Bus trip, tour, farm fest, anniversary noted
By ROBERT KESSLER Penn State Cooperative Extension Franklin County office

COMING EVENTS

Sept. 8 - 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., Turfgrass Establishment, Lawn Care & Renovation, Franklin County Cooperative Extension, Chambersburg, Call 263-9226.

Sept. 15 - 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., Backyard Habitat Workshop, Horticulture Gardens, Franklin Farm Lane, Chamersburg.

Sept. 22 - 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., Preparing Yard for new year, Franklin County Cooperative Extension, Chambersburg

Oct. 2 through Nov. 13 - 7 to 9:30 p.m., Principles of Landscape Design Classes, Franklin County Master Gardners, Franklin County Human Service Building, Call 263-9226 for information.

Oct. 6 - 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., House Plants and Propagation, Franklin County Cooperative Extension, Franklin Farm Lane, Chambersburg.

Oct. 13 - 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Fall Bus Trip, Bartram's Fardens and Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania, Call 263- 9226 for information.

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INSTALLING CONCRETE

PAVERS

The Penn State Master Gardeners of Franklin County will hold a workshop showing you the techniques of installing large concrete pavers in your yard to create a walkway or patio. The workshop will be held Saturday, September 29 at 10:00 AM at the Horticultural Center on Franklin Farm Lane in Chambersburg. They have installed a floor in our pergola and will demonstrate the techniques of installing the base, dealing with rain run off, avoiding freeze and thaw heaving issues and controlling weeds. They will do a small installation of smaller pavers with a crushed stone base and sand and show you how to tamp the area The pavers were provided by Nitterhouse Concrete Products. Other equipment is provided by Franklin Equipment Rental.

We will also discuss using natural stone in the landscape and show how to create a natural stone border.

Registration for the workshop is required. To register, please call (717) 263-9226. Space will be limited.

BUS TRIPTO BARTRAN'S GARDEN AND MORRIS ARBORETUM

The Penn State Master Gardeners of Franklin County will have a Fall Bus Trip on Saturday, October Gardens and Morris Arboretum in Philadelphia. John Bartram was probably the first American to perform successful experiments in hydridization. His was the largest and best collection of trees in America for many years. Today garden enthusiasts enjoy Bartram' Garden. His 45 acre site includes the furnished Bartram House, a botanical garden, meadow, Park land and Wetland. Enjoy the grounds that people like Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and Ben Franklin have walked over. As you take in the sights along the Schuylkill River, you may forget that the skyline of Philadelphia is visible through the trees. After your 90 minute tour of the grounds, you will have a chance to roam around and do some shopping there.

Then the group will take a short bus ride to the Morris arboretum for a buffet lunch, followed by a one-hour tour of the arboretum. See the stately trees, the log foundation, their great display of garden structures and sculptures, the fine gardens around the grounds.

The bus will leave the Penn State Extension office at 6:30 AM and return around 6:00 PM. Reservations are $70.00 per person and cover the bus, the buffet lunch and admission to both sites and tips for appropriate people.

To register, contact the Franklin County Extension office at (717) 263-9226.

FRANKLIN FALL FARM

FUN FEST

This year's Franklin Fall Farm Fun Fest will be held on Saturday, September 8, from 10:00 a.m. to 3 p.m. Hosts this year are the Myra- Brek Farm and the Limestone Quarry, both in St. Thomas.

The Myra-Brek Farm is the host site of the Fall Fun Fest. You will get free milk and ice cream, have wagon tours of their 400 acre farm and they have 95 milking Holstein cows. The farm has been in the family for over 50 years. They ship about 5,000 pounds of milk per day or 581 gallons of milk to put it in terms you may identify with.

In addition, there will be exhibits and displays to visit for information.

The other site you will visit is the St. Thomas Development, Inc. quarry, which produces limestone products. You will have a chance to learn more about the quarry and take bus tours of the 400 acre property. Some of the products from the quarry will go to make cement, another will go to make asphalt for roads, other products are various sizes of stone used in construction and other purposes. Federal mining representatives will be on hand to answer questions about health and safety.

Franklin Fall Farm Fun Fest is sponsored by the Franklin County Farm Bureau. On Thursday and Friday, the two sites will host over 1900 fourth graders, where the children will learn about such topics as dairy cows, nutrition, machinery, safety and conservation practices, visiting various stops on a wagon tour of the farm.

25TH ANNIVERSARY

The Franklin County 4-H Therapeutic Riding Center is celebrating 25 years of providing therapeutic riding to youth in the Franklin County community and you are invited to attend our celebration. We will have a pig roast luncheon at our facility with all the fixings from 12 Noon to 3 PM in a tent set up in one of our rings. We will have riding demonstrations going on, a petting zoo for the young visitors, a program at 2:00 PM and a special treat for the kids at 2:30 PM. You can come and go as you need to as we will be serving the whole time. Tickets are required however, and they can be purchased at the Penn State Extension office at 181 Franklin Farm Lane, Chambersburg or you can call in a reservation and then send in payment or use a credit card. Adults are $10.00 each. Children 6-12 are $4.50 each and under age six is $1.00 each.

The Franklin County 4-H Therapeutic Riding Center started offering riding lessons to young people with special needs twenty-five years ago. From the beginning, it was offered free to the families and we raised the funds to operate. With the generous help of the community, we have grown from our modest beginning and are now serving more than 60 young people and adults, with the help of 90 volunteers, providing riding lessons to them on a weekly basis during our riding season. Many great things have happened to people over the years at our program due to the magic of the horse. Come on October 6th to learn more about therapeutic riding and to help us celebrate this milestone. For more information, call (717) 263-9226.

FORESTRY: THEN & NOW

TOUR

On Saturday, Sept. 22 from 12:45 p.m. to 5 p.m., the Cumberland Woodland Owners Association is sponsoring a forestry tour for woodland owners at the Penn State Mont Alto Campus. The Mont Alto Campus is home to the original Pennsylvania School of Forestry, which was started in 1903. Penn State Mont Alto forestry staff and students will give a short tour of the campus highlighting the history of forestry there and what is happening today. The TIMBERSPORTS team will put on a demonstration of the events in which they compete (speed chopping, axe throw, pole climb, etc…). The group will then tour the Waynesboro Watershed to see where the forestry students actually put into practice what they learn in the classroom. The group will see different examples of forestry practices and management.

After the tour, the Cumberland Woodland Owners Association is hosting a "pot-luck" covered dish & hotdog roast picnic at Mont Alto Park after. For those who wish to stay and eat, please bring a covered dish to share.

The event is open to the general public and there is no cost to attend but registration is requested. To register or for more information call either: Mike Waldron at 717/677-7317 or 253-4551 (cell) or Fred Peabody at 717/776-3565 or 418-9221 (cell). When you call, let them know your name, your phone number, how many are coming, and if you are staying for the picnic. Registration deadline is September 20th. If it rains enough to cancel on the 29th, everyone who registers will be called. Rain Date for the tour is September 29, 2007. The tour will start at the main parking lot of Penn State Mont Alto at 12:45 pm on Sept. 22.