SEPTEMBER 2009
Race to
remember
DuBois-based NASCAR driver
Benny Gordon fields memorial
car in tribute to memory of lives
lost in Sept. 11 terrorist attacks
PLUS
One-pot meals
Lonesome prairie
Building efficiency
SEPTEMBER
Vol. 44 • No. 9
William M. Logan
EDITOR/VP OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
& MEMBER SERVICES
Peter Fitzgerald
SENIOR EDITOR
4
KEEPING CURRENT
News items from across the Commonwealth
Katherine Hackleman
ASSOCIATE EDITOR/WRITER
James Dulley
Kitty Halke-Staley
Barbara Martin
Marcus Schneck
6
CONTRIBUTING COLUMNISTS
8
Seeking cap on ‘cap and trade’
W. Douglas Shirk
DuBois-based NASCAR driver Benny Gordon
fields memorial car in tribute to memory of
lives lost in Sept. 11 terrorist attacks
Vonnie Kloss
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F E AT U R E
Race to remember
LAYOUT & DESIGN
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E N E R G Y M AT T E R S
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TIME LINES
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14A C O O P E R AT I V E
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Information and advice from your local
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16
O U T D O O R A DV E N T U R ES
On the lonesome prairie
16
In Wyoming, you can experience aweinspiring, immense solitude
18
SMART CIRCUITS
Building efficiency from
the ground up
20
COUNTRY KITCHEN
One-pot meals
21
POWER PLANTS
20
Compost: breaking it down
22
CLASSIFIEDS
25
PUNCH LINES
Thoughts from Earl Pitts–
Uhmerikun!
Board officers and staff, Pennsylvania Rural
Electric Association: Chairman, Tim Burkett;
Vice Chairman, S. Eugene Herritt; Secretary,
Lanny Rodgers; Treasurer, Kevin Barrett;
President & CEO, Frank M. Betley
© 2009 Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association.
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Doggie spas and gourmet mustard — now
Earl has seen it all
26
26
RURAL REFLECTIONS
Summer is winding down
O N T H E COV E R
DuBois-based NASCAR
driver Benny Gordon hopes to
raise awareness of the
September 11 Memorial and
Museum through this
memorial car.
Photo by Kathy Hackleman.
SEPTEMBER 2009 • PENN
LINES
3
KEEPINGcurrent
Going once, going twice —
Slinkys sold to highest
bidders
Nostalgia buffs hit the jackpot July 25,
2009, at the auction of the estate of Betty
James in Hollidaysburg, a community
served by Valley Rural Electric Cooperative. While Mrs. James’ name is not a
household word, there are few people
who would not recognize the simple
object that brought her fame: the Slinky.
Betty James and her husband,
Richard, the inventor of the classic,
springy toy, co-founded James Industries Inc. in 1945. She assumed control of
the company in 1960 after he left the
United States to live in Bolivia, where he
later died.
Betty James, who died in November
2008, moved James Industries from
Philadelphia to her hometown of Hollidaysburg in 1965. Her company was sold
to Michigan-based POOF Products Inc.
in 1998, but it remains in Hollidaysburg.
She was inducted into the Toy Manufacturer’s Hall of Fame in 2001, a year after
the Slinky was inducted into the
National Toy Hall of Fame.
Although the original Slinky is in the
Smithsonian, there were plenty of toys
at the auction to satisfy anyone from the
most avid collector to the merely curi4
PENN
ous. There were original Slinkys in their
orange-brown boxes, gold-colored 40thand 50th-anniversary limited editions,
Slinky board games, Slink the dog from
“Toy Story” movie fame, Slinky eyeglasses, a Slinky Santa, a Slinky pull toy
and even a lone Nittany Slinky for the
Penn State fans.
In addition to the Slinkys, the auction
included furnishings, personal items,
vehicles and Mrs. James’ 8,000-squarefoot home. Approximately 600 people
attended the auction conducted by Roan
Inc. Auctioneers and Appraisers of
Cogan Station.
Jimmy Stewart inducted
into Aviation Hall of Fame
The late Hollywood actor Jimmy
Stewart was inducted into the National
Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio,
in July 2009. Stewart is a native of Indiana, Pa., which is located in REA
Energy Cooperative service territory.
While much better known for his
starring roles in classic movies such
as “It’s a Wonderful Life” and
“Philadelphia Story,” Stewart was
a bomber pilot during World War
II. A private pilot before he
enlisted in the Army in 1941,
Stewart was assigned to the
U.K.-based 445th Bomb Group,
first as a squadron operations
officer and then as its commander.
Stewart, who flew 20 combat missions in B-24s, earned the Distinguished
Flying Cross, the Croix de Guerre and
the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters. He continued to serve with the U.S.
Air Force Reserve after the war ended,
and achieved the rank of brigadier general in 1959. He retired in 1968 but
remained an American airpower advocate until his death in 1997.
Stewart is remembered in his hometown with the Jimmy Stewart Museum,
LINES • SEPTEMBER 2009
which operates
out of the third
floor of the
Indiana Public
Library. The
president of the
museum, Carson Greene,
attended the
ceremony and
stated, “(Stewart) was a good
guy, devoted to
family, country and craft. … If Jimmy
were here tonight, and I believe he is, he
would be honored to be among these
inductees.”
Also inducted into the Aviation Hall
of Fame were astronaut Edward White,
who made America’s first spacewalk in
1965 but was killed in the Apollo 1 spacecraft fire two years later; Eileen Collins,
the Air Force’s first female flight instructor and the first woman to command an
American space mission; and Russell
Meyer Jr., a former fighter pilot in the
U.S. Air Force and Marine Reserves and
former chairman & CEO of the Cessna
Aircraft Co.
The Aviation Hall of Fame was
founded in 1962 in Dayton, Ohio, hometown of aviation pioneers Wilbur and
Orville Wright. The Wright brothers
were the first inductees.
Dairy Product Price
Support Program amounts
increased
The recent increase in prices paid
through the Dairy Product Price Support
Program — effective August through
October — will increase dairy farmers’
revenue by an estimated $243 million,
according to the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA).
USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack
announced in July that the Obama
that crafted the final 2008 Farm Bill.
In recent years, the United States has
become a net importer of specialty crops,
which was part of the reason the Farm
Bill contained provisions aimed at assisting U.S. specialty crops, Shuler noted.
Penn State: Pennsylvania
to be warmer, wetter
Administration is taking immediate
action to support struggling dairy farmers. The increase will raise the price
paid for nonfat dry milk from 80 cents
to 92 cents per pound, cheddar blocks
from $1.13 to $1.31 per pound, and cheddar barrels from $1.10 to $1.28 per
pound, which will increase the price
that dairy farmers receive for their milk.
Scientists at Penn State University’s
Environmental and Natural Resources
Institute, in a climate change study
released in July 2009, estimate that temperatures in Pennsylvania could rise an
average of 3 to 7 degrees by the century’s
end and they believe more precipitation
is likely, especially in winter, although it
is expected to fall as more rain and less
snow.
The study, which was mandated by
state law in 2008 to be conducted for the
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, added that the sever-
ity of changes will depend on greenhouse gas emission levels.
Because global climate changes are
slow, reductions in emissions would not
have an immediate impact, according to
James Shortle, director of the institute
and professor of agricultural and environmental economics.
“But changes now will have a large
impact on the climate we experience in
the second half of this century, and
those decisions need to be made today,”
Shortle said in a statement. l
Local farmers see boost
from Farm Bill
Initiatives in the 2008 Farm Bill are
helping the development of the nation’s
specialty crop industry, according to testimony presented by family farmers in
July 2009 at hearings by the U.S. House
Subcommittee on Rural Development,
Entrepreneurship and Trade.
Specialty crops, which include fresh
fruits, vegetables and horticultural plants,
is one of the fastest emerging sectors in
U.S. agriculture and now comprises
nearly one-third of U.S. crop production.
Instead of providing direct subsidies
to farmers, the specialty crop programs
help improve farmers markets and community-supported agriculture initiatives,
and assist farmers with issues such as
pest management and food safety.
These initiatives help to strengthen
the agricultural economy and also provide healthier food choices for more
Americans, according to U.S. Rep. Heath
Shuler (D-N.C.). Shuler was appointed
as the Small Business Committee representative for the conference committee
SEPTEMBER 2009 • PENN
LINES
5
ENERGYmatters
Electric cooperatives
seek cap on ‘cap and trade’
By S cott Gate s
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
Legislation passed by the U.S. House
of Representatives and under consideration by the U.S. Senate aims to curb
emissions of carbon dioxide from power
plants, vehicles, refineries, and factories
through a system called cap and trade.
