AMISH  BUGGY NEWSLETTER

Feb  2001        Number 11

• IN - top cattle beef sold at $.73 a pound at the auction barn.  Top springer sold for $1,450.00.

• IN - carriage auction results - buggies & sleighs went from $300 to $900 depending on age & condition.  A stage coach went for $23,000 and a doctor's buggy went for $2,400.

• Middlefield OH - Standard Breed Horse Auction - Geauga Livestock Sale Pavilion - February 3

• Columbus, OH - 39th Annual Draft Horse Sale - Fairgrounds - February 6 - 8 am

• Homerville OH -Ohio Growers Roundtables-Homerville Townhall-February 7&21

• Thorp WI - Driving Horse Auction - Horst's Stables - February 9 & April 11

• Harrisburg PA - Draft Horse & Tack Sale - Farm Show Complex - Feb 13&14

• Honeybrook PA - Fire Co. Annual Consignment Sale - February 17 - 9 am

• Gallatin TN - Mule Sale - February 17

• Kidron OH - Airworks Consignment Auction - February 17

• Gifford IL - Mid-America Draft Horse Sale - February 21-23

• Poplarville MS-Learn to Farm with Draft Horses-601-795-4200-February 22-25

• Odessa MI - Draft Horse Auction - Febuary 23

• Strasburg PA - Spring Quilt & Craft Show - Strasburg Fire Co. - February 24

• Montgomery IN - Spring Carriage, Draft Horse, & Machinery Auction - Dinkeys Auction Center - February 28 thru March 2

• New Holland PA - Mule Sale - New Holland Sale Barn - March 2

• Topeka IN - Draft Horse Auction - March 14-17

• Paradise PA - Olde Country Connections Country Auction - Paradise Sale Barn - March 16 - 9 am

• Middlefield OH - Maple Leaf Quarter Horse/All Breed Horse & Tack Auction - Geauga Livestock Sale Pavilion - March 31

• Lancaster PA - Lancaster Family History Conference - March 30-31.  
  Call 717-393-9745 for information.

• Middlefield OH - Spring Tool & Machinery Consignment Auction - Middlefield Market - April 7

• Thorp WI - Driving Horse Auction - Horst's Stables - April 11.

• Topeka IN - Spring Carriage Auction - April 20-22

• MI - A 40 pound turkey took 12 hours to cook.  The legs and wings were cut off so it would fit in the oven.

• Pickled Peaches - Blanch peaches.   Remove skins.  Combine 4 cups sugar, 2 cups vinegar, 2 tablsp. whole cloves, 2 tablsp. stick cinnamon.  Boil 10 minutes.  Cook peaches until tender (a few at a time in the boiling syrup).  Pack in sterilized jars.  Fill jars with boiling syrup.  You can also use pears.  From a 1935 recipe book.

• Tried of grilled cheese - try grilled peanut butter - make same way as grilled cheese.

• TIP - Save your store-bought bread bags and ties.  They make perfect storage for homemade bread.

• Craft - Coal Flower Plant - Mix:   2 heaping tablsp. salt, 1/2 ounce bluing, 3 tablsp. of clear ammonia, 3 tablsp. of red ink, 1/2 cup water.  Pour mixture over 6 or 8 pieces of coal.  Baste so all pieces are covered.  After first day, add salt and coloring as needed.  Once a day is not too often.  To prevent plant from growing out of bowl, rub edge with lard or petroleum jelly.  NOTE: - parent should mix and keep out of reach of children.

• PA - How whoopie pies got name - During the 1958 snowstorm, the girls mixed cookie dough.  When finished baking and taking the last out of the oven - one girl said whoopie and the name stuck.

• Recipe - Potato Tuna Surprise - Mix together:  1-7 oz can of tuna (drained), 2 cans of shoestring potatoes (potato sticks), 1-1/4 cup milk, 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1/4 cup chopped pimento (drained), and 1 small can of mushroom pieces.  Pour into lightly greased casserole dish.   Bake for 45 minutes at 375 deg.

• Popcorn Recipes  - http://www.popcorn.org/rcindex.htm

• Favors - save bathroom tissue rolls.  Put candy or little toys inside the tube.  Wrap with a piece of tissue paper to make it look like a firecracker.   For showers you could use a dishrag instead of tissue.  Great for valentines day.

• Suet - 5 cups quick oatmeal, one cup each - lard, peanut butter and corn syrup.  You can also add raisins, nuts, etc.

