Yoders were taken to Penns Valley over a recent weekend staying with their daus. Otherwise they seldom go away, since he suffers the effects of mini-strokes. Leah will have a birthday on Oct. 3, (1934), Lord willing. Address is; 1065 Church Lane, Reedsville, PA 17084. Rudy S. Hostetler will have a birthday on Oct. 10th (1946). He is wheelchair-bound for twenty years. Send them mail at 260 Hoffman Lane, Milroy. Until next time, enjoy the asters, goldenrods and more! Remembering the sick and bereaved. ~ Jeptha I. Yoder a

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The Valley, October 2012

Answers in an ad in this issue

Long under the jurisdiction of the Coast Guard, U.S. lighthouses are being turned over to the Park Service. 1. What state has the most lighthouses? 2. Where is the tallest lighthouse in the United States?

Quiz # 20032

3. Where and when was the first U.S. light house built?

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The Valley, October 2012 Mountain Minstrelsy Project from page 25 a tennis ball. The sunsets can be heartbreakers. I’ve been to places miles back in the game lands where you suddenly stumble upon a dry stone wall, a railroad trestle, a cabin foundation, or the remains of a 200 year old orchard fence— then spinning around to gain perspective, it’s only the quiet winter woods you face. It makes you realize how very, very much it has all changed. Who made this? Who lived here? HERE??? This morning I’m sitting on a bench having a coffee in downtown Louisville Kentucky. We are playing a show here tonight, but I’m not relaxed...I am panicking about finishing this article in time for its deadline later today. I’m also worried that I wrote it all wrong, said too much, not enough? Dunno? I could’ve written a hundred different articles about this subject right now—one about the old songcatcher Col. Henry W Shoemaker, one about his sidekick John C French, one about the record making process itself, one about the Church, or one about Gus (Gus is the 8 year old fiddle player that was born and raised right here and who, at times, seems to be eerily channeling the old fiddle music

Mountain Minstrelsy performs at the Grange Fairgrounds during “Central PA Organic Farmfest” in August.

that once echoed down the local hollows. Who knows, perhaps he really is?) But, I leave it out for now. Come see us play the music at St. Luke’s Cultural Center on Halloween Night after Trick or Treating! Bring the younginz! There will be Clem’s BBQ, birch beer, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and we’ll also be serving Elk Creek’s fine beers and ales for the 21+ crowd. If you’d like to learn more about our Mountain Minstrelsy project, please check out these videos and links: Milheim’s St. Luke’s Cultural Center, Mountain Minstrelsy’s recording studio and performance hall.

https://www.facebook.com/ pages/Mountain-Minstrelsy/295990917129295

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http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=NKRKZ0OcAUA http://www.youtube. com/watch?v=VAfon06SO4&feature=plcp http://wpsu.org/radio/single_entry/LL-4331 THANKS, David Bielanko

All Photo’s Courtesy of Tim Yarrington Editors note: David, I hope you had an awesome show, cause you sure wrote an awesome piece, Thank You! W a

The Valley, October 2012

Home-Grown! A Homeschooler’s Perspective By Mary Eck DON’T Just Do It! Well, the air is crisper, skies are a little grayer, schedules—crazier, and both student and parent workloads, more stressful. The excitement of a new school year is not what it was six weeks ago. Memories of summer fun linger, distract. The momentous 2012 election season is in full swing, and will continue to provoke intense ideological debates and clashes for weeks to come. And, the mountain that is a year of seemingly endless curriculum assignments and activities demanding precious time and focused brain power looms ever-daunting. October is a good time for homeschooling parents to consider their role of “guidance counselor,” to their children. Facilitating the overall education process includes donning this particular “hat” on more than just an occasional basis—especially at the high school level—but is often neglected in the face of a parent’s daily instruction and related task load, and a bazillion other household responsibilities, like paying bills, keeping food in

the house, cleaning it, and making time to be the wife or husband our dear spouses deserve. Whew! And we need to somehow find time for what now?! I hear ya, but don’t shut down on me yet! The plain fact is that we parents should be including vocational exploration and guidance at regular intervals as early as the upper elementary grades (4th +) to better exploit the tailored-curriculum benefits homeschooling affords us. Publicand private-schooled students certainly have the advantage of structured, knowledgeable and sometimes extensive academic guidance departments with loads of resources and inside information, which can give those students who avail themselves of such services quite an edge when it comes to successful post-secondary pursuits. We, in turn, need to recognize this “academic advisor” element as one of the factors that needs to be integrated further into our students’ collective homeschooling experience. After all, school is a

Chocolate from page 19

Chocolate causes headaches. While sited as a common cause of migraines, a study by the University of Pittsburgh has shown no link between chocolate and headaches. The results of that double-blind study of 63 participants known to suffer chronic headaches were published in the neurology journal Cephalalgia. Chronic headaches were once thought to be caused by amines in foods (including histamine and beta-phenylethylamine) such as cheddar cheese, peanuts, cured meats, chocolate and alcohol, but this study eliminated chocolate as a possible headache cause.

healthy. Stearic acid, one of the main saturated fats found in chocolate, is unique. Research has shown that it doesn’t raise cholesterol levels. In addition, oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat found in olive oil makes up one third of the fat in chocolate. Eating foods containing oleic acid has been shown to be beneficial for heart health. Chocolate causes cavities. Candy alone is not responsible for cavities. Cavities are formed when bacteria in the mouth metabolize sugars and starches from any type of food (soda, candy, juice, bread, rice and pasta) to produce acid. This acid then eats through the enamel of the tooth, causing a cavity. The protein, calcium and phosphate content of chocolate may actually protect tooth enamel, and its naturally-occurring fat content means that chocolate clears the mouth faster than other candy, reducing the amount of time its sugars remain in contact with tooth surfaces.

Chocolate causes acne. Studies in the past twenty years have eliminated chocolate as a cause of acne. In fact, many dermatologists doubt that diet plays any significant role in the development of acne. Acne is now believed to be caused by a combination of high bacterial levels and oil on the skin. I don’t know about you, but after all this chatting about

means to an end, and not an end in itself. And that truth needs some emphasis, given the unique plight our choice of schooling entails. Are our kids “doing school,” as opposed to “preparing for a future”? Do they get the subtleyet-crucial distinction between the words “job” and “career”? Do they have a distinct interest, passion, gift? Do we inspire and hone their academic ambition as the stepping stone it is meant to be? Or do we allow them to go through the motions, with no perspective beyond the immediate task at hand, and our culturallyexquisite (not!) T.G.I.F. mentality? A student’s job—whether young or old—isn’t to just study, but to study with purpose and an integrity that leads him or her to that place of self-discovery, where one’s individual standard of excellence is defined...and their potential is unleashed. Likewise, a teacher’s job goes beyond obvious instruction and discipline duties, to being a fount of inspiration, confidence and ambition. And for the homeschooler, it all starts with the parent! Am I sharing with my chilchocolate I am more that ready for a tasting. What are my favorites? I must admit, I like a very dark chocolate, rarely found within the contents of those ever present plastic pumpkins. Four brands I find especially delicious are Green and Black, Dagoba, Divine, and Scharffen Berger. They can usually be found at health food stores and larger grocery stores such as Wegmans. In conclusion, I defer to a quote from Dr. Oz. Eat chocolate every day! Choose chocolate that is at least 70% cacao. Dark chocolate also boosts the feelgood hormones and you’re less likely to overeat dark chocolate because it’s not full of sugar like milk chocolate. Dark chocolate is rich in antioxidants and gives us a feeling of doing something good for ourselves. Be good to yourself this spooky season. Get under chocolate’s spell! This is one stimulant plan I fully endorse. To get you started, try one of my favorite chocolate recipes:

dren now about the realities and challenges they will face as young adults tomorrow, when their decade-long craving for autonomy is satisfied with a finality they can’t yet appreciate? Have I nurtured a “bring it on” mentality when it comes to hard work? Or will my children arrive at that celebrated “legal-age” milestone with a crippling aversion to it—hard work— and, instead, lament the cliché, “be careful what you wish for,” wholly unprepared and filled with an equally crippling anxiety about their professional future, as opportunities now beyond their reach pass by, teasingly. Let’s face it, long-range vision or planning is typically NOT a teenager’s strong suit. The discipline of building a future now is something we as parents need to impart when they are young, long before school assignments take on that four-letter connotation of “work.” Remember the enthusiasm they approached reading and math with in the early elementary years?! Their eagerness fueled our excitement and confidence that we could DO this homeschooling thing! We all spend time and at-

tention on curriculum decisions, elective choices and extracurricular activities, which is definitely a good thing. And including occupational exploration and exposure is a natural extension of the academic environment we take pains to craft, since it IS the end game. Incorporating it into your homeschool agenda is not the hassle you might imagine. Career- or job-related discussions and activities can range from the more timeintensive field trips and library visits, to speedier virtual investigations via the web or casual chats at the dinner table. The point is to start the conversation; feed it, be a part of it. Then watch your young’un run with it! So, when it comes to just “doing school,” my advice is DON’T! Our kids are better than that; they deserve a future that is more than just happenstance, and we have both the power and duty to see that they get it. Teach them how to prepare. Look for opportunities to inspire. And then, watch the twinkle in their eyes become a passion with purpose…and excitement for what their future holds! a

An investment in knowledge pays the best interest --Benjamin Franklin

Chocolate mousse – I have eaten and made a lot of chocolate mousse. Many recipes take eggs, butter and some other ingredients. This recipe is mostly chocolate and cream with very little sugar. How bad can it be, right? It is one the easiest mousse recipes I have encountered, yet I promise it will be spooktacular for all your upcoming seasonal gatherings. Since the chocolate is the star of the show, make sure it is the highest quality you can find that suits your taste. 8 ounces chocolate chips or shavings (I sometimes us a little more) 6 tablespoons water 2 teaspoons vanilla 2 cups heavy whipping cream 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar Directions: Melt chocolate and water in saucepan. Whisk in the vanilla. Allow to cool. Whip the cream. Add the confectioner’s sugar and whip until blended. Gently fold the whipped cream into the chocolate. Scoop into a clear glass bowl or individual serving dishes. Garnish with chocolate

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shavings, chocolate chips or a drizzle of the melted chocolate that you reserved before folding in the whipped cream. That’s it! Source: www.food.com by Sandra Silver Resources: http://www.livestrong.com/ article/526506-dark-chocolateserotonin-levels/#ixzz252nt82c3 www.stuffedchocolate.com www.wisegeek.com www.sofpedia.com www.consumerhealthjournel.com http://candy.about.com/od/ candybasics/a/chocguide.htm http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9453274 Sue is a holistic nutrition consultant and holistic health educator. Her office is located at 54 Chestnut Street in Lewistown. To learn more about her business go to www.mynourishingjourney. com She can be reached by email at sue@mynourishingjourney.com or give her a call at 242- 3132.