Electric cooperatives argue cap and
trade will unfairly burden consumers
with increased electric bills unless
affordability is made a priority; initial
federal estimates say otherwise.
“Official government projections show
cost impacts to be on the low side,” says
Glenn English, CEO of the Arlington,
Va.-based National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. “We say to Congress:
put it in the bill, set it in stone. If you
think costs will be low, guarantee it.”
English points to an “economic safety
valve” as an option, an economic term
used to describe how possible skyrocketing electric bills could be prevented to
protect consumers.
Under the cap-and-trade system currently proposed by Congress, total
nationwide carbon dioxide emissions
would have to remain under a set limit,
or cap. Any source of carbon dioxide,
like a power plant, would then have to
account for all of its emissions with
“allowances,” or permits, issued by the
federal government.
“Some allowances would be given for
free, but sources without enough to
cover 100 percent of their emissions
would have to buy the remainder on the
open market — and as the number of
allowances is reduced, prices will only
go up,” English explains. “Consumers
6
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have cause for concern because these
costs will be added to their electric bills,
while also affecting the prices of other
goods and services. This legislation has
the potential to affect our economy on a
monumental scale.”
The safety valve would establish an
additional pool of federal allowances
available at a set price. At certain times
the fixed cost of those federal allowances
may be higher than what is being sold
on the open market. But if market prices
for allowances spike, the federal
allowances would always remain stable
to guarantee a “cap” on prices — a cost
limit for dealing with climate change.
“The whole purpose of a safety valve
is to ensure that co-ops and businesses
know what maximum costs could be in
LINES • SEPTEMBER 2009
any given year,” English argues. “It provides economic certainty, allowing for
the fact that at some point these costs
could rise to levels more than our economy can bear.”
English stresses that now is the time
for consumers to voice their concerns
about how climate change legislation
could impact their electric bills. The Our
Energy, Our Future™ grassroots campaign provides a way to send messages
to Congress through its website,
www.ourenergy.coop.
“Call your senators. Send them a letter or email from the campaign website,”
he says. “They need to hear from co-op
members — their constituents—before
making these decisions that will affect
us all.” l
Scott Gates writes on consumer and
cooperative affairs for the National Rural
Electric Cooperative Association, the
Arlington, Va.-based service arm of the
nation’s 900-plus consumer-owned, not-forprofit electric cooperatives.
READERresponse
In response to two articles in July’s Penn Lines, a
reader wanted to share his concerns about certain
energy-related products in the marketplace:
I got my July issue yesterday and read it cover to cover
– well, I skipped a few things. Two articles particularly interested me: “Beware of Energy Claims too Good to be True”
and “Perks of Portable Air Conditioners.” I think the latter
may lead some technically challenged people to fall for a
scam that is often advertised on full pages in major newspapers. The headline of the ad is something like “Public
staying cool for just pennies.” What the buyer actually gets is a very expensive
gadget that is essentially a fan blowing over ice cubes. In the winter, the same
company advertises an expensive portable electric heater using outrageous
claims. It would have been good if the article on energy claims had warned
readers about devices that are advertised to be energy savers but are really
overpriced pieces of junk.
Orville Boston, Blairsville
REA Energy Cooperative
PENNlines
Race to
remember
DuBois-based NASCAR driver Benny Gordon
fields memorial car in tribute to memory of lives
lost in Sept. 11 terrorist attacks
anniversary of the attacks.
“I was deeply impacted by the events
of Sept. 11 and my heart went out to the
families of those who lost their lives,”
Gordon explains. “I hope that racing
this car will not just be a way to mark
the eighth anniversary of the attacks,
but will also help remind others that
we have an obligation to remember.”
by Kathy Hackleman
A s s o c i a t e E d i t o r / Wr i t e r
HE’S A WINNER: Benny Gordon kneels beside his
car after claiming his second Hooters Pro Cup
Title in November 2008 at Rockingham Speedway
in Rockingham, N.C.
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PENN
Local connection
Gordon is a member of United Electric Cooperative, which, like the driver,
is based in DuBois, about 100 miles
PHOTO COURTESY OF WWW.BENNYGORDON.US
WHEN Benny Gordon was 9, racing a
quarter midget down a dirt track made
him smile. Thirty years later, Gordon
now drives bigger, faster cars on tracks
that are NASCAR-sanctioned. But when
it comes to talking about the sport he
loves, that grin still stretches from ear to
ear.
This year, he’s taking that love of racing and combining it with a love of his
country — and a desire to make sure
Americans always remember the events
of Sept. 11, 2001.
Gordon is primed to take part in the
NASCAR Nationwide Series race on
Sept. 11, 2009, at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Va. Racing
under the team name North South
Motorsports, Gordon and the car’s
owner, VSI Racing, Brockway, Pa., are
partnering with the National September
11 Memorial and Museum in New York
City to field a custom-designed 2009
Ford Fusion as a tribute to those who
lost their lives in the coordinated terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Gordon
hopes this way of marking the tragic
anniversary ultimately will lead to
financial support for the memorial and
museum, guaranteeing its scheduled
opening before Sept. 11, 2011, the 10th
LINES • SEPTEMBER 2009
from the Sept. 11, 2001, crash site of
United Flight 93. That airplane, in the
fourth and final of the crashes precipitated by the terrorist attacks, went
down near Shanksville, Pa., in territory
served by Somerset Rural Electric
Cooperative (See information about the
Somerset memorial site on Page 13).
The special blue, black and white
paint design of Gordon’s Sept. 11 memorial car, which was unveiled in New
York City in a ceremony that included
city officials, first responders and construction crews, was completed in
DuBois.
The memorial design of Gordon’s car
was created just for the Richmond race.
The cost to transform Gordon’s car into
a memorial on wheels was approximately $100,000. Unlike typical race cars,
there are no main advertising locations
on the Sept. 11 memorial car. It features
the new logo for the National September
11 Memorial and Museum Foundation in
the main sponsor location, along with
the phrases, “9/11 Memorial” and
“Always Remember.” Once the Richmond race is history, the car will be
repainted with the typical focus on
sponsor logos.
VSI Racing’s owner, Frank Varischetti,
LAST-MINUTE CHANGES: Benny Gordon places his
No. 72 on the memorial car as a representative of
EP Designs, which painted the car in Brockway, Pa.,
touches up the top of the car.
also attended the official unveiling in
New York City. Varischetti is used to following the vehicle and Gordon around
the United States as he attends all of
Gordon’s Nationwide Series races.
He explains how he came to be
involved with Gordon and the National
Association for Stock Car Auto Racing
Inc. — more commonly known as
NASCAR.
“I knew of Benny for years,” reports
Varischetti, who also is a member of
United Electric Cooperative. “He was a
local athlete in DuBois and I watched
him wrestle when he was in high
school. I have always followed racing
and I own a couple of dirt track cars. So
I watched what he was doing in the pro
races, and then I decided to get involved
in the NASCAR Nationwide Series with
him.”
Varischetti is plenty willing to give
up his advertising space on the Sept. 11
memorial car at the Richmond race
because he also wants to keep the memory of the Sept. 11 attacks alive through
the museum and memorial.
“I remember that day vividly,”
Varischetti says. “… I think this is a
really good idea to keep the level of
awareness up. Many people will see this
car and be reminded. … Not having my
logo on the car for that race is well
worth it in terms of the amount of
awareness it will raise
for the September 11
Memorial and Museum.”
This is the first time
that Gordon has fielded a
memorial car, but he’s
operated all kinds of other vehicles in his career.
Carolina, where his brother was living.
He raced super stocks, then late model
cars, for some years before shifting his
interest from racing to building cars. He
operated a chassis shop in the
Charleston, S.C., area for about eight
Early start
His love affair with
racing began when he
was 7 years old when his
older brother, Todd,
began racing a car he
built in high school on DuBois-area dirt
tracks.
“I enjoyed going to his races and
watching the drivers,” Gordon remembers. “I started racing a quarter midget,
which is more like a go-cart, when I
was 9. When I was old enough, I
bought a full-bodied stock car to race
on local tracks.”
Gordon went on to attend Penn State
University for a couple of years, eventually transferring to a college in South
COMPUTER ON BOARD: There’s a computer system set up in the 53-foot trailer that hauls the
cars to races. The trailer also features a fully
stocked parts inventory, food center, lounge, pit
box and crash cart.
years, and then returned slowly to his
first love — racing — by way of the AllPro Circuit and then the USARacing
Series.
