CASWELL COUNTY Farm Bureau members Donna Ligon and Jennifer Cook recently represented Farm Bureau at Aging with Gusto, a seniors’ event at the Caswell County Civic Center. Ligon and Cook distributed 150 Farm Bureau bags containing membership information, farm safety information, scratch pads and other items. Ligon and Georgie Holden also gave out information about Ag in the Classroom, lesson plans and Farm Bureau bags containing notepads and brochures during the Caswell County Schools Benefits Fair.

In other activity…Caswell County Farm Bureau recently hosted Congressman Brad Miller. The congressman talked with farmers about their concerns regarding national legislative matters. Also, Caswell County Farm Bureau held a Member Appreciation Day, where they served refreshments and hosted almost 50 guests.

CLAY COUNTY Farm Bureau was a main sponsor of the county’s Tractor Parade, Sept. 27. The parade, organized by the Clay County Tractor Club, featured 76 tractors of all models and years, the oldest being a 1933 model and the newest a 2008 model. The $20 entry fee for the tractors went to a Hayesville High School Scholarship fund. An estimated 1,500 spectators, including State Sen. John Snow, attended the parade, where they were given the chance to look at and ask about the tractors, as well as pose for pictures on them. The parade generated $3,500 for the scholarship fund.

DAVIE COUNTY Farm Bureau and the Davie County Cooperative Extension Service sponsored a Weights and Measures Seminar at the Davie County Public Library recently. Eighty-five people attended the event and said they learned much and appreciated Farm Bureau for offering it to them.

DARE COUNTY Farm Bureau held a Dessert Hospitality Hour for Farm Bureau members from Western North Carolina. During their visit, they toured a local fish company, Jockey’s Ridge State Park, Wright Memorial State Park and attended an outdoor theater production of The Lost Colony. The event was held at the Dare County Farm Bureau office in Manteo and a variety of desserts were served.

DUPLIN COUNTY Farm Bureau presented scholarships of $1,000 each to Tiffany Young, who won a scholarship for the third year, and James Hunter Frederick, the 2008 scholarship recipient. Both students attend N.C. State University. Duplin County Farm Bureau President Dexter Edwards made the award presentations.

In other activity…the Women’s Committee prepared a meal for board members to raise money for the R. Flake Shaw Scholarship.

FRANKLIN COUNTY Farm Bureau, along with Time Warner, the Franklin County United Way and Cooperative Extension Service, co-sponsored the 14th Annual Agriculture Field Day Thursday, Sept. 18 at Riverbend Park in Louisburg. About 800 third-graders attended the event, where exhibits created awareness of animal agriculture and showcased the importance of this industry in everyday life. Farmers who helped teach were Bill Wallace, New Light Angus Farm; Maxine Mosley, JaMaLa Farm; Warren Harris, Harris Farm; Carvel Cheves, Clover C Farm; Deborah Perry, Dream Llama Farm; Yevette Green, Cedar Meadow Farm; and Mike Jones, Mae Farm.

PENDER COUNTY Farm Bureau member Calvin (Cal) Lewis Jr. is the recipient of the 2008 Department of Horticultural Science Outstanding Alumnus Award. The award is given yearly by the Department of Horticultural Science at N.C. State University. A 1977 graduate of N.C. State University, Lewis grew up on a family farm that specializes in strawberries, strawberry plants, blueberries and vegetable production. A reception to honor Lewis was hosted by the Department of Horticultural Science at N.C. State University, Oct. 3.

STOKES COUNTY Farm Bureau’s Board of Directors voted to issue a $20 check to every participant in the Northwest Junior Livestock Show and Sale at the Dixie Classic Fairgrounds in Winston-Salem. Jordan Rawlings bought the winner.

WAKE COUNTY Farm Bureau presented Alexis Anne Brogden, of Wake Forest, with a $1,000 scholarship during the September board meeting. County President Jackie Thompson made the presentation to Brogden, who graduated from Wake Forest-Rolesville High School and is now a freshman at N.C. State University.

In other activity…Belinda Evans, along with Shirley and Fred Burt, participated in Safety Day at Wal-Mart in Fuquay-Varina. They used the Safety in the Sun display board, and Willy was there to help them give out sunscreen, sun-safety pamplets and books and stickers for children.

In Memory Of
Marie Joyner, former North Carolina Farm Bureau State Women’s Committee chair and a member of the State Board of Directors from 1987 till 1990. She was also the first chair of Nash County Farm Bureau’s Women’s Committee and was still serving in that role at the time of her passing. She is the wife of Warnell Joyner, former Nash County Farm Bureau president and state board member. She will be remembered as a true friend and dedicated volunteer, and our hearts go out to Mr. Joyner, the Joyner family and Nash County Farm Bureau.

NORTH CAROLINA Farm Bureau Federation held its Leadership, Education and Activity Development (LEAD) Program Conference, Sept.18-20 in Durham. LEAD is a leadership development program designed to develop and strengthen the skills of individuals and couples (ages 36-52) who are involved in agriculture. The three-day conference included guest speakers from American Farm Bureau Federation and North Carolina Farm Bureau, a trip to the UNC-CH School of Government and workshops on a variety of topics, such as farm liability issues and their problems and solutions, and understanding N.C. county governments.

