By Joe Bullick

Autumn is a wonderful time to experience some of the farms in our area.  As a young boy, I spent time on many of them.  I was raised by a blacksmith and farrier, someone who shoed horses.  I spent time helping to shoe the work horses.  Some of those farms are still with us, and many of them have fall festivals. 

The Shenot farm was founded by Christopher Shenot in 1854.  The land was passed down through the family.  At first, it had a small dairy.  I drank their cow’s milk when I was a small boy.  They also had sweet corn, apples and other vegetables.  They started with a small roadside stand along Wexford Run Road.  They now have a large market to support their growing clientele.  The farm is operated by the fifth and sixth generation.

Another great farm market is Soergel Orchards.  What a place and what a hard-working family.  They have everything there—baked goods, apple cider, sweet corn, hayrides, farm animals, pony rides and many events.  It’s a great place to take your family. 

Not far from Soergel’s is Kaelin Farm Market.  It’s another great place to take the family.  In addition to their market, they have many fall events, including a scarecrow making class.  In Wexford is the Eichner Farm, which is family-owned and has been in operation for years.  They are famous for their turkeys. 

In Ohio Twp. (Mt Nebo) Reilly’s Summer Seat Farm attracts throngs in the fall with their hayrides, bonfires, corn stalk maze, Boo Barn, and pumpkin patches, where you can pick the perfect pumpkin for carving a jack-o-lantern.

Western Pennsylvania is a fantastic place to celebrate the four seasons.  So why not celebrate autumn at a fall festival or an Oktoberfest?  Cheeseman Farm in nearby Portersville has their annual Pumpkin Festival with a hay maze, petting zoo and hayrides to their pumpkin patch.  They also get into the spirit of Halloween with their Fright Farm, that will scare those brave enough to visit.  For those who like tamer venues, take a ride on Rt. 30 or the turnpike to see the fall leaves.  Visiting the Amish farms in Ohio or Lancaster is another super way to spend a weekend. 

October is my month.  I have a birthday on October 15.  I was married in October 56 years ago.  My sign of the zodiac is Libra; my birthstone is opal and the flower, calendula.  We also can’t forget Halloween.  What a great time it was when I was a kid.  It was the eve of All Saints Day, and mom would say you’re no saint on Halloween night. 

Fall was great when I was a kid too.  We went on hayrides, made apple butter and root beer, picked apples, helped with the canning and rode horseback.  There was no pressure, just good clean fun.

As I turn 77, I wish my mom was here.  It’s funny how birthdays go.  You can’t wait until you are 16 so you can drive, 21 to get your first “legal” beer.  Then you’re 25, 50 then 75.  Those years are celebrated more than the other years, but what about the ones in between?  My mom would say, “Joseph, another year has passed.  What did you do with it?  I pray that God gives you another.”

How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.  This quote from Pulitzer-Prize-winning American author Annie Dillard sums up one of the greatest challenges facing most of us today.  “Our time is truly our most precious commodity.  Everyone has exactly 24 hours in a day and 60 minutes in each hour, and no matter who you are, you can’t buy more time.”  So enjoy October.  Many great people were born in this month:  Dwight Eisenhower, Noah Webster and Theodore Roosevelt.  If you were born in October, Happy Birthday!

I leave you with this thought:

Start by doing what’s necessary,
Then do what’s possible and
Suddenly you are doing
The impossible.
—St. Francis of Assisi

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Joe welcomes any ideas, suggestions or interesting stories.
Email him at northcon@nauticom.net. Please put "Town Crier" in the subject line of your email.

To contact Joe to schedule an appointment to tour his museum at McKnight Elementary School, call the Northern Connection office at (724) 940-2444 or email northcon@nauticom.net. Please put "Museum Tour" in the subject line.

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