Gordon moved back to his hometown of DuBois in 2004, determined to
SEPTEMBER 2009 • PENN
LINES
9
PENNlines
‘JUST LIKE A CARNIVAL RIDE’: Benny Gordon
demonstrates how securely he is strapped in during a race, comparing the experience to the safety of a carnival ride.
succeed as a professional race car driver. And succeed he has. He’s second in
all-time wins on the USARacing Series
circuit and holds circuit national championships from 2005 and 2008. He also
raced in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck
Series in 2007 and 2008.
This year, he moved into the
NASCAR Nationwide Series, the second-highest level of professional competition, running an abbreviated season of
seven races.
Gordon believes his success in professional racing indicates he should be
concentrating on the higher-level competitions, but that’s an expensive
proposition. He estimates he would
need $6 million to $8 million a year to
field a full-time Nationwide Series racing team. That includes expenses for
multiple vehicles and experts to work
on them.
“You have to work on the marketing
and promotional side and get your deals
Benny Gordon unloads his race car from
the top deck of his 53-foot-long trailer. He always
travels to a race with two vehicles so that if something should happen to the first one, he still has a
spare to race.
UNLOADING:
10
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LINES • SEPTEMBER 2009
locked in early,” Gordon notes. “What
you do in the off-season is actually
more important than the racing season
itself.”
That’s because without financial
backing, there is no racing season, so
Gordon has one full-time marketing
specialist to assist
him and he also
spends time making personal contacts to increase
sponsorships. His
primary sponsors
are Samuel and
Sons Metal Company out of Canada,
and VSI Racing. Secondary sponsors
include Piccadilly Restaurants, Hyatt,
Lincoln Electric, Toshiba, Roush Yates
Engines, Ford Racing, Heintz Performance Parts and Safety Kleen. In return
for their sponsorships, businesses have
their logos displayed on Gordon’s race
cars and the trailer that hauls them.
Gordon currently has two cars he
races in the Nationwide Series, four for
USARacing Series competitions, one
truck for the Camping World Series,
along with one dirt track car that he
runs on local tracks when he’s in the
DuBois area looking for fun. When he’s
on his way to a race, the vehicles go
with him in the upper deck of a 53-footlong trailer that features a fully stocked
parts inventory, food center, lounge, pit
box and crash cart. If there’s a crash, he
explains, his team uses the crash cart to
weld his car back together so he can get
back in the race.
Race day
When Gordon is gearing up for a
race, his day starts early. All drivers go
through a tech session where race officials check vehicle weights, heights,
widths, motors, transmissions and safety equipment, along with fuel checks.
During the rookie driver’s meeting, a
veteran driver explains the peculiarities
of that specific track. This is usually followed by a couple of hours of practice
time, which includes fine-tuning the
vehicle to make it as fast as possible.
Then drivers take a mock qualifying
run to see what they can get out of their
car at that track before beginning the
serious qualifying runs. Drivers who
qualify are allowed to choose pit stalls
in their qualifying order and the crew
begins final preparations for racing.
Once he’s on the track, Gordon says
he has only one thought: “How to get in
the lead if I’m not there or how to stay
in the lead if I am there.” Sometimes, he
says, he contemplates how much trouble, time and money it would take to
put a car back together if he would happen to crash.
One thing that never crosses his
mind is the potential danger.
“With all of the safety equipment,
there really isn’t much of a chance of
getting hurt,” he explains. “It’s like a
carnival ride while you’re in there.
You’re really protected by good
restraints.”
That said, just like many other professional racers, he has had more than a
few crashes. The only serious one, however, was back in 1998 at Bristol, Tenn.,
in a qualifying round when he crashed
and burned. Literally. If bystanders
hadn’t pulled him from the flaming car,
he would have been much more seriously injured. As it was, he suffered
only a burn on his arm.
Benny Gordon takes a look at what’s under the hood. He’s a hands-on driver who
still works on his own cars.
IT’S WHAT MATTERS:
His thoughts about his chosen sport
don’t end when the race is finished.
“I’m constantly thinking how to
make my car better,” Gordon explains.
“There are so many adjustments you
can do to the car to make it better and
faster. As it gets cooler or hotter, you
have to constantly be adjusting it, and
communicating with your crew chief.”
His plans for the coming winter are
to build a super speedway car that he
can race in 2010 in the Nationwide
Series. His long-term plans include taking a shot at NASCAR’s highest level of
competition, the Sprint Cup Series. He
explains that any driver with the
appropriate level of experience, a competitive vehicle and the required finan-
SEPTEMBER 2009 • PENN
LINES
11
PENNlines
cial backing can run qualifying trials at
NASCAR-sanctioned races. With his
background, he believes he could be
competitive in the Sprint Cup Series if
he could secure the required sponsorships.
But that belief surprises even him.
“I’ve always enjoyed cars, but when
I bought my first race car, it was strictly
for fun,” Gordon notes. “I never even
considered being a professional race car
driver. My first check was for $15 and I
couldn’t believe they would pay me to
race a car. … I didn’t set out to be a professional race car driver. I enjoyed it
and did well at it, and it led here and
Todd Gordon, right, puts the finishing touches on his brother’s memorial car.
Benny Gordon, below, will travel with his newly
designed Sept. 11 memorial car, to the Virginia
529 College Savings 250 NASCAR Nationwide
Series Race at Richmond International Raceway
in Richmond, Va.
READY TO GO:
12
PENN
LINES • SEPTEMBER 2009
that’s how I make my living now. … It is
hard to believe you can have this much
fun at work.”
For the fans
But Gordon isn’t just
providing entertainment
for himself. He provides it
for fans as well.
Racing enthusiasts are
so dedicated that they have
made racing the nation’s
No. 1 spectator sport with
NASCAR races holding 17
of the top 20 highestattended sporting events
in the United States. It is
that fan dedication that
Leroy Walls, a member of
the New Enterprise Rural
Electric Cooperative Board
of Directors and an avid
racing fan, believes will
bring awareness to the September 11
Memorial and Museum through Gordon’s memorial car.
“Race fans are extremely loyal, loyal
to the sponsors of the cars, the brands
of the cars,” Walls notes. “It’s an old
quote from the 1980s, but the president
of Ford Motor Co. once said, ‘Win on
Sunday, sell on Monday.’
That is very true of this
sport and true for myself. I
support whatever is on those
cars because I support racing and I know it takes a lot
of money to do it, so I support the brands on the cars.
… Fans will without question support what is on
those cars.”
David Wright, a member
of the Valley Rural Electric
Cooperative Board of Directors and the former owner of
a concession business that
operated at NASCAR races
all over the United States,
agrees with Walls.
“NASCAR fans are very,
very patriotic and charitable,” Wright says. “When it
comes to supporting things like the
Sept. 11 memorial when it is tied to a
race car, NASCAR fans are very charitable. This could definitely strike a chord
with most of the NASCAR fans.”
Varischetti, who attends all of Gordon’s Nationwide Series races, is one of
those long-time NASCAR fans who
loves to follow the sport.
He describes Gordon as genuine,
adding, “He’s very generous, a good guy.
He’s kind of humble and very hands-on
with his cars. A lot of drivers just jump
into their cars and drive them, but Benny works on his cars.”
And, even though he’s the owner of
the vehicles, Varischetti doesn’t offer
any opinions on racing techniques.
“Benny and the crew chief and the
guys who work on the car know more
about that than I do,” he explains. “I
just give them encouragement and tell
them to do the best they can.”
That is Gordon’s goal for the Sept. 11
race — to run the best race he can while
also raising awareness and funds for a
larger cause.
Information about Gordon’s racing
history and his upcoming races is available at www.bennygordon.us. l
SEPTEMBER 11 EVENTS
k Richmond International Raceway will host the Virginia 529 College Savings 250
NASCAR Nationwide Series Race on Sept. 11.
k The National September 11 Memorial and Museum staff will present Richmond
International Raceway with an American flag that flew over Ground Zero.
k Lt. Mickey Kross, a survivor of the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center’s
North Tower, and Lou Mendes, who oversees construction of the memorial in
New York City, will be present during the Sept. 11 race weekend.
k The September 11 Memorial and Museum’s “text-to-donate” program, which it is
running for the next few months, will be promoted during the NASCAR Nationwide race. The donation program will allow people to text 25383 with the letters “WTC” to donate $5, which will be added directly to the individual’s cell
phone bill.
k A ticket includes Nationwide Series practice and qualifying, as well as the Sprint
Cup Series practice and qualifying. Tickets start at $35; children 12 and under
are admitted free with a ticketed adult. Tickets can be purchased at www.rir.com
or by calling the ticket office at 866/455-RACE (7223).
