Northeast Bradford FFA members (from left) Brooke Calkins and Anna Towner were greeted at the Pennsylvania Farm Show on Jan. 8 by Kay and Daryl Miller. The landscape display they designed was inspired by Shores Sisters Farm Market in Wysox, where the girls enjoy shopping. Kay Miller is the mother and mother-in-law of business owners (not pictured) Mike and Renee Wilson. The Millers were also at the Farm Show for the PA Department of Agriculture’s Leopold Award luncheon as the commissioner is also a member of the State Conservation Commission.
Story and Photos by Rick Hiduk
(Originally published in the Daily Review)
Stealing some attention from the presentation stage in the Giant Expo Hall at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex this year was a meticulously designed and implemented landscape display nearby that paid homage to a Bradford County business.
Northeast High School FFA advisor Michala Forest noted that two groups of students – those in floral design class and those in forest & woodworking – combined forces to bring the colorful exhibit together. Forest cited NEB seniors Brooke Calkins and Anna Towner as the driving forces behind the project. “They are leaders in motivating and encouraging others,” she stated.
Brooke did much of the design work, and Anna put her ag business skills to the test to bring the ideas to fruition. They looked to Shores Sisters Farm Market in Wysox for inspiration, incorporating some elements of the café and greenhouse directly into their plans, like the pumpkins, hay bails, hanging ferns, pillows, an irregular flagstone pathway, and a simple Come as You Are sign on the door of the house facade that bares an obvious similarity to the exterior of the business owned by Mike and Renee Wilson.
“It feels like home,” Anna said of Shores Sisters. “We love how everybody is welcome there.”
“We wanted that homey kind of feel,” Brooke concurred.
According to Anna, the students contacted the Wilsons who gave their blessings to move forward with the project. “I just love how it feels so real,” said Anna. “I would live in this house. It’s so pretty.”
“It looks like you could open that door and walk right in,” Brooke remarked.
There were some revisions made along the way as they rethought some elements that they thought they had finished.
“Brooke and Anna were motivated to try something new and dedicated to ensuring that the project was done correctly. They are leaders in motivating and encouraging others,” Forest said of the two seniors. “These skills can be applied to any career they choose to go into, including nursing for Brooke and elementary education for Anna.”
On Jan. 8, they returned to the Farm Show for the Pennsylvania State FFA Association Mid-Winter Convention and had an opportunity to see how the display was holding up. Not only did they find it still in good shape, they ran into a pair of admirers. Mike Wilson’s mother, Kay Miller, and her husband, Commissioner Daryl Miller.
“It’s a really neat project, and it’s a proud moment to see them have it here at the Farm Show,” the commissioner remarked. “The story is inspiring too.”
“The fact that they chose Shores Sisters as their inspiration is very humbling,” Kay added, noting that her father, Tom Champluvier, was once president of the Wyalusing chapter of the FFA and won an American Farmer Award.