The shrieks of joy, the bursts of laughter and the “ooohs” and “aaahs” ring out as many of North Carolina’s kids are playing and having fun—but wait, they’re learning too!

Whether they’re coming with their parents or siblings, or as part of a camp or school group, youngsters are heading in droves to children’s museums of all sizes.

There are more than a dozen museums devoted to children scattered throughout the state. Each museum has its own personality, exhibit focus and program emphasis, but kids remain at the heart.
Museum staff members say they are constantly experimenting with fresh ways to engage their young patrons, while letting kids be kids, but also inspiring them to think, dig deeper, discover and remain curious as they march toward adulthood.

“With such a heavy emphasis in schools on drilling them on a host of subjects, sometimes they lose sight of the fact that children need time just to play,” says Kathy Parham, executive director of the Children’s Playhouse in Boone. “Children’s museums are a fantastic place for kids to have fun while learning. They grow up fast enough. We don’t need to hurry them along.”

Jack, a spunky 4-year-old from the Boone area, knows exactly what Parham’s talking about. While having fun in the Playhouse’s downstairs Romp and Stomp Room, Jack had rearranged some large vinyl foam shapes into an obstacle course. After proudly navigating the course, the youngster boasts, “I like to walk on this and climb here and slide. It’s awesome!”

Pretending: the Gateway to Learning
Many of the exhibits and programs at children’s museums across the Tar Heel State are designed to enhance classroom education with hands-on entertainment. Kids are given the freedom to let their imaginations run wild while role- playing constructively.

At the Children’s Museum of Winston-Salem, favorite childhood storybooks come to life. Tommy, who’s from the area, was having a grand time in the Three Little Pigs house and build-it room. He let the staff there know exactly what he was thinking after his visit when he said, “I love the Children’s Museum! It’s the bestest place ever!”

When Sherry, a Virginia resident visiting Winston-Salem, brought her family to the museum, the kids raced to the doughnut factory, where they worked as a team, placing the doughnuts on the climber and watching with amazement as they went up the conveyor belt before dropping down a funnel, where the kids had to catch them in a basket. Children then frost the doughnuts and put them in the truck for delivery to the stores.

Upon completing their doughnut delivery, Sherry’s kids wander over to Mother Goose, who is gathering lots of children around her for story time. They listen in rapt attention as Mother Goose reads and then plays interactive games with them.

After her kids are finished, Sherry comments, “We were visiting from out of town, and this was one of the highlights of their trip. I wish we had such a place at home.”

At Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh, one of the most popular exhibits always abuzz with activity is the Around Town gallery. Totally enthralled, one child boldly declares, “I want to live here!” Another was playing in the post office area, pretending to direct the mail room, when he blurts, “Hurry up, move those packages. Time is money!”

Hands-On Activity Adds to the Fun
Down on North Carolina’s coast is Play Wilmington, where children can dress up like pirates, jump aboard a two-story ship and swab the deck or fire foam balls from an air cannon. In the Science Center, they can become budding scientists and concoct all kinds of liquid potions. Or they can strut their stuff by belting out a karaoke tune at the Star Maker Sound Stage.

For those kids who like to put their creative juices into action, they can visit the art studio and fashion imaginative masterpieces, from macaroni posters to life-size portraits.

Kendall, of Wilmington, says, “I think the art room is a very cool room. I like to do art. I like to paint, and I like to do tape pictures and also coloring. I will come back to the children’s museum a lot.”

Though a little older, Holly voices a similar comment. “I thought that because I was 14, I would not like this place, but I was wrong. I enjoyed my time here more than you could know. I most enjoyed the art room. ”

High-Tech, High-Touch Working in Tandem
From the IMAX Dome at Discovery Place in Charlotte and the IMAX Theater at Raleigh’s Marbles Kids Museum to Cummins Planetarium at the Rocky Mount Children’s Museum and Science Center, technology is in the limelight and augments the educational experience.

The Rocky Mount Children’s Museum and Science Center exhibit on microbes is supplemented by a Planetarium program on microcosms. It allows the child to “shrink to the size of a microbe for an incredible roller-coaster voyage into the human body that features genetic weapons, laser battles and surprises at every turn.”

At the same time, children can discover wildlife up close in the live animal gallery. That was certainly the case with Tyler, an animated 7-year-old, who says, “I had fun doing all the stuff at the museum, but I really liked petting Buttercup best.” Buttercup, a 14.5-foot albino Burmese python, is brought out onto the exhibit floor, where kids, like Tyler, get to pet the snake.

“Our goal is to help children discover how to live more effectively and efficiently on our planet and to be better stewards of it,” notes Candy Madrid, executive director. “We don’t want to tell them what to think, but we are passionate about helping them discover how to think. And we want them to become lifelong learners.”