The Valley, October 2012

Politically Incorrect by Sarah Hurlburt

We have all heard the term “politically correct” and probably have been reminded by someone that when speaking of our faith or other matters that we have to “be very careful of what we say,” because it might not be politically correct. I personally think the term is an oxymoron. Have the politicians watched any of their own commercials and speeches? The bashing, backbiting, and just plain lying that takes place makes me sick. I think that’s politically incorrect and I think this nation has a lot more to be worried about than sounding good and speaking correctly. We are becoming a nation whitewashed on the outside while still trying to sound and look good, but on the inside we are corrupt and our foundation is crumbling because no longer are the majority of people worried about what God thinks is “correct,” instead we are much more concerned with building flimsy “temples of tolerance.” I don’t usually ask my readers to do anything for me, but I’m asking you this time. Read Nehemiah chapter 9. Read the whole thing. It is an awesome prayer that gives the history of the Israelites in a nutshell. Telling all

the wonderful things God did for them. It tells of how they repeatedly got complacent, ignored God, and His guidelines and rules for their lives that were designed by God to keep them separate from the world and away from the pain of sin. Even though Nehemiah was written thousands of years ago, we can read this passage and see a picture of what happens to a nation that has turned away from God. Sound familiar? We that have been grafted into God’s family through Jesus Christ must learn from the ancient Israelites. Oh, how I wish America’s leaders would read this chapter and see how many similarities there are to ancient Israel, a nation set apart by God, and America a nation founded under God to offer freedom to all to know God for themselves and live and love in freedom with their ruler being God himself not some puffed up, out of control government. Can we so easily forget why the first settlers came here? They came to get away from overbearing, restraining government! We must do everything we can to help bring about the positive change in this nation that is needed. One of the ways to do that

is VOTE its one way we can help put the right people in the right places to initiate the changes we need to see happen if we want to remain free. Even then at times we have to wonder is anyone in Washington honest anymore? Are there any politicians that I can trust? And at that point we pray and ask God to intervene in this country just like He did for the Israelites. Nehemiah 9:2831 “…They cried out to you again; in your great compassion you heard and helped them again. This went on over and over and over. You warned them to return to your Revelation, they responded with haughty arrogance: They flouted your commands, spurned your rules—the very words by which men and women live! They set their jaws in defiance; they turned their backs on you and didn’t listen. You put up with them year after year and warned them by your spirit through your prophets; but when they refused

Mifflin-Juniata Arts Council Holds Grand Opening by Shane Niman

The Mifflin Juniata Arts Council held its opening for Gallery 3West on the evening of Friday, September 21, 2012. The Gallery’s premier event was a

celebration of the Art Deco style as a way to pay homage to the building that houses the gallery. The Old Montgomery Ward building at 3 West Monument Square is the only Art Deco styled architectural building in Lewistown and has been listed as a historical landmark. The first exhibition presented by the MJAC featured 24 original pieces of artwork done in the Art Deco style by local artists from September 21st started a new era in Lewistown, 3West both Mifflin and Art Gallery’s Grand Opening was well attended.

Juniata Counties. The hope for the gallery is “to create a space that is not only for the enjoyment of the arts, but also is educational for all ages” according to MJAC President, Angela Niman. Todd Cubbison, Council Vice President, said, “The Arts Festival always has been, and always will be, a vital part of celebrating art in our communities. The gallery is the chance to create a year-round art presence within our communities.” The current exhibit will be viewable until the end of October, Mondays and Thursdays from 11am to 2pm, Wednesday evenings from 6pm to 9pm, and weekends by appointment (send

to listen you abandoned them to foreigners. Still, because of your great compassion, you didn’t make a total end to them. You didn’t walk out and leave them for good; yes, you are a God of grace and compassion.” Maybe this passage can be part of our prayer, God had

compassion on the Israelites when they called out to Him and He will on us as well, but we MUST do our part and turn from the path we are headed down. May God shed His light on us as we face the 2012 elections and may God continue to bless America! a

email for weekend viewing to: adysinger@ yahoo.com). The Arts Council plans its next exhibition, a Pop Art themed show, to open for public viewing December 31st. a

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Local art enthusiasts gather to celebrate the opening of 3West Art Gallery. The night was a resounding success.

All Photos courtesy of Heather Confer.

The Valley, October 2012

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The Valley, October 2012

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The Valley, October 2012

Joanne Wills’ Contentment Quest

Chiaroscuro @ Work The word chiaroscuro is Italian in origin, and as mentioned in last month’s article it means light-dark. It is used to describe high-contrast between light and shadow. October’s column focuses on work and the high-contrast issues we may encounter in the workplace. I selected the work topic for October because the days become shorter and cooler. Sometimes, during October, people throw themselves into their work as organizations scramble to have a blockbuster end to the year. Other times, people scurry all about, cramming the month full of “projects” to complete – on both the home front and the work front – before cold weather sets in or the holidays roll around. This month we contemplate the “hard” questions about work, and reflect on our contentment with issues such as morale, in-

come, and values. We contrast the light-dark or high-contrast of the work that we currently do, and the work we aspire to do. It’s time to ask some hard questions. Grab a pen and paper and record your gut reactions or the first thought that comes to mind when you ask yourself the questions. Really think deeply about the “hard questions” regarding work. Let’s get started! First, how content are you with your current employment? Deeply contemplate your level of contentment on scale of 1-5, with 1 being very unsatisfied and 5 being extremely content. The scale is for the purpose of you having tangible evidence of your contentment levels because sometimes we choose toleration over contentment for a myriad of reasons. Next, let’s examine how valued you feel at work.

List the ways you feel valued – from co-workers, management, internal and external customers, etc. Thirdly, do you feel “listened to” at work? List why or why not, and then rank your “listened to” satisfaction on the scale of 1-5. Do you feel inspired and motivated during the workday? Why or why not? Do you feel like you are offered opportunities for professional and personal growth? Where does growth rank on the scale? Continue recording your answers on your paper. What is morale like in your organization? How about absenteeism? Now assess your answers. If your answers reflect 4’s and 5’s, job well done! You are part of a great organization that understands the importance of morale and happy, productive employees. If your answers reflect 3’s, then you rank in the median or average scoring – still fairly good. For the lower scores of 2’s and 1’s, it perhaps reflects an unhealthy

work environment ripe with high stress that could benefit from change. I know… I know, you are probably shaking your head and thinking I am kookier than kooky for suggesting change to the workplace – especially in such a shaky and near jobless economic environment. Well, ponder this… such an environment will likely cost you more in the long-run by staying with the status quo rather than changing the environment you work in – or choosing to leave. Experts suggest that employees who feel unhappy in the workplace should honestly assess “why” they are unhappy. It is important to examine the root of unhappiness. Before making your mind up to hit the road, try to spark change with your own actions. How can you take the bull by the horns to institute immediate change? Can you change

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your attitude by becoming more supportive of co-workers and management’s ideas? Think of ways you can become a better support foundation to sustain your organization. There are tons of good motivational and inspirational authors and thought leaders who have already paved the path of change. You and your organization may benefit from some of their strategies for workplace change. My suggestions for a reading list are: How Full is your Bucket? by Tom Rath & Donald O. Clifton, PhD., Good to Great by Jim Collins, Wisdom Inc. by Seth Godin, and The Heart of Change by John P. Kotter. If you believe in your heart that it is time to search for other employment – perhaps a total makeover – then you may find the following resources helpful: Brush up on your skills: resume

Continued on page 41

The Valley, October 2012

In the East End, the fall harvest is in full swing. In September, we chopped corn silage for our silos and filled five Ag bags as well. Ag bags are the long white tubes you see in farmers fields. Some people will put smiley faces or other drawings on them. Every year I think about doing it, but I haven’t yet. The rest of the corn will be shelled for high moisture corn to go in the silo. When that is done what’s left will be shelled, dried in the dryer bin, and moved to the grain bins. The bins are at the farm I live on. The first couple days and nights the dryer runs it seems pretty loud, but after that you get so used to it, you hardly hear it. When the dryer runs, it has a unique smell. It’s kind of like roasting corn, but not really because the corn is drying, not roasting. If you drive past East Gate when they are roasting soybeans, that’s what roasting grain smells like. Someone said it smelled like popcorn, but I don’t think so. You’d have to smell it yourself and decide. I also love to see the steam rising off the bin when the dryer is running on a frosty morning. Sometimes you can see water dripping down the sides of the bin. To most people that probably doesn’t seem like much of a big deal, but to a farmer that means everything is working

the way it should. We put our 4th cutting of alfalfa in the silo. We also raised our potatoes. Dad said we got 63 five gallon buckets full! That’s a lot of potatoes, which is good because we use a lot of potatoes. I like mashed potatoes, French fries, scalloped potatoes, fried, and something Mom calls slabs, which are what most people call oven browned. There are lots of ways to prepare potatoes. When you think about it, the potato is a pretty awesome vegetable. Gram Harrop always says you can live on potatoes and something else that I can’t remember. Either way, I think we’ll be set for winter with potatoes. I wasn’t able to help raise potatoes this year, which bummed me out a little, because I was helping stuff bags for the Third Grade Ag Tour. The Ag Tour is held the third Tuesday of September for all third graders in Mifflin County. Mifflin County Farm Bureau puts the tour together on two active farms. Stations are set up at various locations on the farms with presenters giving short lessons on aspects of farming and related areas. There are about 18 stations, half at each farm. Each station lasts about 12-15 minutes depending on the number of stations. Some of the stations are: • Bees – kids learn about