Pennsylvania and 9/11
Rural Pennsylvania – specifically Somerset County – was thrust into the international spotlight along with the World Trade Center in New York City and the
Pentagon in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 11, 2001. Forty passengers and crew members died when United Flight 93 crashed into a field near Shanksville after terrorists hijacked their plane en route from Newark, N.J., to San Francisco and diverted
it back toward the East Coast.
The airplane, a Boeing 757, went down shortly after 10 a.m. EDT, the fourth of
four hijacked planes to crash that day.
Today, a temporary memorial operated
by the National Park Service is located at
the crash site and work is progressing on a
permanent memorial, with the goal of having it completed by Sept. 11, 2011, the 10th
anniversary of the attack. The site is open
every day from dawn to dusk.
The site of the Flight 93 crash is in territory served by Somerset Rural Electric
Cooperative. Cooperative crews, responding
to reported outages in the area, were
among the first people at the crash scene
and assisted as needed in the investigative
and recovery efforts.
Top, temporary memorial in Somerset County. Bottom, artist’s rendering of proposed permanent
memorial.
SEPTEMBER 2009 • PENN
LINES
13
TIMElines
Yo u r N e w s m a g a z i n e T h r o u g h t h e Y e a r s
1979
THIRTY YEARS AGO, Penn Lines featured Sea Solar Power Inc., located in
York, Pa., a pioneer in sea thermal power, also known as ocean-thermal
energy conversion (OTEC).
The sea is the largest collector and reservoir of solar energy on Earth, and
sea thermal power is a method of converting this continually renewable store of
solar energy into electricity, fuel and chemicals. It uses the difference in temperature between the ocean’s surface and its depths to generate electrical power.
Although the principle of sea thermal power was demonstrated in 1929
by Georges Claude’s experimental plant on the coast of Cuba, it was
J. Hilbert Anderson, the founder of Sea Solar Power Inc., who first indicated
its economic feasibility.
Prior to beginning full-time research on sea thermal power in 1962, Anderson had extensive experience designing refrigeration and heat power cycles.
Today, 30 years after being profiled in Penn Lines, Sea Solar Power Inc.,
continues to develop and test key elements of a Rankine cycle OTEC plant,
including vapor turbines, water pumps, heat exchangers, cold water pipe,
vacuum pump, and integrated floating structures. Although the original
founder of the company died in 2004, his son, James H. Anderson Jr., and
grandson, James H. Anderson III, continue to work at the firm, now located
in Jacobus, a suburb of York.
The Abell Foundation of Baltimore, Md., a charitable foundation whose
mission is to invest in important new technologies and increase employment
in the Baltimore area, is now the exclusive licensee of Sea Solar Power’s
OTEC technology and is responsible for marketing and commercial development of the technology.
1969 Millions of youth now heading back to
school are often unpredictable and may dart into
traffic when it is least expected, so drivers are
encouraged to be vigilant.
14
PENN
LINES • SEPTEMBER 2009
1989 Todd Herrman, PREA audiovisual specialist and national bowhunting champion, offers
tips on selecting and using modern bowhunting
equipment.
1999 Fears over potential power outages caused
by the Year 2000 (Y2K) computer bug cause
stores to sell out of emergency generators as
suppliers remain swamped with orders.
OUTDOORadventures
On the
lonesome
prairie
In Wyoming, you can
experience awe-inspiring,
immense solitude
I’VE NEVER been lost in any
of the wild places of Pennsylvania. Many times I’ve arrived
at spots that were in different
locations than I had expected,
but I don’t count those. And,
sometimes I’ve been twisted
around enough, in a blinding
snowstorm or a sudden fog,
that I decided to just plunk
myself down, with the trunk
of a tree between me and the
harshest elements, but that’s
not being lost either.
In those instances when
some might have considered
me to be almost lost, I remember a strong sense of being
alone, a level of solitude different from the feeling of just
being alone. It was a sense of
being alone that seemed to be
on the edge of actually mattering, an aloneness that almost
could have had consequences.
It was a different solitude,
somehow a deeper solitude,
than just being alone in the
MARCUS SCHNECK ,
outdoors editor at The
Patriot-News (Harrisburg) and outdoor
blogger at
www.pennlive.com, is
the author of more
than two dozen outdoors books and a contributor to many state
and national publications. You can reach him
at [email protected]
16
PENN
by Marcus Schneck
wild, even in the wildest
places in Pennsylvania.
There’s a solitude to be had in
being alone in places like the
top of Cedar Mountain on the
west rim of Pine Creek Gorge
or out among the islands in
the Susquehanna River near
Halifax or among the vast and
twisting wetlands between
Meadville and Union City. But
it’s not quite as deeply felt.
On a recent trip to
Wyoming I found yet another,
even deeper level of solitude.
Cruising the prairies of southwestern Wyoming, following
the lonely roads that slice
their solitary paths through
those lands, I arrived at spot
after spot, where I could see
for miles and miles. And, yet
all I could see was flat, sandy
vastness, sporting nothing
taller than sage brush. No
hills, no trees, no buildings,
nothing, until the flatness
eventually collided into the
foothills of the Rockies, many,
many miles away.
In the long gaps between
passing cars and trucks —
and there were many such
gaps — an intense and
immense solitude came crashing in from all directions,
bringing with it impressions
of desolation and emptiness.
What if my rental SUV
wouldn’t start again? Was my
cell phone registering any
bars way out here? Did I even
know how far I had driven
from the last town?
On the other hand, it was
an awe-inspiring experience
in a soul-touching spot. I now
know my cell phone had
plenty of bars out there on the
prairie, because I called my
wife, back here in Pennsylva-
LINES • SEPTEMBER 2009
nia, to describe and share the
experience.
Eventually my thoughts
turned to others who had experienced similar thoughts in
those same spots. I was quite
close to locations that still bear
tracks carved into the prairie by
the passing of hundreds, even
thousands, of horse- and oxendrawn wagons passing along
the Oregon Trail.
How much deeper must
have been the sense of isolation, remoteness and abandonment felt by those pioneers 160 or 170 years ago. No
cell phones for them. They
had severed all contact with
everything back east, where
they had lived among trees
and meadows and hills and
other people. Even in a train
of 100 wagons, how deeply,
bone-chillingly alone they
must have felt.
After researching her way
through dozens of Oregon
Trail diaries, author Kristiana
Travelers on
Wyoming’s prairie roads can see
“nothing” for miles and miles.
LONELY ROADS:
Gregory latched onto the feeling of being alone and isolated
for the title of her book,
“Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: The Oregon Trail
Diary of Hattie Campbell.”
Frank Stevens, who actually traveled the trail in 1880
and kept his own diary along
the way, described the plains
as “it had not one picturesque
or beautiful feature; nor had it
any of the features of
grandeur, other than its vast
extent, its solitude and its
wilderness. For league after
league, a plain as level as a
frozen lake was outspread
beneath us.”
I don’t believe any of the
levels of alone that I’ve experienced were deep enough to
inspire the title for a book; the
subject for this column, yes,
but not the title for a book. l
SMARTcircuits
by James Dulley
Building
efficiency from
the ground up
LEADERSHIP in Energy and Environmental Design — LEED — is a certification procedure developed by the Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Green Building
Council (USGBC) to promote environmentally responsible and sustainable
housing.
Some of the other key specific benefits of a LEED house are to have lower
overall operating costs and increased
value at time of resale. During construction, waste is reused or recycled to
reduce the amount sent to landfills. By
design, the houses conserve water and
reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And
from a social standpoint, building a
LEED house demonstrates the owner’s
interest in environmental issues.
LEED-certified homes do generally
cost more upfront than a comparable
house built to typical building codes.
But when you consider the energy savings, water savings and possible tax
abatement, the benefits of certification
will quickly make up for its higher initial cost. The maximum annual abatement depends upon the specific certification level of the house (certified, silver,
gold, platinum, as described below).
Contact your local tax authorities to see
what tax abatements apply in your area.
Even though the certification process
was developed by a U.S. organization, it
is recognized and used by many countries. Environmental, energy and water
conservation issues are no longer just
local or domestic concerns. They are
global issues that impact the entire
planet.
In order to build a LEED house, you
or your builder must apply for certification through the USGBC. The registration fee for a single family house is
about $150 to $225. You must be able to
18
PENN
verify the types of materials, equipment
and appliances used.
You will also have to find a certified
inspector to visit your house during construction to determine the total number
of points you get toward certification. A
house is given points for various material and conservation criteria — something as simple as using decking screws
and fasteners made partially from recycled metals may gain a LEED point. For
a residential house, there are 108 possible points. If a house reaches 30 points,
it is a LEED “certified” house. At 50
points, it is certified “silver,” at 70 points
it is “gold,” and at 90 points it is “platinum.”