Children’s Museums in North Carolina
The Children’s Playhouse, Boone
Kidzu Children’s Museum, Chapel Hill
Discovery Place, Charlotte
North Carolina Museum of Life and Science, Durham
Fascinate-U Children’s Museum, Fayetteville
Greensboro Children’s Museum
Marbles Kids Museum, Raleigh
KidSenses Children’s InterACTIVE Museum, Rutherfordton
Iredell Museums, Statesville
Play Wilmington
Children’s Museum of Winston-Salem
Old Salem Children’s Museum, Winston-Salem

Over Memorial Day weekend, for example, several residents of Wake and Durham counties were shocked to see a bear roaming the streets of their otherwise quiet subdivisions. Among the surprised residents was a Holly Springs man who captured a picture of the bear looking startlingly out of place next to a white picket fence. The end of July was met with 10 black bear sightings in one week in Asheville.

“They’re just passing through,” says black bear biologist Colleen Olfenbuttel. “In the summertime, natural food sources can be scarce. They probably just smell something and wander in.”

When the bears’ natural food sources become harder to find, they start looking for reliable food wherever ever they can find it. Sometimes that means a birdfeeder, garbage cans, unattended dog food, compost piles or even an uncleaned grill.

Because of the lack of natural food sources, bears often turn to agricultural crops to placate their hunger. Corn and soybeans are popular choices for bears, especially in the eastern part of the state.

Olfenbuttel notes that bears don’t often cause problems until food is involved.

“We want to keep them from becoming habituated,” she says. When they associate people with food, they see it as a reward for being in close proximity to people. When they lose that fear, it becomes dangerous.”

While black bears are not commonly aggressive like their grizzly kin, they are still large, wild animals. The average weight for a female is around 200 pounds and a male around 300 pounds. When standing on their hind legs, they often reach six feet. The largest black bear on record was a male bear from North Carolina that clocked in at 880 pounds. They can run at about 30 miles per hour and swim well.

Despite their appearance, Olfenbuttel notes there are two main misconceptions about black bears: “Most people think they’re either a dangerous animal or a cuddly pet,” she says. “Neither is accurate. They are a wild animal, but not to be feared. They’re a wonderful resource in North Carolina.”

North Carolina has not seen any black bear attacks even though bears have been spotted in nearly every county. Olfenbuttel estimates there have only been five bear attacks on the East Coast in the past 10 years. Despite the fact black bear populations have increased over the past two decades, there still remain relatively few conflicts, mostly because the bears still view humans as a threat.

Black bears are becoming more common in the Piedmont areas of North Carolina, but they are still more prominent in the eastern part of the state and in the mountains. One way the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission regulates the bear population in those areas is through a hunting season.

“We’ve seen in those places that the hunting season preserves the bears’ natural fear of people,” Olfenbuttel says.

Most bear complaints are associated with feeding, either on purpose or through an open source, and most of the complaints can be resolved over the phone by helping the caller identify the food source and remove it. In the bear research field, Olfenbuttel says they refer to the saying, “A fed bear is a dead bear.”

“Feeding a bear rewards it for coming in close proximity to you and your home,” says Michael Juhan, a biologist with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.

“When the food becomes unavailable, the bear may resort to damaging items around your property in search of it. In addition, bears feeding on unnatural food sources around your home may cause them to lose their fear of humans and approach them—a situation that rarely ends well for the bear and could have potential safety issues for humans as well.”

“When a bear becomes a nuisance, the only option is to remove it lethally. We don’t relocate in North Carolina,” Olfenbuttel says. “We’ve found that it typically doesn’t resolve the problem and there is really no remote place to relocate them to.”

Relocated bears have been known to travel up to 400 miles to return to the location they were captured. When they are dropped off in a new environment, they often become bewildered and confused and sometimes attempt to cross highways in order to get back to their home, which can cause devastating accidents.

“I always relate it to: If someone dropped me off in Miami, I wouldn’t stay. I’d be confused, alone and out-of-place. I’d try like heck to get back home,” Olfenbuttel says.

Occasionally hikers in the woods will stumble on a bear. Olfenbuttel recommends the best thing to do in that situation is not to approach the bear, but clap your hands and alert the bear of your presence.
“Nine times out of 10, they’ll run off,” she says. “View it as an opportunity to see wildlife, but keep a respectful distance.”

Ingredients

1 large sweet potato
2 ½ cups milk
2 cups half & half
1 tablespoon salt
3 teaspoons sugar
1 cup cornmeal
½ cup flour
8 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
6 eggs, separated
¼ cup cream

Instructions

Bake sweet potato in center of 325-degree F oven until tender, about 1 hour. Peel and puree smooth. Set aside. Butter a 12-cup shallow casserole. Heat milk, half & half, salt and sugar in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. When small bubbles appear around the edge, slowly whisk in cornmeal and flour, stirring constantly. Continue to stir as mixture cooks and thickens. When smooth and creamy, remove from heat and stir in butter until completely melted and combined. In a medium bowl, beat yolks and cream together until lightened in color. Gradually add to cornmeal mixture. Add ¾ cup sweet potato puree. Add salt to taste, if desired. Recipe can be made ahead to this point. Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Beat egg whites and fold into cornmeal mixture. Spread into prepared dish. Bake until puffy, golden brown and just set, about 30-35 minutes.

Serving: 12-14
Author: Ben Barker, Magnolia Grill, Durham, North Carolina