• Apple Butter - 7 cups sugar, apples (peeled and cooked, run through blender), 1 pound of red hots, 1/2 cup vinegar.  Mix ingredients and boil for 20 minutes.   Freeze leftovers.

• Homemade Fabric Softener - 2 cups white vinegar, 2 cups baking soda, 4 cups water.   Mix together and store in an appropriate bottle or old fabric softener bottle. Watch when mixing vinegar and baking soda - it fizzes.  NOTE - store out of reach of children and label bottle.

• KY - 3 big brothers (men) went to the local fire department to donate blood.   They went together in the wagon since none of them had given blood before.   The driver decided to let his two brothers go first to see how they fared and to make sure there was at least someone to drive them all home in the wagon.

• PA - The game commission will authorize elk hunting this year.  The herd is estimated to be over 900.  A license will be required.

• Update - the man that shot the 39 point deer was offered $1 million for it but refused the money.

• OH - largest deer taken weighed 275 pounds - a state record.

• PA - The oldest Amishman in Lancaster County died in December.  He was 99 + years.

• Canada - ice containers are being filled for the ice house.

• WI - the last family has moved out of Amherst community which is not extinct.   The community once had 3 church districts.

• Most communities have been ice skating on ponds.

• MI - before remodeling,  the community ice house required at least 1,800 to 2,300 blocks of ice packed in sawdust.  During remodeling the ceiling was lowered and insulation added.  Only 560 blocks are now needed.  In other parts of the state, ice houses are being filled with 10" to 12" thick ice.

• MO - ice for houses is 12" thick.
  OH - is putting ice up 8" thick.

• Canada - Upon returning home from the store, the mother asked her 3 year old daughter to turn out the buggy lights.  When the mother returned the girl innocently asked -- "Mom, I could just get the one light out".  Mom suppressed a grin but Dad was not too happy that he would have to reconnect the wiring.

• MO - a huge amount of starlings has been hanging around the hog feeders.  Some pigs have been lost.

• MI - the brother packed everyone's school lunch.  When his sister opened her lunch all that was in it was 1 hot dog.  No bread or anything else.  Some others shared their lunch with her.

• Canada - one raccoon that was killed had strangles.  Many skunks have rabies.   One barn has been quarantined.

• Update - OH - trials have been set for the five teenagers charged with shooting horses, cattle and sheep at various Amish farms.   Trail dates are Jan. 24, Feb 6 and 15.  The four boys and one girl range in age from 14-16.  The first incident was in Sept. when a horse pulling an Amish buggy was shot by a passing car.  The couple in the buggy were not injured. The suspects gave themselves away by bragging about the crimes.  Source:   Chicago Sun-Times

• PA - Lancaster County - 56% of Amish work off a farm - source Amarillo Globe News 11/99.

• PA - 65 acre farm sold for $642,000.00.

• OH - 66 acres sold for $200,000.00.

• IA - 21 acre farm sold for $81,000.00.

• New or used buggy.  Email:  loggrslady@aol.com if you have a buggy for sale.

• Nylon buggy harness with braided leather lines, steel hames, stainless steel hardware $232 or with brass hardware $222.

• Husking gloves - 1 dozen pairs - $13.46.

• Heavy team harness with lines & bridles with hames $490 or without hames $410.

• PA - egg prices have dropped 20 cents since Christmas.

• KY - tobacco averaged $1.96 to $2.07 a pound.

• PA - type 41 tobacco went for $1.30 to $1.40 per pound. Type 609 went for $1.10 to $1.35 per pound.

• PA - a southern tobacco company is giving contracts for $1.50 for a new Burley nicotine free tobacco.

• Most farmers in all areas are hauling manure.

• IL - A state testing program is being developed to prevent the spread of equine infectious anemia.  There is no treatment or vaccine for this.  The severity is equal to human AIDS.  Source:  IL Farm Bureau

• A new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) report has found hundreds of livestock feed producers have violated regulations meant to keep mad cow disease out of the U.S.   The FDA is warning that companies could face seizure, shutdown or prosecution if they continue to violate rules.  Since mid-1990, 80 people have died of the disease in Britain and now France, Germany, and other European countries have infected livestock.   No cases of the mad cow disease has been found in U.S. cattle.

