PAGE 4 - THE FOREST CITY NEWS, FOREST CITY, PA 18421 * WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2017 * PHONE 570-785-3800 * email fcnews@nep.net

Thinking About GolfBy Art McLain

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Wivey’s Memorial Golf League

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There are thousands of rea-sons to visit Blueberry Hill Farm Greenhouses; 36,000 reasons just counting the tomato plants. You might be interested in buying one or several of the 32,000 pep-per plants. There are all kinds of varieties of peppers, as well as lettuce, tomatoes and almost anything else you can think of. There are literally thousands of varieties of flowers and vegetables that will be ready for spring plant-ing. If you have a chance to walk through their 10 greenhouses you are in for a treat.

Eileen, Cindy and John Mustica have been providing local garden-ers with the best selection of plants for 32 years, ever since their fam-ily moved here from New Jersey. This is truly a family business as many of the family members young and old take part in the continuing story that started as a dream and hobby for John Sr. It grew from a start with an 8 by 12 foot greenhouse into one of the largest suppliers of flowers and vegetables in Northeastern Penn-sylvania.

Blueberry Hill is easy to find, just a short drive off of Route 247 between Forest City and Crys-tal Lake or right off of Route 171 between Simpson and Vandling. Many of us have driven past the business and taken a quick glance but until you actually have a chance to stop, look around and talk with Eileen or John, you will have no idea of all of the plants that the greenhouses support.

Another good reason to stop is you might just find the secret to staying young. If Eileen were to go to one of the firemen’s picnics and have someone try to guess her age she might just walk out with all of the prizes they have to win. She says she doesn’t mind telling her age because she knows she doesn’t look it and that is a fact. When asked what her secret is she simply says, “hard work.” She is the hardest working person in their business, her son, John, says.

It is a labor they love and good thing for that as it is a 7 day a week job for all of them. The prepara-tions for the spring begin in the fall. After 32 years they have a set schedule for the different plants and what needs to be done to have them ready. All of the seeds are planted by hand and it is hard to appreciate what they do until you actually see it with your own eyes.

There was a great selection of beautiful Easter flowers and many of their customers return every year. The warmer weather has customers asking about flow-ers and vegetable plants for plant-ing outside. The standard rule of thumb of waiting to start a garden until Memorial Day bears repeat-ing according to John. People that try to get a head start run the risk

of returning for more plants if the weather turns cold again.

John and Eileen are very friend-ly and always willing to share tips and information with their customers. John likens the knowl-edge of the plants as gift given to him by his parents and he is happy to share it. There is much to learn for the average gardener and also there are things about their business that might surprise many people.

Not that many years ago the majority of the customers for vegetable plants were older folks. With the trend toward organic and healthier food and the rising prices in the stores, the customers are including more young people that are now interested in starting gardens and growing their own vegetables.

One time one of their custom-ers, Jim Miller Sr, asked for Bel-gium tomato plants and told John that it was the most delicious of all tomatoes. As John would do for any of his customers, he ordered some of the Belgium tomatoes. Even though it was a great tomato it was slow to gain popularity with the customers. In fact the majority of plants would remain unsold and John told Mr. Miller that he was ready to discontinue stocking this variety. Mr. Miller persuaded John to stay with it and now it is one of their best selling tomato plants.

There are two different inspec-tors that visit their business. One of the inspectors deals with insects and any problems there. Another inspector comes to enforce patent regulations. Many of their potted flowers, geraniums for example, are patented and it is illegal for them to grow more plants from the plants that they have. Many of the plants are grown from cut-tings from other plants and if those plants are under patent they must be purchased from the sup-plier having the patent.

Blueberry Hill is always on the lookout for new plants and usu-ally start with modest supplies of new items until they prove themselves as being good qual-

ity and popular with the custom-ers. Two of the newest varieties are Petunia - Night Sky (purple with white spots that look like a night sky) and Queen of Hearts that have flowers with colors that are shaped like red hearts. Both of these varieties are featured on their Facebook page at Blueberry Hill Farm Greenhouses.

There is much to see at Blueber-ry Hill Farm Greenhouses. There is a fig tree that will bear figs in September. There are also some cactus plants and a humungous aloe plant. “John was a farmer,” Eileen says in remembering her husband. He used to grow veg-etables and raise pigs along with raising flowers. The unsold or extra vegetables would provide food for the pigs.