Energy efficiency features gain the
most LEED points. These features must
be extremely energy efficient, not just
what the manufacturers call their
“energy efficient” product line. For example, extra heavy insulation — higher than
code standards — earns one point.
Installing windows that are 20 percent
more efficient than Energy Star requirements provides two points. A better furnace gets three points.
Water conservation is another area
that impacts the environment. The following yield one point each: capturing
LINES • SEPTEMBER 2009
rainwater for irrigation, installing a
greywater recycling system, and
installing low-flow showerheads, toilets,
and bathroom faucets.
It is not extremely difficult to build a
LEED house. For example, Deltec Homes
(www.deltechomes.com), a maker of
build-it-yourself circular panelized
houses, recently earned a platinum certification for a house built in New Orleans.
There are a couple of dozen thirdparty “LEED for Homes” providers
(usually part of the Residential Energy
Service Network at www.resnet.us)
across the country who work with the
USGBC. They contract with qualified
local home inspectors to follow and rate
houses registered for LEED certification.
For more information about LEEDcertified homes, including project registration guidelines and a full list of those
providing technical, marketing and verification support to builders, visit
www.usgbc.org. l
is a nationally syndicated energy management expert. You
can reach him at James Dulley, c/o Penn
Lines, 6906 Royalgreen Drive, Cincinnati,
OH 45244.
JAMES DULLEY
COUNTRYkitchen
by Kitty Halke -Staley
One-pot meals
THE WEATHER will soon be cooling down and it’s
time to start thinking about comfort food. That’s especially true when you look at these “one-pot meals.” Serve
any of these with a fresh green salad or some of the delicious seasonal vegetables still available, and finish the
meal off with a light dessert of fresh fruit from your local
orchard.
And since the prep and cooking time for all of these
is about an hour, you can make them any time and still
have time to play with the kids or just spend some special time for yourself!
Enjoy the beginning of fall and the cooler weather
and these family favorite chicken dishes. l
is a cooking professional and freelance writer from
rural Pennsylvania. Send recipes and comments to her in care of: Penn Lines, P.O.
Box 1266, Harrisburg, PA 17108-1266.
KITTY HALKE-STALEY
SOUP
EGETABLE
-V
N
E
K
IC
CH
emade broth
m
n broth, or ho
e can chicke
nc
ou
rn
2co
1/
le
14
1
-sty
e can cream
1 14 3/4-ounc chicken
ed
dd
ed vegetables
2 cups shre
e frozen mix
ag
ck
pa
ce
un
1 10-o
t sauce
1 teaspoon ho gar
su
on
po
as
1/4 te
a full
er to taste
epan. Bring to
Salt and pepp
e-quart sauc edium heat about
re
th
a
in
s
er m
ingredient
bles. Cook ov
Combine all
frozen vegeta
up
ng
ki
ea
br
boil,
.
one-half hour
COUNTRY CHICKEN
AND BISCUITS
6 cups cut-up cooked chi
cken
1 1/4 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
1 16-ounce bag frozen mix
ed vegetables
2 cans 14 1/2- ounce chi
cken broth, or
homemade broth
1/4 cup cornstarch
3/4 cup cold water
1 tablespoon chopped fre
sh parsley
or 1/2 teaspoon dried par
sley (if desired)
3 1/3 cups Bisquick
1 cup milk
Heat oven to 400 degree
s. Heat chicken, onions, cel
ery, vegetables and
broth to boil in large pan
. In small bowl, stir cornst
arch
until dissolved. Add to chi
cken mixture. Heat to a boi and cold water
l, stirring constantly.
Boil and stir about 1-2 min
utes, remove from heat,
add parsley. Pour into
ungreased 9-inch by 13-inc
h pan.
Stir Bisquick and milk unt
il soft dough forms. Drop
by tea
chicken mixture. Bake for
about 30-35 minutes or unt spoonfuls onto
il biscuits are golden
brown.
20
PENN
LINES • SEPTEMBER 2009
BAKED
BU
TTERMIL
1 envelope
K CHICK
onion sou
EN
p mix
1 cup all-p
urpose flo
ur
1 teaspoon
ca
2 large eg yenne pepper
gs
1/2 cup bu
ttermilk (d
o not subst
3 pounds
chic
itu
1/4 cup bu ken (skin removed te)
)
tter, melte
d
Preheat ove
n to 425 d
and cayen
egrees. Co
ne
m
chicken pie pepper and set asid bine onion soup mix
e. Beat eg
ces in butt
gs into butt with flour
ermilk mix
each piece
tu
.P
e
tor for abo lace in a large shall re, then flour mixture rmilk. Dip
ow baking
ut one-half
, coating
p
butter, the
n bake for hour. Remove from re an and chill in refrig
era
about 45 m
fr
inutes or u igerator, drizzle wit h
ntil well do
ne.
POWERplants
by Barbara Martin
Compost:
breaking it
down
IT’S counterintuitive to think
about composting now, just as
the gardening season ends,
but this is a great time to set
up your composting operation. Soon we will receive one
of the biggest windfalls a gardener can reap: the autumn
leaf drop. Those falling leaves
are free organic matter, perfect for amending soil and for
use as mulch. And those
pesky multitudes of leaves
can easily become the basis of
your compost pile for next
year’s garden. Smart gardeners hoard fall leaves for making the holy grail of all composts, leaf mold (also known
as leafmould).
Natural processes like
weathering and microbial
action (and composting)
explain why forest trees are
not growing through 10-footdeep piles of accumulated
dead leaves. Year in and year
out, the fallen leaves serve as
automatic mulch, then
degrade and break down into
smaller and smaller pieces to
feed or renew the soil.
Every time we tidynessobsessed gardeners rake away
BARBARA MARTIN ,
who says she began
gardening as a hobby
“too many years ago to
count,” currently works
for the National Gardening Association as a horticulturist. A former
member of Gettysburg-based Adams Electric Cooperative, her articles appear in magazines and on the internet.
the fallen autumn leaves and
frost-killed plants, we interrupt that natural mulching
and soil renewal process.
Then, to replenish organic
matter in the soil, we must
layer on natural mulch materials.
When gardeners go to the
trouble of making compost,
they usually hope to accelerate the natural process or at
least control the results. To
make compost at home, you
can heap it in a pile or corral
it in a wire mesh cylinder, a
wooden bin, a store-bought
plastic compost container or a
fancy tumbler-style drum.
They all work.
There are many opinions,
methods, techniques and even
recipes for making the perfect
compost, but they all hinge on
one thing: compost happens,
with or without your help.
The basic procedure is to
accumulate a large quantity of
organic material and let it rot.
You’ll need bulk — a quantity
measuring about 3 to 5 feet
high and wide and deep. Ideally, use a ratio of roughly half
carbon-rich “brown” material
and half nitrogen-rich “green”
material.
For “browns” you could
use autumn leaves or straw or
wood chips. High nitrogen or
“green” materials include
fresh grass clippings, freshly
pulled seed-free weeds, fruit
or vegetable peelings, etc. (If
you have mostly browns on
hand, possible nitrogen
sources might include farm
yard manure/bedding or a
light sprinkling of nitrogen
fertilizer.) Some gardeners
also add a bucketful of rich
garden soil. Avoid material
treated with pesticides or herbicides and omit cat or dog
droppings.
Mix the green and brown
materials together, add
enough water to make the
material slightly damp
throughout, and wait. To
accelerate the process, periodically turn the compost,
stir it, or fork it from one
spot to another.
Composting stops if the
material dries out. In dry
weather, cover the compost
with a tarp so it stays damp.
In rainy weather, cover the
compost to prevent it from
becoming water-logged. If the
compost smells bad, it is usually either too wet or too
“green.” To correct both, mix
in more dry, brown material.
Finally, composting stops during cold weather. You may not
see much change until mid
summer when you notice that
the volume has shrunk drastically. It’s finished when the
material looks fairly uniform
and is crumbly and brown.
Homemade compost takes
at least several months to
mature. A batch made with
ample nitrogen finishes faster
COMPOST AT HOME: Start a compost
pile at home this fall and be ready for
gardening in the spring.
than one that is predominantly carbon. Depending on
ingredients, compost may
“heat up” and literally become
warm or hot in the center; a
nitrogen-rich, hot pile finishes
faster than a cold one. But at
the end of the day, any composted organic material is
going to be good for the garden.
That magical leaf mold?
It’s just cold-composted
autumn leaves. Stash them in
an out-of-the-way spot and
wait a couple of years. (Shredding may speed things along.)