• NC - The passage of the Horse Industry Promotion Act will have equine feed purchasers assessed 5 cents on each 50 pound bag of feed.  The funds will be used for research, education and training.  Source:  NC Farm Bureau

• New seeds varieties: (if you want to try something new)
  Green Beans - Grenoble-PetoSeed - new high yield - 55 days - long beans
  Cauliflower - Apex - 72 days - new self wrap type - 7-8 inch head
  Tomatoes - Agriset 8279 - grape sized - free from cracking and sweet
  Peppers - Crusader RP6110 - 75 days - big full season pepper
  Cabbage - Blue Dynasty - 78 days - excellent box cabbage
  Cabbage - Red Dynasty - 79 days - red cabbage - 100% hybridity

• OH - modern megadairies are being opened up by Dutch farmers in Ohio.  The Dutch has sold their farmland in their native country because of high tariffs and land prices.  They made huge profits by selling their land in their country and have moved to cheaper fields in Ohio.  Unfortunately this is making life harder for for Ohio's smaller farms.  Four megafarms are under construction in Ohio and another four are planned.  An acre of land costs $2,000 in Ohio and $20,000 in the Netherlands.

• All type of seed info - flower - vegetable - herb - http://www.chestnut-sw.com/seedhp.htm

• TIP on planting - start early cabbage around the 20th.  Start onions in the greenhouse.

• The Agriculture Department released the first set of national organic standards in December which will replace state and private certifications covering foods produced without synthetic chemicals.  By August 2002 all foods stamped organic (produce, dairy, meat and prepared foods) must be produced without synthetic pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides and also meet other requirements as well.  Genetic engineering, use of sewage sludge as fertilizer and irradiating food to preserve it will be banned for organic produce.  Organic food sales make up less than $8 billion of the $460 billion grocery market.

• WA - dairy farmers in this state are trying to cope with a 40 percent electrical rate  increase for small businesses.  Large business rates increased 58 to 74 percent.  With milk prices still falling, it is hurting the dairy farmers further.   In 1988 there were 13,000 dairy farms in the state but by the end of 2000 the number had fallen to 690. Source:  Seattle Times.

• February 1903 prices from the state of New York:
  Corn - $.44 a bushel
  Eggs - $.19 a dozen
  Potatoes - $.40 a bushel
  

• Working with the Amish - Ohio state Univ. Fact sheet - http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~ohioline/hyg-fact/5000/5236.html

• Simple Living - http://hometown.aol.com/DSimple/index.html

• Free sample offer: hand soap, shower gel, or hand lotion http://www.3in1deadsea.com/contact.html

• You Can Make It - http://www.makestuff.com/

• Kid’s pages - lots of activities - http://www.geocities.com/monkeyman506/Kids/kids.html

• Stretch your dollars - tips on just about everything - http://www.stretcher.com/menu/tips.htm

• When Tomorrow Arrives - poem - http://members.aol.com/bbjbarger/bb2.html

• Canned Food Recipes - http://www.mealtime.org/

• Tax help
  IRS - http://irs.com/
  Tax wizard - http://taxwizard.com/

• PA farm vacations - http://www.pafarmstay.com/
  Rent a settlers cabin - http://www.cowboycooking.com/cabin.html
  International farm stay - http://www.agritour.com/farmstay.html
  Agitours - UK farm vacations - farm & - http://www.agritour.com/ai.htm
  Study tours - http://www.agritour.com/astso.htm
  Germany - farm vacations - http://www.landtourismus.de/e/e.htm
  Farms - Europe
  http://www.pz.nl/eceat/
  http://www.frommers.com/newsletters/12-26-99/article5.html
  Take a class in ox training, blacksmithing, logging, butchering, chair caning, farming, crops, wheel wrighting, woodworking, horses, horsemanship and many others.   Different classes every month. http://www.wmich.edu/tillers/
  

• The Chocolate Manufacturers Assc. of America says that 36 million boxes of chocolate are sold for Valentine's Day. According to Hershey's Chocolate Company, Valentine's Day ranks fourth in sales behind Halloween, Christmas and Easter!

• The first flight attendants were nurses.  Seven were recruited.

• Lemons contain more sugar than strawberries.

• An average of 13 boxes of jello are purchased every second in the U.S.

• Americans spend the least amount of time watching TV in July.

• Animal crackers in a box:
  1 buffalo          2 sheep           2 monkeys           3 rhinos
  2 tigers             1 lion              5 bears                6 gorillas

• Plant your own garden instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.

• The world's shortest sermon is preached by a traffic sign -- Keep Right!

• Age is not important unless your a cheese.

• A gossiper is like an old shoe - its tongue never stays in place.

• Medicine and advice are two things more pleasant to give than to receive.

• Hold a true friend with both hands.

• A bad habit is like a soft chair--easy to get into, but hard to get out of.

God's richest blessings sent your way.