Honeybees and why they are important • Food Safety – kids learn about proper handling of food • Milk Transfer – kids learn how milk gets to the store • Milking Cows – kids learn how cows are milked • Cow Doctor – kids learn about how farmers treat sick cows and keep them healthy • Agronomy – kids learn about how seeds grow • Animal Nutrition – kids learn about what feeds cows need to be healthy • Animal Housing – kids learn about proper housing and beddings for cows • Equine - kids learn about horses • Incredible Plants – kids learn about different parts of plants and how we use them • Waste Management – kids learn about proper manure management for the environment • Farm Equipment – Kids see some of the different equipment farmer’s use • Poultry Birds – kids learn about different poultry • Calf Raising – kids learn how to raise a calf There are also potty breaks and a petting zoo is set up and run by the FFA club. This year’s Third Grade Ag Tour was held at Dry House farm and Ver-Nan farm in Big Valley. It is such a great opportunity for the kids to see a real farm and actually see where their food comes from. It gives them a new perspective and appreciation for farm life. October will continue to be a busy time for farmers as we work on shelling corn and start combin-

Infringement on rights from page 46

based medicine.’ AB 2109 is a ‘first step’ towards forced vaccinations During arguments for why AB 2109 should be passed, Assembly Democrats argued that too many parents are choosing not to vaccinate their children, and that deadly diseases are making a comeback as a result. But as we have pointed out numerous times before, this ideology is flawed, as most alleged resurgences are occurring in vaccinated children rather than in unvaccinated children (http://www.naturalnews. com). But the real kicker is how AB 2109 supporters alluded to the bill being a stepping stone towards eventual forced vaccinations. Assemblyman Charles Calderon (D-Whittier), for instance, is quoted by The Republic as saying that AB 2109 is a ‘first

step’ towards eliminating parental freedom to opt out of vaccines for their children. The writing is on the wall, and it is time for health freedom advocates to step up and take action. According to California’s legislative information page, AB 2109 is headed next to the California State Senate, and if it passes there, it will proceed to Governor Jerry Brown’s desk to be signed.” Taken from: http://www. naturalnews.com/035893_ AB_2109_vaccines_California. html#ixzz27GTDEzX3 (http:// www.naturalnews.com). According to the most recent news, it has already been passed in the California Senate and the last step is the governor of California signing it into law. I have a feeling the state of California is going to be taken to court over this latest infringement. Now, I

Life in the East End by Rebecca Harrop

billboard campaign arranged by the good people over at Age of Autism, the mainstream media has been largely silent on this important issue. California has been a target of the pro-vaccine brigade for a while now as just last fall, the California legislature passed AB 499, which allows for secret administration of HPV vaccines (Gardasil, Cervarix) and other vaccines for sexually-transmitted diseases, without parental consent. (http://www.naturalnews. com/033629_vaccinations_parental_consent.html) Now, authorities are trying to erode parents’ ability to freely decline having their children injected with toxic, chemical cocktails in the name of ‘science-

ing soybeans. It’s a busy time, but also a time to look at all the grain coming in and feel good about the results of your hard labor. Fall is Dad’s favorite time of year just for that reason. That and the beginning of the fall hunting season, of

course. Small game season starts in October so you’ll be hearing some gunfire as hunters venture into the fields to hunt rabbits, squirrels, and ringnecks. a

know we are in Pennsylvania and that is in California, but, like the above article stated, “This is a stepping stone.” If it can happen in one state, it can happen in other states. If they allow chiropractors to be the healthcare practitioners who are eligible to sign the exemption, most people in our state should be okay. I know I will sign exemptions not only for my own children, but for other parents. I do not feel the state or the government has the right to take away my rights. I know the Constitution is barely followed anymore, but that was put in place to protect our rights. I also have a feeling that if the state of Pennsylvania were to pass a bogus law such as this, they will face backlash from the Mennonite and Amish communities as well as political parties who fight to protect our rights. I’m not sure if our state would want to

open that can of worms. It doesn’t make sense to pass this law, but when has anything that is done in the world of government made much sense lately? Please let me know your thoughts.

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Dr. Joseph Kauffman Kauffman-Hummel Chiropractic Clinic drjosephkauffman@comcast.net a

The Valley, October 2012

Cave Echoes by Marge Delozier-Noss and Nikki Santangelo

ALLERGIES…YOU DO HAVE CHOICES RELIEF IN THE HIMALAYAN SALT CAVE…..AND YOUR HOME

Breathing of course is critical to life. But it is also critical to our health, since HEALTH is simply a greater abundance of life- where disease is a loss of energy…and eventually death. However, most people pretty much take breathing for granted until it becomes impaired. Do we have choices when trying to keep our breathing open and uncongested? YES! Often, one of the first signs that we are becoming ill is congestion. Our sinuses plug up or start draining, we cough, sniffle, and sneeze. Many people quickly reach for antihistamines or other over-the counter cold medicines to dry up the sinus drainage. Similar preparations are used to treat the symptoms of hay fever and allergies. Unfortunately, this most often does not really help. Plus, these medications come with

many undesirable side effects. Many times all one is doing is suppressing the symptoms, which provides temporary relief, but never usually fixes the problem. Whether you are bothered in the spring when things begin to bud and bloom or when flowers release their pollen or in the fall when lots are suffering from hay fever, please read on. Help is in the air! An allergy is simply a reaction of a person’s immune system to something that does not affect other people. An allergy is caused often by harmless substances called allergens which provoke an exaggerated reaction from your body. Allergens may be in the form of pollens, dust mites, mold spores, pet dander, food, insect stings or even medicines. Symptoms are displayed

when your eyes, nose, lungs or skin are exposed to allergens. Allergy symptoms vary. It can cause allergic conjunctivitis, itchiness, and runny nose, sneezing, rashes, swelling. Inhaled allergens can lead to an asthmatic attack as a result of narrowing of airways and an increase in the amount of mucus in the lungs. Halotherapy (salt therapy) can provide relief by widening the airways of the respiratory tract. The micro particles of the Himalayan salt reach into every area in the lungs and destroy bacteria. This helps to reduce the inflammation of the respiratory tract and clear the blockages in the bronchi and bronchioles. The humidification and fluidization of the bronchial secretions brings relief from bronchospasm and helps relieve asthma. If you are suffering from

allergy symptoms, sitting in the salt cave will help decrease the swelling of the “nasal mucosa,” which causes nasal blockage. The airway passage of the nose will be widened and the sinuses drained, bringing relief…..and without drug side effects. The best “side effect” of the cave is that you will feel rested and restored after your 45 minute session. Himalayan salt is anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal. Salt therapy (halotherapy) can also improve the function of your lungs. As your respiratory tract widens and clears, your coughing too subsides. Halotherapy can bring relief by reducing the inflammation of your lungs and kill the bacteria. Large amounts of mobilized mucus that had been blocking the airways will be expelled. Salt therapy also reduces infection by killing bacteria. It will also bol-

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ster your immune system. Hopefully you read our article last month on “Inflammation.” If not, check it out on line at The Valley’s web site! Another choice in fighting allergies is our Himalayan salt inhaler. This has been recommended by Dr. Oz on several of his shows and he claims it is on his list of “Top 50 Must haves.” Himalayan salt crystals are positioned between the filters inside the refillable inhaler device. As you inhale through the mouthpiece, the moisture of the passing air absorbs microscopic salt particles which permeate through your respiratory system. The humidity in the air is sufficient to enrich the air with tiny salt particles when the air passes the salt crystals. Hence a micro-climate of curative salt caves has been created. Young children may also use air inhalers provided that they understand the concept of breathing in through the mouth and exhaling through the nose. Thus avoiding sometimes prescriptive inhalers and any side effects. In addition to using the Himalayan salt cave or an inhaler, additional relief can also be found in

Continued on page 37

The Valley, October 2012 Himalayan Salt Cave from page 36

connect further in the cave. The one on the left is a crawl/walk for 30 feet or so. The passage splits left and right and on the floor there is a broken rimstone formation that now serves as a toilet for the inhabitants. The passage on the right is a crevice 20 some feet high and five or six feet wide. About midway through, there is a pit on the right. It has been mapped at 20 feet to a stream. I won’t fit, but would love to see it myself. Oh well, moving on, the crevice ends in a small hole into an area that kind of looks like swiss cheese—holes everywhere. One of these holes takes you past the “coon can” and into a larger maze like area with boulders, pits in the floor and other assorted openings that inter-

tolerate wheat/gluten products, but it is so rarely detected and left undiagnosed or misdiagnosed as something else. Nutritional deficiencies may also play a role in allergies. We will be talking more about this next month. One last thought….The three secrets that can help you learn to breathe freely again the natural way are: to decongest and expel the mucus, reduce the inflammation, and detox and cleanse. A great suggestion this time of year is to combine a detoxing ioncleanse footbath with your next cave session. Read more on our web-site at : www.simplyhealthcalm.com. Keep breathing and we’ll have more news for you next month. a

sect. There are a few formations in this cave, which are, in my opinion, worth the dangers to see. You could easily spend four to six hours crawling around through the maze. Leaving Pillbox is a little bit of a pain in the neck. It consists of crawling back up that steep slope with very little room to move and breathe. This task takes about ten

minutes to go about ten feet. The last time I visited Pillbox there was a column of fog rising from the entrance as we were leaving. With the rock outcrop and thick underbrush in the background, the fog gave it an eerie appearance. Until next time... cave safe.