The leaves decompose into a
uniformly crumbly, sweet
smelling, fibrous, brown
material. It’s a terrific lowtech soil amendment to use
instead of sphagnum peat
moss, and half-finished leaf
mold makes superb mulch.
Leaf mold may be slow, but
it’s free and super simple to
make. Plus it keeps valuable
organic matter in your garden
— and out of the landfill. You
can’t beat that! l
SEPTEMBER 2009 • PENN
LINES
21
PENNLINESclassified
HERE’S MY AD:
ATTACH ADDRESS LABEL HERE
(OR WRITE IN COMPLETE LABEL INFORMATION)
Yes, I want my message to go into more than 149,800
households in rural Pennsylvania. I have counted
_________ words in this ad. (FOR ADS IN ALL CAPITAL
LETTERS, ADD 20 PERCENT TO TOTAL COST.)
❏
MONTH
I am an electric co-op member. Attached is my Penn Lines mailing label from the front of this magazine.
I enclose $20 per month for 30 words or less, plus 50¢ for each additional word. The total payment
enclosed is $_________________________.
Please run my ad during the months of ______________________________________________________.
NOT a member of an electric cooperative. I enclose $70 per month for 30 words or less, plus $1.50
❏ Iforameach
additional word.
The total payment enclosed is $_____________________.
Please run my ad during the months of ______________________________________________________.
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Additional words: _____________________________________________________ (use separate sheet if needed)
NOTE: You must pay for special heading requests, even if the heading is currently appearing in Penn Lines.
Only the following qualify as free headings. Please check your selection:
Around the House
Business
Opportunities
Employment Opportunities
Gift and Craft Ideas
Livestock and Pets
Miscellaneous
Motor Vehicles and Boats
Nursery and Garden
Real Estate
Recipes
and Food
Tools and Equipment
Vacations and Campsites
Wanted to Buy.
FOR SPECIAL HEADINGS NOT LISTED: Indicate special heading you would like, and add $5 for co-op members, $10 for non-members. Insertion of classified ad in Penn Lines serves as proof of publication; no proofs
are furnished.
SEND THIS FORM (or a sheet containing the above information) to Penn Lines Classifieds, P.O. Box 1266,
Harrisburg, PA 17108.
FOR INFORMATION ONLY Telephone: 717/233-5704. NO classified ads will be accepted by phone.
ATTN: Checks/money orders should be made payable to PREA/Penn Lines.
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DEADLINE
DEADLINE
November 2009 . . . . . . Sept. 17
December 2009 . . . . . . . Oct. 15
January 2010 . . . . . . . . . Nov. 18
All ads must be received by the
specified dates to be included in the
corresponding month’s issue. Ads
received beyond the deadline dates
will automatically be included in the
next available issue. Written notice
of changes or cancellations must be
received prior to the first of the
month preceding the month of issue.
For information about display rates,
continuous ads, or specialized
headings, contact Vonnie Kloss
at 717/233-5704, the Pennsylvania
Rural Electric Association.
FENCING
FREE Fence Guide/Catalog – High-tensile fence, horse fence,
rotational grazing, twine, wire, electric netting – cattle, deer,
garden, poultry. Kencove Farm Fence Supplies: 800/5362683. www.kencove.com.
High tensile fence installation. Experienced in CREP and EQIP
Programs. For estimates call Horizon Fencing 570/596-4930.
AROUND THE HOUSE
CHURCH LIFT SYSTEMS
FLAGPOLES AND FLAGS
“COUNTRY COOKING,” Volume 2 — $8, including postage.
“RECIPES REMEMBERED,” Volume 3 — $12, including postage.
Both of these cookbooks are a collection of recipes from men
and women of the electric co-ops of Pennsylvania and New
Jersey. Payable to: Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association,
P. O. Box 1266, Harrisburg, PA 17108. Write Attention:
Cookbooks. Volume 1 of “Country Cooking” is SOLD OUT.
Make your church, business or home wheelchair accessible.
We offer platform lifting systems, stair lifts, porch lifts and
ramps. References. Free estimates. Get Up & Go Mobility Inc.
724/348-7414 or 814/926-3622.
20' ANODIZED ALUMINUM Sectional Pole, $165; 20' aluminum
one-piece tapered flagpole, $525. Other sizes available. Easy
installation. Prices include shipping. Flagpoles & Flags, 419
Lemmon Road, Markleton, PA 15551. 814/926-3709.
[email protected].
OUTSIDE WOOD HEATER - $1,595. Forced air system. Rated
100K BTU. Heats up to 2,400 square feet. Houses, mobiles or
shops. Low-cost shipping. Easy install. 417/581-7755 Missouri.
www.heatbywood.com.
CONSULTING FORESTRY SERVICES
NOLL’S FORESTRY SERVICES, INC. performs Timber Marketing,
Timber Appraisals, Forest Management Planning, and Forest
Improvement Work. FREE Timber Land Recommendations. 30
years experience. Call 814/472-8560.
Turn “SLIGHTLY USED” Furniture into cash. Display on
consignment in our showroom. Also, new window treatment
options available. Blinds/Shutters/Drapes. Contact Ross & Son
Inc., Ashville, PA. 814/674-8803.
CENTRE FOREST RESOURCES. Maximizing present and future
timber values, Forest Management Services, Managing
Timber Taxation, Timber Sales, Quality Deer Management.
FREE Timber Consultation. College educated, professional,
ethical. 814/867-7052.
BUILDING SUPPLIES
ENGINES
STEEL ROOFING AND SIDING. Discount Prices. Corrugated
sheets (cut to length) 52¢ per square foot. Also seconds,
heavy gauges, odd lots, etc. Located in northwestern
Pennsylvania. 814/398-4052.
Low Mileage Engines. We ship to business or residence. 1-year
warranty. CARFAX Mileage Verification. Call 800/709-9233
Today or visit our website @ www.LowMileageEngines.com.
METAL BUILDINGS — 24 x 40 x 8, $9,900 installed. 30 x 40 x 8,
$11,900 installed. Includes one walk door and one garage door. All
sizes available. 800/464-3333. www.factorysteelbuildings.com.
FACTORY SECONDS of insulation, 4 x 8 sheets, plywood
backed, foil back, blue board, fiberglass bats, reflective foil
bubble wrap. 814/442-6032.
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
An ECONOMIC STIMULUS PLAN for you. If you need money
now, you need this today! No selling/recruiting required! For
complete details call toll-free info line 800/676-8530 or visit
www.regenesis2x2.com/4720.
22
PENN
ENTERTAINMENT
COUNTRY MUSIC JAM at Dutch Country Inn Restaurant on 655
South, just off Exit 22 and 322 every Saturday from 6-9 p.m.
Public invited – musicians and singers invited. For information
call 717/483-9920 ask for MARTHA.
EXCAVATION/LAND CLEARING
We do residential and commercial excavation work, land
clearing, driveways, dig basements, ponds, septic installation
and more. Insured. Northwestern Pennsylvania. CUSTEAD’S
SAWMILL, INC. 814/425-3863.
LINES • SEPTEMBER 2009
GEOTHERMAL HEATING/COOLING
WHO NEEDS YOUR GAS OR OIL? WE “BURN” WATER for
heating & cooling. 26 years experience with GEOTHERMAL
heating & cooling and CLOSED LOOP systems. J. Karp & Sons
Well Drilling. Serving ONLY Wyoming, Susquehanna, Bradford,
Lackawanna, Luzerne, Wayne and Pike Counties IN
PENNSYLVANIA. 800/344-0587 or www.jkarpandsons.com.
GIFT AND CRAFT IDEAS
“COUNTRY COOKING,” Volume 2 — $8, including postage.
“RECIPES REMEMBERED,” Volume 3 — $12, including postage.
Both of these cookbooks are a collection of recipes from men
and women of the electric co-ops of Pennsylvania and New
Jersey. Payable to: Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association,
P. O. Box 1266, Harrisburg, PA 17108. Write Attention:
Cookbooks. Volume 1 of “Country Cooking” is SOLD OUT.
CIDER Gift Shop and TOBIN’s Vegetables, Skeltontown Road,
Cambridge Springs. Ciders, Preservers, Maple Syrup, Antique
Furniture, Handmade Crafts, Beans, Broccoli, Potatoes, Corn,
Cabbage, Beets, Squash, Pumpkins. Hours call 814/398-2607
or 814/282-4213.
Gettysburg Pond View Farm Bed and Breakfast
SCRAPBOOKING WITH FRIENDS. A great weekend get-away.
877/888-1957. [email protected].