John’s dream come true did not come easily. John and Eileen found and bought the farm and moved here in 1985. John was still working during the week at a tool and die business in New Jer-sey and would come to the farm on weekends at first. Eventu-ally John took a position locally at Prompton Tool and Die and was able to live at their farm perma-nently. It took his work and all of the family’s efforts in building the business and he was able to see his dream of a family business come to pass.

Chances are good the next gen-eration of the Mustica family will keep this great business going as Eileen has 8 grandchildren. John has plans for even more improve-ments to their business. Everyone is as friendly as can be and will patiently take time and help you with any questions. If you haven’t stopped previously your will be amazed and happy when you do.

One other interesting note is in the origin of their name of Blue-berry Hill. While there are plenty of wild blueberry bushes on the property the name might have been prompted when Eileen was ironing a shirt and the tag said “Blueberry Hill”. She thought, “that might be a good name for their farm.” The farm was named Blueberry Hill.

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Blueberry Hill Farm Greenhouses pictured from left to right are Giovanni, John, and An-thony Mustica, with Mollie the Yellow Lab, Eileen Mustica, Jonathan and Ashley Curtis, Brianna (in front), Kaitlyn, Brandon, and Cindy Thomas. Missing from photo was Joey Thomas.

Blueberry Hill Farm Greenhouse is a labor of love for Mustica family

Wivey’s Memorial Golf League was rained out on Wednesday, April 19. The first week will start on April 26.

“The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month.” ~Henry Van Dyke

With the birth of April the Gi-raffe’s calf on Saturday, April 15th, the whole world is more interested than ever about the natural world and its inhabitants. What better place to find out all sorts of facts than your local Li-brary Location? Did you know that giraffes have 12 upper and 12 lower molars in the back part of their mouth as well as 8 additional teeth in the front of their mouth-bottom jaw only, for a total of 32 teeth? Giraffes spend almost their entire day (16 to 20 hours a day) eating, and sleep in 10 min-ute naps. When they are not eat-ing new food, they chew their cud like cows do. Giraffe hooves grow much like your fingernails and must be maintained. Many parks use natural substrates and materials to allow natural trim-ming like they would in their wild environment. Did you know that a giraffe’s heart is approx. 25 lbs. and is the powerful muscle that sends blood up the head? A gi-raffe can run up to speeds of 35 miles an hour, outrunning some horses. Now that I have your in-terest peaked, stop in and learn more about these fascinating ani-mals and so many more just wait-ing for you on the Library Shelves. You won’t be disappointed.

On Friday, April 28th, at 10:45 AM, “Pennsylvania One Book

For Every Young Child”will pres-ent an Author Visit with Author and Illustrator Micha Archer at the Montrose United Method-ist church, located at 526 Church Street, Montrose.

What a wonderful way to spend an April Morning with your youngster(s)!

The 2017 Spring Pottery and Art Sale will be held on Saturday, May 6th, from 10:00 AM until 4:00PM and on Sunday, May 7th, from 10:00 AM until 3:00 PM. At the Montrose VFW, 16972 State Route 706, Montrose, Pa. This event will be sponsored by the Pa. Beyond Pottery Artisans with a portion of the proceeds to benefit the Susquehanna County Histori-cal Society and Free Library As-sociation.

If you have attended the sale in the past, you know what beautiful and unique items will be on display and for sale. Many would make fantastic gifts for birthdays, anniversaries, wed-dings, and, especially Mother’s Day! You may even find an ad-dition to that nook in your own home. In addition, please check out the Used Book Sale being held at the same time and in the VFW as well. One never has too many books. You never know what you might find—perhaps a tome you have been seeking? “Like” Beyond Pottery Artisans on Face-book-- https://www.facebook.com/BeyondPotteryArtisans/?hc_ref=SEARCH&fref=nf

LIBRARY TIDBITSby Nancy Narma

Blue Ridge vs. FC April 17

The Lady Foresters rally over Blue Ridge for their 2nd consecutive win. Caitlyn Bon-ham and Madeline Bailer each had a triple and drove in two runs. Winning pitcher Kary Gillette had 11 strikeouts and drove in a run with a double.