were doing the right thing and we had a plan. If it were just the two of us, it would be an ideal situation, however there are others in this world with their own thoughts about what we should do with our children. The decision to home school, or not to, can be highly influenced by family. Most of us have parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters and other extended family members. These family members can be extremely supportive in their conversations, while at the same time bringing up valid arguments as to why one should or should not home educate a child. These same family members have the potential to compound fears and worries in a couple who are working together to make decisions about the future of their children. These conversations usually contain a lot of questions from the

family member; questions that if not fully researched can and will cause doubt. The questions may be along the lines of the following: ‘Can you legally do that where you live?’, or ‘Do you feel that you can give your child a good education?’, also ‘How will your child play with other kids?’, and ‘What are you going to do for curriculum?’. All of these are valid questions, however, if the parent is not fully informed themselves, questions like these coming from a family member that is against home education can undermine the confidence in decisions or alter the decision making process. Friends and acquaintances can also have an influence on new home educating parents as well as on experienced home schooling parents. These conversations can take many forms. It could be an innocent comment from a hair dresser or barber on a bad day. I’ve seen conversations such as the following take place in a beauty shop or in line at a checkout counter at the grocery store. The conversation goes something like this: Cashier says to a home schooling mother with her kids in tow during school hours, “What school do your kids attend, are they having a teachers in-service day?”, The mother answers, “We homeschool, my

kids are with either my husband or me all the time.” The cashier gets that look on her face and says, “I would love to be a stayat-home Mom, but I couldn’t homeschool my kids. They drive me crazy and once I get frustrated with them, they get frustrated with me. Then the war is on.” These types of conversations usually occur when the homeschooling mother or father are having a bad day or some other pressure. The other thing that can happen is with friends; sometimes they get defensive about sending their kids to public school. I get the impression that when a friend tells them that they are homeschooling their child, they believe the friend is criticizing, or looking down on, their decision to send their child to public school. In most cases this couldn’t be further from the truth—homeschooling parents, for the most part, could care less what others do. They are too busy taking care of what’s on their own plate to criticize the decisions of other people. In closing, do your research, know your subject, then in prayer and much conversation with the family, make your decisions. Remember this quote from a man I have never met, Scott Stratton: Don’t try to win over the haters… You’re not the Jackass Whisperer. God Bless! a

Caving Mifflin County with Todd Karschner This has been a busy month for caving! Between getting tips on new caves that I am not familiar with and exploring the new cave that was described in the August 2012 issue, the month has zipped right by. By the way, I will have a part two on the new cave. There are upcoming visits that include surveying, mapping and looking for more virgin passages. This month, the cave I will be walking and crawling you through is called Pillbox. I have not been in this cave for many years and it is on my list for a re-visit. The area surrounding the entrance to Pillbox is referred to as “Cold Holes” by some of the local raccoon hunters. It is littered with small holes and cracks between loose rocks that emit cold air. This is one of those caves that I am not real comfortable

with. There is a large and very unstable boulder perched above the entrance hole. There is also a small population of raccoons that call this cave home. I would like to mention something about coons for those who are not that familiar with them. DO NOT CORNER THEM! Especially in a cave. Those relatively harmless looking creatures can be extremely aggressive. They have sharp teeth and claws and are not afraid to use them when they feel threatened. The entrance is a small opening not much more than 18 inches by 18 inches, and the entrance passage is just as small. It is somewhat easy to get in due to the steep sloping floor to the main chamber. Once inside, there is enough room to stand in a few places. From this room, there are two passages. Both eventually

Homeschooling and Life on the Homestead with Andy Weller

Conversations

I was racking my brain about what I should write about this month and it came to me that conversations would be a good topic. I mean come on, we all have them and they come in many forms. We have conversations with ourselves, with those in our nuclear family, with those in our extended family, with friends, and with strangers. These conversations touch on and delve into many topics from the weather to politics, religion, the generation gap, and finally, if you’re a family that educates at home or is contemplating educating your children at home, you talk about home schooling. This last topic and the conversations we have are what I’m going to discuss. When a parent first contemplates home educating one or more of their children, there is a lot of internal dialogue. Both

my wife and I admit to thinking about it a various stages even after we had been home educating our children for a long period. During the beginning stages our conversations with ourselves and with each other were along the lines of comparing the pros and cons of placing our child at the time in public school, private school or home schooling. We also spent time wondering if we were doing the right thing and doing the research that we as parents must do to make an informed decision. The wondering and conversations forced my wife and me to do the research about curriculums, teaching methods, schools, and many other things. During these conversations, we found that healthy doubt and conversations about that doubt was constructive, between the two of us we were able to strategize and know we

your home by using a Himalayan Salt lamp. Using a lamp in your home is like taking a piece of the cave home with you. The lamps have the same healing properties as the cave….in a smaller version. A lamp would be placed in the room that you are in the most (generally the bedroom) and it should be turned on and left on all the time. It also greatly improves sleeping and reduces snoring! Something else to consider. Food allergies and respiratory allergies are often linked. So, it is possible that one may also have food allergies that hav been left undiagnosed. For example, one in every 133 people are unable to

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Todd K. a

The Valley, October 2012

Ed’s Railroading News by Ed Forsythe

While dealing with a leaking roof on our house, as well as wall wood rot on the inside that we just became aware of, we also got to deal with my Mother being hospitalized with emergency surgery, so this article will be very short this month. Thank you to all who have been followers of my writings and ramblings this past year. It’s been quite a lot of fun. I was hoping to have some good news to report by now about the running of the East Broad Top Railroad next year, but so far I haven’t heard anything new. Even though many of you have asked about the railroad and voiced opinions and wishes, we just haven’t seen anything new transpiring to assure an opening in 2013. Please, keep your fingers cross that we will indeed see Old Easty running again. As another reminder, the Rockhill Trolleys are still running and our 2012 Fall Spectacular

will be held on October 6th from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and October 7th from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This is the weekend where almost all runnable trolleys are out running at one time or another, so it’s a really great time to ride different old trolleys and/or just to see them back on the rails again. So, make plans to be there and enjoy riding many antique trolleys. Remember, one ticket is good for riding all day. Also in October, the Pumpkin Patch trolley event will be held on October 20th from 10:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. All kids 12 and under will receive a free pumpkin after their trolley ride. They will be able to pick

out their own pumpkin and carry it to the porch where there are paints and other embellishments to decorate it. Other great events at the Rockhill Trolley Museum are the Polar Bear Express rides beginning Nov. 23rd. Yes, these are evening trolley rides as are all the Polar Bear Express events. The times are 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. on November 23rd, 24th, 30th and December 1st, 7th and 8th. Also on December 1st, the Santa Trolley event will be held from 10:00

Home Brew U

Adventures in Homebrewing by Kevin Morgan

There’s No Reason To Wine, Mead Is Easy

Mead, honey wine, is thought to be one of the oldest of the alcoholic beverages. The story goes that 20,000 years ago as nomadic tribes made their way out of Africa into the Mediterranean, the dry season turned into the wet season. Bees that had colonized the hollowed out cavities of trees would be flooded out by all the water, leaving a honey-water solution. Wild yeast landed in this solution and fermentation occurred. Then the dry season would happen again. I could imagine these nomadic peoples stumbling across one of these fermented honey holes in a desperate situation looking for anything to drink and consuming the solution. They put two and two together and mead production was born. Honey was a prized commodity during the centuries that followed and many times mead was only available for royalty. However, it became a drink that the common man consumed for special occasions. In fact, the term ‘honeymoon’ first originated in

Babylon, about 4,000 years ago. A honeymonth or honeymoon became the term used to describe the month after a wedding, when the bride’s father would give the groom all the mead he wanted. It was thought that drinking mead would guarantee a boy. Mead is classified in three distinct groups: dry, semi-dry, and sweet. The determining factor is the percentage of honey to water that is used to brew. I would base your choice on what kind of wine you prefer to drink. I am a dry, red wine kind of guy, so I tend to make mead in the dry to semi-dry categories. But the spin you can put on mead has no limit. From spices to grape juice, each will mix with honey producing a unique beverage and they each have their own bizarre name. Here are a few of them: A mixture of equal amounts of malt, honey, and hops is called a braggot. A cyser is fermented honey and apple juice. If you add herbs or spices to your mead you just concocted a metheglin. Finally,

a pyment is fermented honey and grape juice. These are just a few of the wacky names given to mead variations. There are many more. Brewing mead is a fairly simple process. First off, if you want to brew mead, you need to realize that your fermenter is going to be occupied for at least six months. Honey is a complex array of sugars and it takes a long time for yeast to break it down. As I mentioned last month, use a local supplier and buy in bulk. You are going to need good honey and lots of it to make a five gallon batch of mead. You do not want to boil the honey water mixture as this will ruin the complex flavors that honey brings to the table. Just bring the honey water mixture up to around to 180 degrees Fahrenheit and hold it there for about half an hour to pasteurize the wort. You will also need to add some citric acid (I use lemon juice) and yeast nutrient to the batch so that the yeast has something to begin the propagation of a culture. Like I

a.m. to 4:20 p.m. so why not make it a day of fun. Take a Santa trolley ride in the afternoon and a night ride through the Christmas decorated lit-up valley. Always a great time at Rockhill Trolley Museum just 45 minutes from Lewistown on Rt. 522 South and only 9 miles South of Mt. Union. You can find the trolley museum at their web site: rockhilltrolley. org. Again, Thank you for being a follower of my writings. Ed a

said earlier, honey is a complex carbohydrate and the yeast just needs a little help to get started. I then like to add anything else to the pot and immediately dump the whole mixture into the primary fermenter. If you are using fresh berries or spices and are worried about bacteria contamination, you can steam or bake the ingredients at 350 degrees for a few minutes to kill of any bacteria present. When it comes to yeast for a batch of mead, I would highly recommend champagne yeast because when you are done you are going to have a drink that is anywhere from 11% to 14% alcohol and champagne yeast handles higher alcohol environments better than beer yeast. Finally, you can either prime your mead or not before bottling. I have done both. If you do, use corn sugar in the same portions as a beer. But here is the kicker, after bottling the mead, let it age for at least six months. The longer the better, so you are not going to taste your mead for about a year after you brew it. Do not let this dissuade you from brewing mead because good mead is a belly warming experience. Here is a recipe from one of my favorite meads so far. (5 gallon recipe) 5 teaspoons yeast nutrient 1 tablespoon lemon juice