HANDCRAFTED FURNITURE
COUNTRY CRAFTED bentwood oak/hickory rockers. Swings,
gliders, double rockers, coffee/end tables, bar stools, kitchen
sets, cedar log outdoor furniture, log bedrooms, SPECIAL queen
log bed, $599. 814/733-9116. www.zimmermanenterprise.com.
PENNLINESclassified
HEALTH AND NUTRITION
MAPLE SYRUP
SHAKLEE
Tired of all those medicines — Still not feeling better? Do you
want to feel better, have more energy, better digestion, less
joint stiffness, healthier heart/circulation and cholesterol
levels? Find out how to empower your own immune system —
start IMMUNE-26 today! It’s safe, affordable, and it works. Call
800/557-8477: ID#528390. 90-day money back on first time
orders. When ordering from Web, use Option #3.
www.mylegacyforlife.net/believeit.
STEVEN’S PURE Maple Syrup, Liberty, Pa. Plastic from 3.4
ounces to gallons. Glass containers for gifts and collectors.
Maple Sugar, Maple Cream, Maple Candy, Maple Bar-B-Que
Sauce, Maple Salad Dressing, and Gift Baskets for any
occasion made to order. Wholesale or retail prices. NEW
Number: 570/324-2014 or email: [email protected].
FREE SAMPLE Shaklee’s Energy Tea. Combination red, green and
white teas that are natural, delicious, refreshing, safe. For sample
or more information on tea or other Shaklee Nutrition/Weight
Loss Products: 800/403-3381 or www.shaklee.net/sbarton.
MISCELLANEOUS
HEALTH INSURANCE
BECOME AN ORDAINED MINISTER, Correspondence study. The
harvest truly is great, the laborers are few, Luke 10:2. Free
info. Ministers for Christ Outreach, 7549 West Cactus Road,
#104-207, Peoria, AZ 85381. www.ordination.org.
SHARPENING. Carbide saw blades, scissors, knives, wood
chisels and tools. Arius Eickert Certified to sharpen beauty
shears. Scissor sales and service. Call 814/267-5061 or see us
at www.theScissorGuy.net.
DO YOU HAVE THE BLUES regarding your Health Insurance?
We cater to rural America's health insurance needs. For more
information, call 800/628-7804 (PA). Call us regarding
Medicare supplements, too.
INFRARED SAUNAS
Removes toxins, burns calories, relieves joint pain, relaxes
muscles, increases flexibility, strengthens immune system. Many
more HEALTH BENEFITS with infrared radiant heat saunas.
Economical to operate. Barron’s Furniture, Somerset, PA.
814/443-3115.
INSURANCE
CAMPS, SEASONAL, FARMS, Dwellings, Businesses, and an
industry-leading investment department. Davis, Gregory and
Kyle Insurance and Investments. T/A DGK Insurance Inc., P. O.
Box 337, Factoryville, PA 18419. 800/242-4337.
LAND SURVEYORS
PROFESSIONAL Land Surveyor does timber, farms, lots,
subdivision surveys, soils (S.E.O.) consultant, statewide,
724/329-4994. Wetlands delineation, planning, stadium
lighting layout, sewage modules, F.E.M.A. flood plan mapping
for insurance.
LAWN AND GARDEN EQUIPMENT
RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL – SALES – SERVICE – PARTS.
Compact Loaders & Attachments, Mowers, Chainsaws, Tillers,
etc. We sell BCS, Boxer, Dixon, Ferris, Hustler, Grasshopper,
Shindaiwa and more. HARRINGTON’S, Taneytown, MD.
410/756-2506. www.harringtonsservicecenter.com.
LIVESTOCK AND PETS
GERMAN SHEPHERD puppies $900-$1,500. Young Adult $800
and Adult dogs $500 from imported blood lines. 814/967-2159.
Email:[email protected] Web: www.petrusohaus.com.
AUTOMATIC POULTRY DOOR. Attaches to your existing coop.
Daylight sensor opens and closes the door unit when you
can’t. Keeps night-time predators away from your birds.
$129.95. www.poultrybutler.com.
ALPACAS, pet or breeding quality. Farm visits welcome —
come see these wonderful fiber animals! Black Creek Farms,
Dushore, PA. Call 570/928-9307. Visit our website at
www.AlpacaNation.com/blackcreek.asp.
LLAMAS FOR SALE — Variety of colors and types of wool,
including suris. Whatever your need, we have that special
llama for you. Please call 814/735-4736.
Are you or a loved one having trouble climbing stairs? A stair
lift may be the answer! Straight run or curved, indoor/outdoor.
FREE in-home demonstration. Call if you live within 70 miles
of Gettysburg. Toll-free 888/STAIR-30 (888/782-4730). Golden
Rule Stair Lifts and Elevators. www.goldenrulestairlifts.com.
MOTORCYCLE-SNOWMOBILE INSURANCE
For the best INSURANCE RATES call R & R Insurance
Associates from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 800/442-6832 (PA).
P2000 INSULATION SYSTEM
Out of 20,000 homes, Energy Star found this one to be the
most energy efficient home ever tested in PA, NJ, NY & DE.
Stops cold, heat, wind and moisture. Vapor barrier and
sheathing all in one. Residential - Commercial – Hobby - Shops
– Farms – Pole Buildings. Burkenhaus Distribution Center,
Thomasville, PA. 717/801-0013. [email protected]
or visit www.P2000insulation.com.
REAL ESTATE
BEARCAT Model 73420 Towable Chipper, 20 HP Honda electric
start (GX620) engine, 4 1/2” diameter capacity, only used
eight hours. $4,400. 814/886-8592 after 6 p.m.
Forty-inch drum sander, no motor, $500. Craftsman radial arm
saw, 9”, $125. Ten-inch band saw, $25. Northwest
Pennsylvania. 814/587-2267.
TRACTOR PARTS – REPAIR/RESTORATION
ARTHURS TRACTORS, specializing in vintage Ford tractors, 30years experience, on-line parts catalog/prices, shipped via
UPS. Contact us at 877/254-FORD (3673) or
www.arthurstractors.com.
TREE TRIMMING/REMOVAL
TOM’S TREE SERVICE – Tree Trimming/Removal – Storm Cleanup – Stump Grinding – Land Clearing – Bucket Truck and
Chipper – Fully Insured – Free Estimates – Call 24/7 – 814/4483052 – 814/627-0550 – 26 Years Experience.
VACATIONS AND CAMPSITES
RAYSTOWN LAKE — $375,000, 35 acres, build-ready,
mountaintop vista, close to boat launch. Call 814/599-0790.
VACATION PROPERTY — For rent ocean front condo, Myrtle
Beach, SC. Excellent condition. Close to new Hard Rock
Amusement Park, Family Kingdom, water park. Booking for
2009. Please call 814/425-2425.
RAYSTOWN LAKE — 8 3/4 acres, 4,000 square foot home with
incredible view. Wrap-around porch with large deck. A hidden
gem nestled on the mountainside. A must see. $399,900.
717/226-2097.
FLORIDA VILLAGES — Two bedroom, two bath, two bikes.
Fully furnished. One hour from Disney World. Rent twoweek minimum or monthly, $1,400 (June-September). Call
716/536-0104. Great entertainment. Dancing nightly.
ERIE COUNTY, Concord Township — Two secluded acres, five
bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, handicap equipped, wb fireplace,
wrap-around deck, full basement, detached two-car garage
with office above. Free access bass stocked pond, trout
stream. $239,000. 814/664-8504.
FLORIDA, Lakeside Hills — Pick your lot and new home in low
wind area of northeast Florida today and save. Lot and new
home package starting at only $98,000. Lots from $9,800.
Owner 717/532-4882.
$299,000 — 20 wooded acres, stone cabin, oil heat, fireplace,
two bedrooms, one bath within bounds of Flight 93 National
Park. Garage, shed and outhouse. Built 1940. 814/893-6271 or
814/289-3735.
COMMERCIAL PROPERTY, Huntingdon County — 2,400 square
foot block building on 2.3 acres along high traffic Route 522
near Mount Union. 2,000 square foot steel building with 20
storage units providing rental income of $840/month plus
space for 20 more units. $187,000. Call Kathy at Apex Realty
Group 814/641-2739 or check out www.apexrealtygroup.com.
LOG SPLITTERS
RECIPES AND FOOD
Come and see the most user friendly and efficient 21-ton log
splitter available with a convenient 31-inch high beam, a large
(24” x 32”) log table on the far side to catch and store the far
pieces of the split log (solo operators really appreciate this). A
full 10-inch high split wedge to completely split larger logs on the
first pass, a 10-second cycle time so you’re not kept waiting and
heavy duty construction that will stand up to heavy use for years.