Hunter Vaughn had two hits and Savannah Glover had an RBI for Blue Ridge.

Pleasant Mt.Spring raffle

Tickets are on sale now at Pleasant Mount Library for their spring raffle basket. Just $1 buys a chance on a basket loaded with goodies worth well over $100.

In addition to assorted teas, cookies and candies, there is a Kindle Fire, a Kensington sin-gle serve teapot, tea infusers, mug, puzzle, adult coloring book and pencils, muffin mix, candles, dish towels, hot pads, and a 10 piece china set which includes a platter, pie server and four cups and saucers.

The winner will be drawn at the Victorian Tea Party and Strip Tease on Saturday May 20th. For more information, please call the library at 570-448-2573 during their regular hours: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday from noon until 7 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.

This basket is sponsored by Friends of the Pleasant Mount Library. All funds raised will be applied to library programs.

Election DayLuncheonTues., May 16

The Forest City Area His-torical Society will conduct an Election Day Luncheon on Tuesday, May 16, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the FCA Histori-cal Society Museum, corner of Main and Dundaff Streets in Forest City.

The luncheon will consist of a wimpie or hot dog, with sauce or sauerkraut, potato salad and cake, all for $5. Just a sandwich will be $3.

Eat-in or take-out or deliv-eries will be available, orders for take-out must be made by Monday, May 15, at 570-785-3800.

The event is a fund-raiser for the FCA Historical Society.

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You could almost hear the sigh of relief when a golf league is can-celled on a rainy evening. Is there anyone who enjoys playing golf in the rain? Sometimes it might be inevitable that we’ll need to play in wet conditions. Being prepared can make the difference in suffering through an unpleas-ant round of golf or playing the best we can despite the difficult situation.

We won’t need to have all of our rain gear with us each time we play, but it makes good sense to at least have the wet weather equipment ready at a moment’s notice. Towels are always good to have. Even when not raining, towels can help us keep our ball and clubs clean and help keep our hands and grips dry. If it is raining or likely to rain, hav-ing several towels makes a lot of sense.

Having more than one golf glove, if you wear a glove, is a good idea. There are gloves made especially for wet weather and the wetter they get the bet-ter they seem to work. Having a pair of rain gloves can pay divi-dends in winning an extra point or saving a few extra strokes off the score.

Having a cap or even a rain cap will be essential, especially for the golfers who wear glasses. Keeping our head and face as dry as possible will give us a chance to concentrate a little better and longer. An umbrella, even if shared between partners, will be helpful in staying a little dryer a little longer.

Wet weather makes it even more important that our golf shoes are in good condition. Having a fresh set of golf spikes in your shoes might make the dif-ference in saving several strokes, especially if you get into a side hill lie situation.

Wet weather is a good time

to have good grips on your golf clubs. If your grips are already worn and slick, it might become almost impossible to control your club the way you would like to during your swing. Again, hav-ing a dry towel that can dry your grip before you play your shot is really helpful so keeping one towel dry as long as you can will help quite a bit.

Playing shots from the fair-way and rough might have to be planned differently in wet con-ditions. From the fairway it will likely be a good idea to think of sweeping your shots off the grass rather than hitting down with a steep swing. If the rough is wet, we might have to consider ac-cepting less distance on our shots. If the ball is sitting up nicely, there is still the danger of a flyer or a shot going farther than usual because of the water that gets be-tween the club and ball. Taking a moment before playing a shot to consider some of the possibilities and probabilities is a good idea. It will be tempting to rush a shot and try to get it over with and get back out of the rain.

Actually there are some golfers who like to play in wet conditions as they know that it will give them an advantage over other golfers who will get discouraged by the weather. Our attitude has much to do with the outcome so finding any way to stay positive and optimistic is going to create an advantage over other golfers who are frustrated and exasper-ated by playing in the rain.

Best wishes for a great sea-son. Keeping a positive attitude makes a big difference in how well we play and score. If you would like help with your golf game feel welcome to contact me at arthurmclain@yahoo.com and see my ad in the Forest City News.

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Amer-Slov. Clubto meet May 7

The American Slovenian Heritage Club will meet Sunday, May 7, at 1 p.m. at Elegante’ Restaruant. Mem-bership is open to all nation-alities.