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15 pounds clover honey 2 pounds elderberries 8 pounds frozen raspberries 1 packet champagne yeast Mead conjures up images of fierce warriors and noble kings. And good mead can make you feel like a noble king after one glass and fierce warrior after two glasses. So until next month let the honey flow and may you beer never lose its head. Happy brewing. a

Mead is for the warrior in all of us

The Valley, October 2012

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The Valley, October 2012

Specialized Rehabilitation Improves the Life of a Stroke Patient Mary Walters Bargo knows what it’s like to recover after a stroke – she’s done it three times. Stroke recovery benefits from rehabilitation. Following her most recent two strokes, Mary chose rehabilitation at HealthSouth Nittany Valley Rehabilitation Hospital in Pleasant Gap. “After my second stroke in 2000, my right side was paralyzed,” Mary explains. “After a week at Lewistown Hospital, I went to HealthSouth for rehab. I was in the biggest battle of my life, and I intended to fight back.”

And fight back she did. With HealthSouth’s higher level of rehabilitation, Mary worked hard to recover. She adds, “Not all rehabilitation places are the same; I chose HealthSouth because I get more therapy.”

“Not all rehabilitation places are the same; I chose HealthSouth because I get more therapy.”

Stroke rehabilitation at HealthSouth includes three hours of therapy a day, which can include physical, occupational and speech therapy. HealthSouth stroke rehabilitation also includes: frequent physician visits; specialized rehabilitation nurses; family education; and state-of-the-art technology. HealthSouth also provides a monthly support group for stroke survivors, which is open to the public.

For stroke survivors like Mary, rehabilitation is an essential part of recovery. Studies indicate that 60 percent of stroke survivors can benefit from comprehensive rehabilitation. Eighty percent of patients receiving this level of therapy return to their homes, work, schools or active retirement.* When Mary was discharged from HealthSouth inpatient rehabilitation hospital, she went to HealthSouth’s outpatient clinic in Burnham to continue her recovery. Today, Mary is walking again, with the help of a leg brace and a cane, and she’s enjoying life with her family, including six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. “I have good memories of my therapy at HealthSouth; the entire staff was so helpful,” Mary adds. “I really feel like I made the best choice.” HealthSouth Nittany Valley Rehabilitation Hospital Proudly Displays the Gold Seal of Approval for Stroke Rehabilitation. The Joint Commission’s Disease-Specific Care Certification program is designed to evaluate clinical programs for healthcare quality and safety in disease-specific care. For more information, call HealthSouth at (814) 359-3421, or visit our new website at www.nittanyvalleyrehab.com. *National Rehabilitation Caucus HealthSouth Nittany Valley Rehabilitation Hospital is proud to hold Joint Commission Disease-Specific Care Certifications in Stroke, Brain Injury, Heart Failure and Parkinson’s Disease Rehabilitation.

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The Valley, October 2012

Notes Lewie B. Healthy Celebrates First Birthday Lewistown Hospital’s mascot, Lewie B. Healthy, celebrated his first birthday on July 28. In honor of his birthday, the Hospital held a birthday card making contest for the local child care providers. Five centers participated including SUM Child Development/Taylor Park Preschool, Lewistown Children’s Center/Preschool A & B, St. John’s Christian Daycare in Belleville, and BUM Childcare and Learning Center in Burnham. The BUM Center was selected as the winner and received a private birthday party with Lewie complete with cake and favors on August 8. Lewie B. Healthy provides education programs in the community on hand washing, flu prevention, 911 safety, poison safety, bone health, USDA MyPlate, and dental health. Lewie can also be found greeting hospital patients and guests, visiting local schools and child care centers, and making special appearances at community events. For more information call Lewie B. Healthy celebrates his birthday with students from BUM Child- (717) 242-7226 or visit www.lewistownhospital.org/Lewie. care and Learning Center in Burnham.

Lewistown Hospital Oncology Nurses Pass OCN Recertification Vickie Seaman, RN, OCN, and Terry McMinn, RN, OCN, both passed their recertification in Oncology Nursing. This allows them to continue to use the OCN credentials behind their names. Both employed at Lewistown Hospital, Seaman works in the IV Clinic and McMinn is the Cancer Care Coordinator. The Oncology Nursing Certification Points Renewal Option allows nurses to accumulated points toward certification renewal by completing professional development activities. Points can be obtained through continuing nursing education, continuing medical education, academic education, presentations, publications, precepting of students, or volunteer leadership service. Initial OCN Certification is obtained by successfully passing the OCN Examination, which tests the knowledge necessary for the nurse to practice competently at the basic level within the specialty of adult oncology nursing. Oncology nursing certification is available to nurses who have: • •

•

a current, active, unrestricted RN license a minimum of 12 months of experience as an RN within the three years prior to application a minimum of 1,000 hours of adult oncology nursing practice within the two-and-one-half years prior to application, and completed a minimum of 10 hours of continuing education in the specialty of oncology nursing or an academic elective in oncology nursing. Vicki Seaman, RN, OCN, and Terry McMinn, RN, OCN

Chiaroscuro @ Work from page 34 writing, grammar, and technology Take a class or two! Check out your local CareerLink site as they offer a wealth of free computer and job search classes. If you have a bit of a cash cushion, spring the cash for a ses-

sion with a qualified career coach/ consultant – it may really pay off in the long run. The purpose of the reflection is to create an opportunity to view the high-contrast you encounter in the workplace. I believe it is easier to view the good, the bad, and the ugly once it all has been recorded on paper

through thoughtful contemplation. Sometimes putting pen to paper and examining high contrast can create a cathartic experience and provide an “Aha” moment that can become a launch pad to a better future. a

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Life’s Tragedy is that we get old to soon and wise too late --Benjamin Franklin

The Valley, October 2012

POOR WILL’S VALLEY ALMANACK for October of 2012

“Come little leaves,” said the wind one day, “Come o’er the meadows with me and play; Put on your dresses of red and gold, For summer is gone and the days grow cold.” George Cooper THE STARS The Summer Triangle is one of the most dramatic star groupings in October evenings. To find it, look directly above you about 10:00 p.m. There you should see the cross-like formation of Cygnus, with its brightest star, Deneb. Just to the west of Cygnus, find Lyra, with its dominant star, Vega. South of both of those formations is Aquila, and its brightest star is Altair. If you connect Deneb, Vega and Altair with an imaginary line, you have the Summer Triangle! THE SUN The sun now advances quickly toward winter, moving from a declination of –3 degrees, 16 minutes on October 1 to –13 degrees 50 minutes (out of a possible -23 degrees 26 minutes) on October 31. By the end of October’s second week, the sun has reached the same declination it holds at the end of February. THE PLANETS Venus remains the morning star, this month occupying Leo before sunrise. Mars finds Scorpius, moving closer to the horizon as the month progresses. Jupiter, still in Taurus, leads Orion into the western sky at dawn. THE SHOOTING STARS The Draconid meteors are scheduled to arrive in the late evenings of October 7 and 8. The Draconids usually appear before

midnight, unlike the Orionids, which will peak in and around Orion after midnight of October 21-22. The moon should not interfere with viewing of either of these showers. OCTOBER WEATHER OVERVIEW Cold fronts typically reach Pennsylvania on about the following dates: October 3, 8, 14, 18, 24, and 30. The period between the 19th and 25th is the time most likely to bring serious storms or damaging frost. Expect snow in the northern tier of states with any of these weather systems. New moon on October 15 and full moon on October 29 increase the likelihood of a hurricane coming ashore in the Gulf or a strong frost-bearing cold wave moving across the Plains around those dates. FROSTWATCH Frost occurs at least twice in a Pennsylvania October; and it usually strikes six nights in the next 30 (and it has been known to kill vegetables one night out of every two in the coldest years). The early mornings on which frost is most likely to occur are those of the 13th, 16th, 19th, 20th, 25th, 26th, 27th, and 29th. The following chart shows the chances that frost will often have occurred by the date indicated. Calculations are based on typical frequency of freezing temperatures at average elevations along the 40th Parallel during the month of October. The data can be adjusted roughly by adding five percent for each 100 miles north or south that Parallel. Local frost histories, of course, offer much greater detail. Date

Chance for Killing Frost

October 1: October 5: October 10: October 15: October 20: October 25: October 30:

10 percent 15 percent 20 percent 30 percent 40 percent 50 percent 65 percent

OCTOBER - WEEK 1 THE TRANSITION WEEK TO MIDDLE FALL LUNAR PHASE AND LORE The Cobweb Moon is full on September 29 at 10:19 p.m. and then wanes throughout the week, entering its last quarter on October 8 at 2:33 a.m. Rising in the evening and setting in the morning, this moon is overhead (its best position for fishing) after midnight. Hunters and anglers who prefer to sleep late will find that the second-best lunar time for their activities occurs after lunch. Dieting will be more troublesome in the middle of the night, especially as the cool fronts of October 2 and 7 approach. The moon in Taurus on October 1 - 4 and in Cancer on the 6th through the 8th favor the rooting of autumn landscape plantings and the setting in of spring bulbs. WEATHER PATTERNS Light frost strikes ten to 20 percent of all the nights this week, with October 3 most likely to bring a damaging freeze in the 20s. Highs in the 80s occur on approximately ten percent of the days, and 70s can be expected 30 percent of the time. Moderate 60s dominate 50 percent of the afternoons, while colder 40s and 50s come 15 to 20 percent of the time. The likelihood for colder weather almost always increases after the 4th, when the chances for highs only in the 50s swells from 15 percent to 30 percent. Rain falls about one day in three. OCTOBER - WEEK 2 THE FIRST WEEK OF MIDDLE FALL LUNAR PHASE AND LORE Cobweb-in-the-Woods Season begins its decline as frosts and the full development of honeysuckle berries follow the shortening days. With the prospect of those berries all along their flyways, robins accelerate their migratory activity, sweeping down river valleys and through towns and forests, peep-

ing and feeding as they follow the Robin Migration Moon, new on October 15 at 7:02 a.m. Rising after midnight and setting in th,afternoon, this moon will move into its most favorable position for angling and seeking game in the morning. Low barometric pressure in advance of the October 13 cool front will increase the moon’s effects. The new moon in Scorpio on October 15 - 17 offers extremely propitious lunar conditions for setting out spring bulbs, for seeding winter wheat and for landscape plantings. WEATHER TRENDS Average temperatures have plunged six degrees in most of the nation just since the end of September. Skies remain generally clear, but the days are almost always cool. The first part of the week is generally dry, but precipitation often increases after the 8th, with the 10th bringing a 40 percent chance for rain, and the 12th a 50 percent chance. Highs only in the 40s and 50s are more common this week than last, with October 11, 12, and 13 being the days most likely to see cold (a 40 percent chance). While some days are often warm (the 8th of October has a 40 percent chance of highs above 70 degrees), others are typically cooler (for example, the 11th of the month has only a 15 percent chance for a high above 70). The coldest morning so far in the season usually comes on October 13, when the chances of a low in the 20s are 20 percent for the first time since spring. OCTOBER - WEEK 3 THE SECOND WEEK OF MIDDLE FALL LUNAR PHASE AND LORE The Robin Migration Moon, new on October 15 at 7:02 a.m., waxes throughout the week, entering its second quarter at 10:32 p.m. on October 21. Rising in the morning and setting in the night, this firstquarter crescent moon is overhead in the afternoon. Fish and hunt

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after lunch with the moon above you, especially as the October 17 and 23 cold fronts approach, and dieters may have considerable trouble avoiding pie at those times. Lunar position in Capricorn on the 19th through the 21st favors planting of spring bulbs, sowing of winter wheat, and the setting out of trees and shrubs around the yard. WEATHER TRENDS Lows in the 20s or 30s are most likely to occur on the mornings of the 19th and 20th, with the latter date carrying the highest chances for a freeze so far this season. While most afternoons are in the 50s and 60s, the weather does warm up sometimes: the 15th and 16th each have a 40 percent chance for highs in the 70s or 80s, and the other days at least have a 30 percent chance of such temperatures. The times most likely to produce snow are the 18th through the 20th (but only five to ten percent of all the years). OCTOBER - WEEK 4 THE THIRD WEEK OF MIDDLE FALL LUNAR PHASE AND LORE The Robin Migration Moon waxes throughout the period, entering its second quarter at 10:32 p.m. on October 21, becoming completely full on October 29 at 2:50 p.m. Rising in the afternoon and setting in the night, this moon moves overhead in the evening, making after-supper-time the most favorable lunar time for angling and before-breakfast-time the best for hunting. Conditions become even more favorable as the cold fronts of October 23 and 30 approach, pushing down the barometer and making all creatures (including dieters) hungry. The moon in Pisces on October 24 - 26 and in Taurus on October 29 - 31 offers the best lunar conditions for seeding wheat and a green cover crop for the garden.

The Valley, October 2012 WEATHER TRENDS Highs are usually in the 50s or 60, during this week of the year, with the odds for 70s one in five. The danger of frost remains similar to that of the third week in October; about one night in three receives temperatures in the upper 20s or lower 30s. But by this late in the season, the chances for a hard freeze have risen past 50 percent, and the odds get better each night for killing lows. This week is generally a brighter one than last week. Chances for sun are about 70 percent throughout the period, and some of the driest October days are the 26th, 28th, and 29th (with just a ten to fifteen percent chance for precipitation). Full moon on the 29th is likely to intensify the final cold front of the month. A DAYBOOK FOR OCTOBER October 1:October’s first week brings Full Leaf Color Season to the ashes and the hickories. It opens Junco Season at local birdfeeders, Sprucegrowth Season on the spruce trees, and Asian Ladybeetle Invasion Season throughout the East. October 2: This week finishes Purple Martin Season, Autumn Crocus Season, Autumn Sedum Season, Virgin’s Bower Flowering Season, Jumpseed Season (all the seeds having jumped to the ground), Cicada Season and Daddy Longlegs Season. October 3: Best lunar condition for having surgery or for performing minor surgery on animals traditionally occur at the time of the waning moon (between now and the 14th). October 4: The driest October days, those with only a 15 percent chance for rain, are the 26th, 28th, and 29th. The sunniest October days, those with at least a 75 percent chance for sun are the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 10th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 28th and 29th. October’s sunniest day of all is the 15th. October 5: The rainiest October days, those with at least a 35 percent chance for precipitation, are the 1st, 4th, 10th, 12th (the wettest day of the month), 13th, 16th, 17th, 22nd, and 23rd. Light snow falls after the 12th two years in ten. October 6: October is the peak of the dry season in Pennslvania. Less precipitation falls at this time of year than at any other, and the skies offer more sun than clouds. There are typically 11 completely clear days in October, eight partly cloudy, and 12 mostly cloudy or fully overcast. October 7: This front, the final

one of the subseason of “early fall,” is often weaker than the weather systems of October 2 and 4, but frost is still to be expected in the Northeast, upper Midwest, the Plains and the Rockies. The weather following this front is typically dry and stable, but the advance of the October 13 high increases the chances for precipitation on the 10th through the 12th. Snow is not uncommon at higher elevations on those dates, and the 12th can even bring the first chance of flurries to the Valley. October 8:This week is typically associated with Leafdrop Season for locusts, box elders and ashes. It is the last week of Monarch Migration Season and Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker Migration Season. It is the end of Spider Web Season as Insect Breeding Seasons come to a close. It is Blackbird Flocking Season, Leafturn Season for the sugar maples and dogwoods. October 9: It is also BeggarticksStick-To-Your-Stockings Season and Second-Bloom of Watercress Season. Aster Season, Jerusalem Artichoke Season and Zigzag Goldenrod Season hold on across the woods and fields. Pink Smartweed Season continues to spread through the dooryards and alleys. In the greenhouse, precocious Christmas cacti enter Christmas Cactus Budding Season. October 10: As Middle Fall arrives, many people experience mood swings related to the transformation in the landscape. No matter whether you are excited about the new season, sad about the end of summer, or dreading the winter to come, no matter if you live in the middle of the city or in the country, the immensity of the changes in the foliage and the weather often creates feelings and behavior that do not usually appear in the summer. October 11: In the garden, the addition of manure and compost throughout the autumn months allows full incorporation of that material with the soil, eliminates the risk of imbalance, and increases earthworm activity before planting begins. October 12: The Hindu feast of Navadurgara begins on October 16 and ends on October 24. Consider exploring this market in urban areas near your farm. October 13: The cold front due in the Valley near this date almost always brings in a chillier and more dramatic subseason of autumn known as Middle Fall, which brings peak leaf color throughout the Middle Atlantic region. October 14: The third week of October is often the first full week

of the best of Sugar Mapleturn Season. The chemical changes in the foliage that became noticeable six weeks ago accelerate until the fragile landscape turns all at once. Peak Color Season opens for shagbark hickories, sweet gums, oaks, sassafras and sycamores. October 15: High Blueberry Bush Turning Season turns blueberry bushes red, complementing the center of Burning Bush Season. Hosta Seedpod Splitting Season is underway, black seeds ready to fall in a storm. Wild Asparagus Yellowing Season unfolds along the roadsides. Corn and Soybean Harvest Season develops in the countryside. New England Aster Season comes to a close in town. October 16: New moon today it is expected to intensify of the after-effects of the Columbus Day cold front and the October 17 cold front to come. Look for rain across the nation’s midsection, snow in the mountains and sleet or flurries in the Plains and the East. Highs below 50 degrees now occur 30 percent of the time above the Border States. October 17: After the passage of the October 17 front, clouds are twice as likely to occur than during the first half of the month. October 18: Keeping stress low and nutrition levels high for several weeks after breeding can minimize the danger of embryo losses. October 19: October is the month during which this year’s litters of coyotes usually begin their attacks. October 20: Plants and bulbs intended for winter and spring forcing should be placed in light soil now and stored in a pl.comace where temperatures remain cool (but not freezing). Although winter flowers may seem a luxury, their positive psychological effect during the coldest time of year can help you endure until spring. October 21: Asters, white boneset and goldenrod produce soft, gray seed clusters. Depending on the year, large numbers of puffball mushrooms appear on the forest floor. Deer are in estrus throughout central states, more likely than usual to appear suddenly in front of your car. October 22: This system almost always produces rain or snow. After it passes through, however, the 26th, the 28th, and the 29th are often some of the best days of the month for harvest. But the mornings most likely to bring a killing frost during the month’s final week are the 25th and the 26th. Both have a 35 percent