Because of its design, this splitter will let you split almost twice
as much wood per hour as ordinary splitters. Yet all this for $1,875
at our door or split the cost with a friend and pay only $937.50
each. An optional log lifter is available. Call us at 814/698-2351 or
814/274-7921 to arrange a demonstration and/or to pick up your
splitter. Check it out online at www.speedysplitters.net.
TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT
“COUNTRY COOKING,” Volume 2 — $8, including postage.
“RECIPES REMEMBERED,” Volume 3 — $12, including postage.
Both of these cookbooks are a collection of recipes from men
and women of the electric co-ops of Pennsylvania and New
Jersey. Payable to: Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association, P.
O. Box 1266, Harrisburg, PA 17108. Write Attention: Cookbooks.
Volume 1 of “Country Cooking” is SOLD OUT.
GETTYSBURG POND VIEW Bed and Breakfast 877/888-1957.
Horse boarding for overnight guest. Located six miles west of
Gettysburg, Pa. Weekday specials available until July 1, 2009.
COTTAGES FOR RENT — May 1st through November. Equipped
with kitchenettes, heat and air conditioning. 62 acres. Fishing
pond stocked. Weekly rentals. Call 717/642-5781 or cell
717/357-0604.
WANTED TO BUY
WANTED — All natural medicinal roots dug in season. For price
list and information write: Roots, 567 Bryant Hollow Road,
Coudersport, PA 16915.
WANTED TO BUY: Red Pine, White Pine, Spruce, Larch Timber.
One-half acre or more. Northwestern Pennsylvania. Custead’s
Sawmill, Inc. 814/425-3863.
WIND AND SOLAR
FREE E-BOOK —Everything you need to convert your home or
business to Solar or Wind power. Improve your energy
efficiency. www.freeenergy111.com.
WORK CLOTHES
GOOD CLEAN RENTAL-type work clothes, 6 pants & 6 shirts
to match, $39.95. Men’s jeans – 5 pairs, $25. Lined work
jackets, $9.95. Walt's Wholesale 800/233-1853 or
www.usedworkclothing.com.
SAWMILLS
SAWMILL EXCHANGE — North America’s largest source of used
portable sawmills and commercial equipment for woodlot
owners and sawmill operations. Over 700 listings. THE place
to sell equipment. 800/459-2148. www.sawmillexchange.com.
SEPTEMBER 2009 • PENN
LINES
23
PUNCHlines
Thoughts from
Earl Pitts,
UHMERIKUN!
Doggie spas and
gourmet mustard —
now Earl has seen it all
Want more proof that the end a’ our
onct great nation may be at hand? Have
you seen what they’re doin’ to mustard? I
mean, for as long as I can remember
mustard was bright yellow — so bright it
glowed. An’ it came in a squeeze bottle
that looked like a rain barrel.
That was your solid American mustard. An’ between you an’ me, I don’t
recall nobody complainin’ that it wasn’t
“mustardy” enough.
Now, I didn’t mind when they invented
spicy brown mustard. It’s just like regular
mustard mixed with sawdust an’ gravy —
in fact, it’s pretty good. But now, you go into
a store to buy mustard an’ find two whole
shelves filled with “gourmet mustard.”
Yeah! There’s horseradish mustard,
lemon peppercorn mustard, somethin’
called maple champagne mustard,
roasted garlic mustard an’ bourbon
molasses mustard.
Lemme ask you. Do folks even know
what mustard is for? It’s for puttin’ on
hot dogs an’ baloney samiches! Now,
puttin’ lemon peppercorn, maple champagne or bourbon molasses mustard on
baloney is pretty much like puttin’ lipstick on a hog. It don’t change much.
Wake up, America! A’ course, cranberry relish mustard really brings out the
subtleties a’ baloney — at least for those a’
us with discriminatin’ tastes.
Now I’ve seen everything. One a’ those
Social commentary from Earl Pitts —— a.k.a.
GARY BURBANK , a nationally syndicated
radio personality —— can be heard on the
following radio stations that cover electric
cooperative service territories in Pennsylvania:
WANB-FM 103.1 Pittsburgh; WARM-AM 590
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton; WIOO-AM 1000 Carlisle;
WEEO-AM 1480 Shippensburg; WMTZ-FM 96.5
Johnstown; WQBR-FM 99.9/92.7 McElhattan;
WLMI-FM 103.9 Kane; and WVNW-FM 96.7
Burnham-Lewistown.
new doggie spa hotels just opened out by
my place. It’s advertisin’ that staff will “pamper your pet” while you’re on vacation.
I drove by the place last evenin’ an’
couldn’t believe my eyes. It has play
areas, beauty parlors, an’ jungle gyms.
Yeah! I wouldn’t be surprised if French
poodles danced the can-can after dinner.
Now, no true American male is takin’ his
dog to a doggie spa. If a real man goes outta
town, he’s already got a spa for his dog. It’s
called the backyard! You get your neighbor
to throw some kibble over the fence onct a
day an’ shoot some water in his bowl with
the garden hose. Now that’s instant luxury.
An’ your backyard dog don’t need no
fancy beauty parlor an’ jungle gym. It’s
got squirrels an’ chipmunks an’ the occasional possum, weasel, raccoon, or dive-
bombin’ barn swallow for entertainment.
Don’t think I’m bein’ mean to dogs. I
love dogs. I just can’t get past the fact that
— they’re dogs! You can feed ’em caviar,
wash ’em in perfume an’ put stupid bows
in their hair until the cows come home.
But they’re still gonna roll in cat or cow
dung, barf on the carpet an’ lick parts
that shouldn’t be licked.
I’ll tell you what. I will take my ol’
hound to the doggie spa an’ resort the day
the mangy fleabag picks up the phone an’
makes his own reservations. An’ then
pulls out his own wallet an’ pays for it.
Wake up, America! My wife, Pearl,
says if we go on vacation she wants her
little pooch to stay at the doggie spa. I’ll
tell you what, Pearl. Take ME to the doggie spa an’ take that mutt on the road
with you. We’ll both be happier.
The other day I saw all a’ these yuppie boneheads power-walkin’ an’ joggin’
past the factory an’ carryin’ plastic bottles
a’ water. An’ you know what struck me?
Whatever happened to a canteen?
I don’t remember John Wayne ever
crossin’ a desert with a water bottle. I
don’t remember our GIs fightin’ evildoers
overseas with water bottles. I don’t
remember learnin’ that Lewis an’ Clark
discovered the Pacific Ocean luggin’
around bottles a’ water!!
No siree. They all had canteens. An’ if
a canteen was good enough to build
America, it’s good enough for today’s
stretch pants-wearin’ crowd.
I mean, will a bottle a’ water deflect a bullet when you’re surrounded by Comanches
or Rommel’s Afrika Korps? I don’t think so.
You see, every real man has a canteen.
He might not know where it is exactly, but
he could scrounge around in his attic, basement or garage an’ find it in a pinch. It
probably even holds a few drops a’ 30-yearold Kool-Aid from his last real campout.
Wake up, America! Hey, all a’ you fitness freaks. Next time you’re runnin’ one
a’ ’em marathon races an’ you pass folks
handin’ out bottles a’ water, say “No
thanks. I brought my own canteen.”
You’ll be a better man for it.
I’m Earl Pitts, Uhmerikan. l
SEPTEMBER 2009 • PENN
LINES
25
RURALreflections
Summer is winding down
SOON the leaves will start to turn colors and the temperatures will start to drop, but for now, the grass is green and
the days are still warm, so enjoy the final weeks of summer. And, remember, there’s something photogenic happening all the time.
Please don’t forget to capture those moments on film for
inclusion in our “Rural Reflections” photo contest. Winners in each of our five contest categories — most artistic,
best landscape, best human subject, best animal and editor’s choice — will receive a $75 prize.
To be eligible for the 2009 contest prizes, send your
snapshots (no digital files, please) to: Penn Lines Photos, P.O.
Box 1266, Harrisburg PA 17108-1266. On the back of each
photo, include your name, address, phone number and the
name of the electric cooperative that serves your home,
business or seasonal residence. (The best way to include
this information is by affixing an address label to the back
of the photo. Please do not use ink gel or roller pens to
write on the photo as they bleed onto other photos.)
Remember, our publication deadlines require that we
work ahead, so send seasonal photos in early. We need winter photos before mid-September (save your spring, summer
and fall photos to submit for the 2010 contest). Photos that
are not seasonal may be submitted at any time. l
Janie Stabinsky
Claverack REC
Christine McConnell
REA Energy
Kaitlyn Koester
Tri-County REC
Wendy Devine
New Enterprise REC
26
PENN
LINES • SEPTEMBER 2009