Imagine, and: The Barn is Burning

Imagine, and: The Barn is Burning Julia Spicher Kasdorf (bio) Imagine (First day of the 104th Pennsylvania Farm Show, Harrisburg, PA, 2020) Imagine the Opportunities Governor Wolf praises teen commodityqueens in rhinestone tiaras -- Alpaca Princess, Angus Queen,State Dairy Princess reigning over more than half a million cows,Grape Queen, Honey Queen, Maple Syrup Sweet Heart, Lamband Wool Queen sashed in a pelt -- and hardworking farmers, caretakers,tinkerers, innovators—from the 48 rural counties of the Commonwealth's 67. State troopers scan the Small Arena, backs to petite champions pennedon the floor: pony, heifer, a pair of necking alpacas, goat digging sawdust. The Governor takes giant scissors to the wide, blue ribbon and the opening snip sounds in the stands. In the Giant Expo Hall, eat a Philly Port Cheesesteak,made of beefy Pennsylvania portabellas, eat apple dumplings,blooming onions. Read the illuminated news feed: At least17 people dead, nearly half billion plants, animals wiped outas 'apocalyptic' wildfires burn across Australia. Eat baked potatoes,white or sweet, from America's oldest growers co-op. Eat potato donuts, cider donuts, Dairyman's Shakeso thick you can barely suck it through a plastic straw. Floods in Jakarta, Indonesialeave 43 dead, nearly 400,000 displaced. Eat mac 'n cheese topped [End Page 54] with organic smoked pork, smokehouse sweet baked beans,chow chow slaw. Eat fried pickles, maple syrup spun to floss. Pick up A Consumer's Guide to Food Safety, Severe Storms, Hurricanes, Power Outages. Buy survival socks knit from Pennsylvania alpaca. Imagine the Opportunity of a Smaller Carbon FootprintPennsylvania hardwoods from sustainable and local forestsstore carbon safely for hundreds of thousands of years. Cast a vote for your family's favorite Christmas tree species. A tee shirt says Honey bees are in trouble. A tee shirt says Drink your apples. Take a chance on a 1955 John Deere, an ice cream freezer,or 75 thousand dollars down on a Ram farm truck or van. If current trends of heat-trapping emissions persist, Harrisburg's averagesummer temperature will resemble that of Birmingham, Alabama. What trees should we plant now? The man wearing a bowtie of polished maple shrugs. Maybe pecans?We'll lose our black cherries; we've already lost ash and hemlocks. Find a blank spot to write high on the big chalk board that asks,Who in your family is the farmer? Crouch with kids who reach through bars to touch Imagine,first calf born at this year's Farm Show, asleep on straw, luminous,as her mother downs 100 pounds of grain a day and sports a Fitbit. This year by the main entrance: privacy booths for nursing mothersnear a play space for kids. New this year: low stimulation/quiet rooms. At the circle between exhibition halls, animal stalls, rodeo arena,a moon-phase compass of inlaid granite rimmed by a rhyme: [End Page 55] When stars shine clear and bright we will have a very cold night. A ring around the sun or moon means rain or snow coming soon. The moon and the weather may change together, but a change of the moon will not change the weather. [End Page 56] The Barn is Burning (2021, 1992, Mifflin County, PA) Along Tea Run between Milroy and Reedsvillea barn is burning. That Saturday night in March, a volunteer firemanbought five bucks of diesel and lit the forebay painted for Bidenand Harris so someone would call 911 and say a barn is burning. On a Saturday night in March 29 years before, Darvin Rayand his girl drove from Allensville to Milroy, in and out of farm laneswith a propane torch as folks woke up to smokeand shouts in their own tongue: the barn is burning! Samuel Moses Yoder, near King's Hollow, lost 11 Belgian work horses,31 cattle and 9 hogs. Samuel Isaac Yoder, near Plum Bottom, lost 7 horses,37 cattle, plows, harrows, reaper, and buggies. The barn owned by Samuel Christ Yoder,son of Christ Yoder, sits so close to his parents' barn that firemen calledto the farm saved Samuel's barn from burning. Christ R. Yoder along...