chance of a low only in the 20s along the 40th Parallel, the first time this season the odds have risen so high. October 23: Today is Cross Quarter Day, the halfway mark between autumn equinox and winter solstice. The sun enters Scorpio at the same time. Within a little more than a month of equinox, the sun has traveled half the distance to winter. October 24: The last week of October brings an end to the best of Sugar Mapleturn Season. Oakturn, Osageturn, Mulberryturn, Silvermapleturn, Magnoliaturn and Ginkgoturn Seasons intensify. As foliage thins, Eastern Phoebe, Catbird, Turkey Vulture and House Wren Migration Seasons deepen. Robin Migration Season brings vast flocks of robins fluttering, chattering, whinnying, and moving south through the high trees along the river valleys. Cattail Breakdown Season opens as Aster Season closes and Fall Raspberry Season gives up its final raspberries. October 25: Gradually increase feeding of grain and free choice hay as the weather cools. This is especially important for pregnant animals, since an undernourished ewe not only may develop health problems but will probably pass problems on to her lambs. Improper feeding of ewes can also cause premature births, with accompanying high risks for the lambs. October 26: Check the chicken house as the days shorten. Make sure ventilation is adequate at the floor level and near the ceiling. A smaller area for winter perching often means warmer hens. October 27: The shortening day, colder weather and the increased likelihood of cloud cover combine with lunar influence to challenge those who are sensitive to seasonal mood swings. On the plus side, the shorter days bring a surge of autumn energy to many animals and people; take advantage of that energy to speed through your autumn tasks; you may begin to slow down in November and December. October 28: Wrap new trees with burlap to help them ward off winter winds. Complete fall field and garden tillage before the November’s chill and rains. October 29: Full moon today it is likely to influence the weather system due to cross the nation near October 27. Expect unsettled conditions throughout the final days of the month. October 30: When the last cold front of October moves slowly, it brings mild winds under which

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to finish harvest. Between today and the arrival of early winter, there should be up to 20 days of relatively benign, dry days for fertilizing, harvesting, wood cutting, planting spring crops, raking leaves, transplanting, and digging in spring bulbs. October 31: Pastures cease being a predictable source of nutrition when soil temperatures drop near 40 degrees. ALMANACK LITERATURE Treating the Doctor by Gail Border New London, Ohio This is an outhouse story from my mother. When she was a very young girl, she had a best friend named Ruth. One day, my mother was invited to come and stay the night. While she was there, the doctor came to make a house call. Back in the day, that’s what they did. Ruth’s mom had just had a baby, and the doctor was checking to make sure everything was all right. They offered him supper, and before he left, he need to go the outhouse. He went out the back door, and Ruth’s mom ran over to the cupboard and brought out a silk napkin and told her to run it out to the doctor before he got to the outhouse. The only thing in the outhouse for “toilet paper” was a catalog (of course), and she didn’t want the good doctor to use what they had to use on a daily basis. My mom never forgot that story. The doctor was a special kind person, and they treated him with kindness and respect in return. Listen to Bill Felker’s weekly “Poor Will’s Almanack” on podcast any time at www.wyso. org. And Bill’s website, www. poorwillsalmanack.com, contains weekly updates and a sizable bank of information about nature. His organization of weather patterns and phenology (what happens when in nature) offers a unique structure for understanding the repeating rhythms of the year. Bill lives with his wife in Yellow Springs, Ohio. They have two daughters, Jeni, who is a psychologist in Portland, Oregon, and Neysa, a photographer in Spoleto, Italy.

The Valley, October 2012

The Udder Truth

How can parents tell if their child has a broken bone or just a sprain?

by He ather Wasson Centre Count y Dair y Princess

“Say cheese!” is a common phrase when smiling for the camera. Did you ever wonder how that phrase came about? Well, with milk containing nine essential nutrients including Vitamin A and calcium, those pearly whites are bound to look good. My family has always enjoyed sitting at the table and passing around a block of cheese for a mid-afternoon snack before we go do our barn work. With over 300 hundred different types of cheese, there is always a variety to choose from. Cheese is great to grab as a snack to take to school to help get through those seemingly long class periods. String cheese is an easy way to pack for the busy student. Cheese is also a great thing to add to many recipes. It adds an extra flavor to that bland dish. Even if you are lactose intolerant, you can enter cheese into your diet by consuming aged cheeses such as aged cheddar and swiss. The dairy case has something for everyone, whether you’re lactose intolerant or looking for low fat or fat free. Here are some fun facts about cheese to help celebrate October as National Cheese Month!

• •

• • •

The United States is the top producer of cheese in the world. The only cheeses native to the United States are American, jack, brick, and colby. All other types are modeled after cheeses brought to the country by European settlers. The Pilgrims included cheese in their supplies on board the Mayflower in 1620. Cheese can actually help a good night’s rest. It contains tryptophan, an essential amino acid that has been shown to reduce stress and induce sleep. People crave cheese more than any other food. It takes 10 pounds of milk to make one pound of cheese. The average American eats 31 pounds of cheese annually.

Brown ground beef. Drain off extra grease. Add salsa. Add cheese chunked. Continue heating on medium to low until cheese melts. Serve warm with corn chips. Buffalo Chicken Dip 2 packages cream cheese 1 c ranch dressing ¾ c hot sauce 1 bag shredded Cheddar Cheese 1 large can (15 oz) chicken Preheat oven to 350. Mix Cream Cheese, ranch dressing, and hot sauce in large bowl. Once mixed well add in cheddar cheese and chicken. Bake until top is bubbly, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for a couple minutes. a

I am also including some cheesy recipes for you to enjoy. Say cheese and enjoy! Cheesy Hamburger Salsa 1 lb ground beef 1 lb sharp Cheddar Cheese 1 (16 oz) jar of salsa 1 bag of corn chips

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by Craig H. Collison, MD Unless you are blessed with the powers of Superman and his X-ray vision, you won’t be able to determine whether an injury to your child involves a broken bone or if it is just a sprain. That being said, there are many clues that can help steer you toward a probable diagnosis. 1. Location: Pain and swelling that occur in the middle region of a bone (away from either joint) are more likely to indicate some type of fracture. Pain and swelling at a joint can be either a fracture or a soft-tissue sprain. 2. Deformity: Any sign of deviation from the normal anatomic structure of a body part is a clear sign of fracture or dislocation. Swelling at a joint that doesn’t alter the normal direction of a body part can be a fracture/dislocation or a soft-tissue sprain. 3. Mechanism of injury: Injuries occur from several different mechanisms, most commonly a direct impact or a twisting injury. Fractures are more likely to result from a direct impact, and twisting injuries more often produce soft-tissue sprains or tears; however, it’s important to note that fractures can sometimes occur from twisting action. 4. Weight bearing and use of injured body part: If the child is unable to bear weight on the injured leg or unable to have any use of an upper body part, that increases the likelihood of a fracture. The ability to bear weight or use

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a body part with pain lowers the chance of a fracture. The one characteristic that makes children different from adults, and even more challenging to diagnose in terms of injury, is that they have growth plates at the end of all the long bones. These growth plates are formed of cartilage and are very prone to injury, as they are weaker than all the other structures that support the skeleton, like bone, ligaments and tendons. Because of this weakness, growth plate fractures are common in children and can occur even with typical sprains and strains. Bruising is one sign that does little to help differentiate between fractures and sprains because bruising can be caused by either injury. In terms of getting injuries evaluated by your pediatrician, all injuries that involve deformity, an inability to bear weight or to use the limb, or significant swelling should be checked. This is especially true for children with open growth plates - namely every child who hasn’t finished growing. An X-ray remains the best way to check for fractures and assess the growth plates in the area of injury. Craig H. Collison, MD, is a pediatrician with Mount Nittany Physician Group. To make an appointment with a pediatrician please call the State College office at 814-466-7921 or the Bellefonte office at 814-355-3626. Sign up for an e-newsletter titled, “Parents Need to Know” by Dr. Collison and access other health information at mountnittany.org. a

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all. ~Stanley Horowitz

The Valley, October 2012

Dave Wilson

Coins, Precious Metal and a Little of this and That

The End Is Near Part Two

In case you missed our September article, we discussed how the United States “Dollar” became the world’s reserve currency, which gave the United States of America the ultimate financial advantage in world trade. We ended the article promising to explain (in the October issue) what some of the many disadvantages would be, in the LIKELY event that through governmental monetary ineptitude, we would LOSE that powerful privilege. It has already started. Russia, China, Japan, India, and a number of other foreign countries have begun to conduct international trade in currencies other than the dollar and in gold. With the Federal Reserve’s announcement in early September that they would be creating hundreds of billions of new (fiat) dollars to aid major banks by purchasing mortgage-backed securities, the displacement of the US Dollar as the world’s reserve currency will, no doubt, be on an even faster

Demise of the dollar from page 17

terial. You will be amazed when you hold a very light, one tenth ounce piece of gold and know that you have close to $200 in your palm. In addition to purchasing precious metals outright, you can hold US minted gold and silver coins in your IRA. We suggest you consider thinking in terms of a percentage of your portfolio, such as 15 to 30%. Regardless, because of the fiscal irresponsibility exhibited by our government officials and recognizing the need to protect your assets, if you’ve not already, seize the opportunity to add precious metals to your monetary holdings. Our office can assist you in opening a precious metals IRA, as well as obtaining gold and silver to hold personally outside of your retirement plan. Please see the contact information below. Consider this insurance protection against a devalued dollar, and hopefully you’ll

track than before. So what will likely happen when the world no longer wants to accumulate US Dollars? For certain, nothing good, especially for American citizens. On Christmas day, 2007, when the family was sitting around the living room surrounded by piles of opened Christmas presents, one of my family members began asking me about the US economy and why the manufacturing sector was suffering so greatly. He was having trouble finding a decent paying job and he was hoping for a few insights into how to go about doing so. I thought for a moment, then told him that I would give him two minutes to see how many of the gifts in the room were MADE IN AMERICA. When I said “GO” .. he erred immediately by looking at the tags on clothing items. He went from one pile to the next and at the end of the two minutes he had found NOTHING that was produced in this country. (Had never have to wear Federal Reserve notes as a suit! C. Mark Ostrowski earned his Master od Science in Financial Services from The American College in 2007. He is the Founder and President of The Stewardship Group, Inc., where a values based approach rooted in faith, is used to help folks better protect and prosper the people and things that matter most in their lives. He can be reached at: 1-866-935-5858, or mostrowski@ thestewardshipgroup.org

he checked the pack of bicycle playing cards, he would have found at least one.) I explained about NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement) and how it could not help but destroy American manufacturing. Anyway, the point is that a huge amount of the merchandise we buy is supplied to us by other countries, other countries that were anxious to accumulate “Dollars” for future use in world trade, as almost every other country in the world wanted Dollars as well. What will happen when these countries do not want to stockpile more US Dollars? The world is not filled with stupid people and our trading partners can see quite clearly that we are diluting our Dollar’s value by “printing” TRILLIONS of new dollars backed by NOTHING. Simply stated, they will no longer sell us anything, unless it is for substantially HIGHER prices. Cheap foreign goods will disappear, to be replaced by expensive foreign goods and, in many

cases, NO GOODS AT ALL! Those $19.95 foreign made shoes will now be $39.95. That six-piece drinking glass set that used to be $15.95 will now cost $29.50. Clothing prices will skyrocket. Gas prices will shoot past $6.00+ a gallon and anything else (literally 85% of what we now buy) will cost WAY more, if, in fact, the items are even still available. Couple this immediate (and large) increase in product price with the (most likely) necessary increase in interest rates for everything (loans, credit cards, etc.), and you have a recipe for disaster. A disaster that will get much worse over time and will quite likely mean the destruction of the American Middle Class and the impoverishment of possibly 175 million Americans, with no good end in sight. Unemployment was bad five years ago and it is even worse now. We are told that unemployment is around 8%, but most economists agree that the real number is closer to 22%. (The only differences between the great depression of the 1930’s and now are food stamps, unemployment checks, welfare, and the dramatically increased The End is indeed near

number of disability recipients. (I am not suggesting that any of these are particularly bad, but only that none of those benefits were available during the great depression.) Without them, our economy would be in an even worse depression than was seen early in the 20th Century. If the dollar loses it’s World Reserve Currency status, the Federal Reserve will be forced to print even more currency to offset the Treasury bonds that will not be purchased by foreign buyers. This will inflate the number of dollars in existence even further and create huge inflation. All this at a time when American families are already near the breaking point. If the dollar’s position as reserve currency is displaced, as it certainly appears likely that it will be, then we can all expect the American dream , as we have come to understand it, will quickly and completely disappear. a

WWT Answers: (1) Michigan (2) Cape Hatteras, NC (200 ft. ) (3) Boston, MA 1716 www.thevalleynewspaper.com

The Valley, October 2012

Back Talk by Dr. Joseph Kauffman

Infringement on Rights

In the last few weekss, a bill was passed in the state of California that infringes on the rights of its citizens. It is a bill that attempts to overpower the parental right to choose not to vaccinate their children. It is going to require that parents get a health professional to sign a form in order to verify an exemption. According to the lawmakers, this is the result of the recent outbreak of Pertussis (Whooping Cough) that has occurred, even though the outbreak is not amongst the unvaccinated children. The outbreak is among the children who have received the vaccine, but it was not effective. Their argument doesn’t even make sense. If the vaccine did not work in the first place, why push for it further and make it harder for people to exercise their right to choose? It all boils down to the same thing. Money! They say, “Money makes the world go around.” It certainly does in the political world. If you read up on the ones responsible for introducing this bill and pushing it forward, you will be interested to learn that they received large monetary donations from the pharmaceutical companies that manufacture the vaccines. Coincidence? I think not. But, like all of my articles, I encourage you to research this for yourself and form your own opinion rather than taking my word for it. Here are some of the articles: “The California legislature has moved ahead and passed AB2109, a dangerous bill that does several things; it eliminates the existing right in California to both secular and religious exemptions to vaccine mandates without interference from state-sanctioned authorities. Parents seeking to exercise their right to decide for themselves which vaccines their children receive will be required to find a healthcare practitioner to sign a mandatory exemption form. Parents will have to pay for this. And health practitioners are not required to sign the form. Proponents of the bill claim that vaccine exemptions have led to an increase in cases of pertussis (whooping cough) in California, despite all the medical evidence indicating that the increase is due to the ineffectiveness of the pertussis vaccines.

Perhaps the explanation for the bill is just good old fashioned pay-to-play Sacramento politics. Senator Lois Volk, the sponsor of AB 2109 in the California Senate, has received more than $58,000 in donations from vaccine companies, and Assembly-member Richard Pan, the sponsor in the Assembly, has received $26,000 according to followthemoney.org. Whatever the motivations of the legislature, AB 2109 tramples on Californians first Amendment rights by requiring a healthcare practitioner’s signature to exercise a religious exemption. We are not sure what the California legislature doesn’t understand about, ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…’ Requiring people to seek out the signature and providing payment to a government sanctioned authority in order to exercise a well-established religious belief is a clear violation of the First Amendment, and no-doubt the Courts will see this if Governor Brown doesn’t.” Taken from: http://healthimpactnews. com/2012/ california-bill-toeliminate-vaccinechoice “The medical establishment in California is quietly waging war against parental rights with a new legislative bill that will make it more difficult for parents to opt out

of vaccines for their children. According to reports, the California State Assembly recently voted 44-19 to pass AB 2109, a bill that, if signed into law, will require that all parents who choose to opt their children out of vaccines for personal reasons obtain a signed waiver from a doctor of ‘health care practitioner’ stating that they

participated in an indoctrination session about the supposed health risks of not vaccinating. Existing law in California allows all parents to exempt their children from ‘mandatory’ vaccines for either personal or medical reasons. In the case of personal exemptions, parents simply must obtain a Personal Belief Exemption Form (PBEF) from their local health department’s Immunization Program, or from their children’s school, and submit it to the appropriate party in lieu. But the California Medical Association (CMA), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the California Immunization Coalition

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(CIC), and many pro-vaccine doctors and assemblymen, including AB 2109 author Dr. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), want to obstruct parental rights. Their goal is to make it as difficult as possible for parents to opt out of vaccines for their children in the hope that they will simply comply. AB 2109 has received little media attention despite massive ramifications. One would think that with the drastic changes being proposed in the bill, AB 2109 would be all over the news. But that is hardly the case. With the exception of a

Continued on page 35

The Valley, October 2012

Buying Locally Produced Products Just Got A Little Easier

Scott Keyes and Dutch Pantry Gifts recently moved their thriving business from the Big Valley Antiques building to their own space along Commerce Drive next to Best Western in Milroy. A bright new building and expertly merchandised sales floor have many new added items to thrill

every shopper! Scott has made a habit of sourcing as much of his product locally as is possible. Scott explained it thus; “If every shop owner and business owner in our area bought goods off of other local business, the community as a whole thrives.” When Dutch

Locally produced Gourmet Food items are a huge hit at Dutch Pantry Gifts. There are always samples out for curious customers, but be warned, a taste usually leads to a purchase!

Pantry makes a profit, Scott then in turn uses that profit to enhance his business to better serve his customers, “it is a circle for sure, just this one isn’t vicious,” he said with a smile. Dutch Pantry features many different product lines from Gourmet Foods, which they became known for, to “Bare Nekkid” soaps, to new items like locally produced stoneware and Alpaca wool items. Yep, the Alpacas are residents of Reedsville (look for a separate story on them soon) The fiber is collected from the animals and is then spun and made into uniquely warm and durable items such as socks, sweaters, scarves and dozens of other useful items for the home. Wearing an item that came from animals in your local area greatly increases the sustainability of that farm. The less an item travels before you either use or consume it, the better off it is for your local economy. Dutch Panty Gifts is one of those local “go to” shops when you need a quick last minute gift for someone special of for a spe-

Beautiful, warm, locally harvested Alpaca wool garments make a wonderful gift anyone would love to receive.

cial occasion; it is also someplace ily and friends—they will know to find that special gift that the you thought enough to get them recipient will treasure forever, something really special. a as only the best in quality comes from Dutch Pantry Gifts. Scott and crew keep generous hours, open from 11:00 am - 9:00 pm Monday through Saturday and even Sunday hours from 11:00 am 6:00 pm. Dutch Pantry Gifts is open when you need them. Come find out what other treasures await you at Dutch Pantry Gifts, and don’t forget to sample some of that Locally produced pottery will gourmet candy, and of course, be a gift tied to a place for the take some home for your fam- recipient.

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The Valley, October 2012

DAD DESERVES THE BEST!

2 Simmons Recliners forWeOne Low And Offer The Price Best At The Lowest Prices. + Take An Extra 15% Off Any Recliner for Dad 2 for $499.00 Until Sunday, June 17th Fathers Day. 2 for

$549.00 2 for

$649.00 Or Just Stop In to See the One and Only ROCKING BED

at Bubba’s Furniture. And Yes it Is for Sale And It’s Made To Order. STOP IN FOR DETAILS.

Steelers Recliners ON CLEARANCE for $249.00 (Was $599.00)

OR BUY A WIDE SEAT RECINER FOR TWO ... SALE

$449.00

RECLINING SOFAS FOR EVERYONE’S TASTE AND BUDGET!

We offer a large selection of Reclining Sofas, Reclining Loveseats and Rocker/Gliding Recliners up to an additional 15% off our lowest prices.

(Prior sales, quotes and specials excluded)

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