29 things that the Pa. Farm Show butter sculpture has honored

Sculptors have paid tribute to Ben Franklin, the Amish community and milkshakes

• Ed Mahon
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  Ed Mahon comes to Spotlight PA from PA Post, where he covered state politics and policy, produced radio stories that were broadcast on public media stations throughout the state and on NPR’s national newscasts, and co-wrote a weekday newsletter. Prior to joining PA Post, Ed worked for six years as an investigative and political reporter for the York Daily Record, part of the USA Today Network. His reporting on failures in Pennsylvania’s system for protecting domestic abuse victims was a finalist in the national 2018 Livingston Awards for Young Journalists in the local reporting category. He was also part of a team whose coverage of the criminal justice system, including the aggressive use of civil asset forfeiture by York County prosecutors, received the 2018 G. Richard Dew Award for Journalistic Service from the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association. Before joining the York Daily Record, Ed covered K-12 education at the Centre Daily Times in State College and worked as a stringer for suburban sections of The Philadelphia Inquirer. He grew up in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

 Lisa Wardle / WITF

Butter sculptors Jim Victor and Marie Pelton said creating the characters' capes was difficult.

The butter sculpture at the Pennsylvania Farm Show has honored a lot of people and things:

Ben Franklin, football players, former President Dwight Eisenhower (who had a home in Gettysburg), the Amish community, firefighters, soldiers, Ben Franklin again, milkshakes and so on.

Here’s a look.

(Descriptions are from the American Dairy Association North East, which sponsors the butter sculpture.)

1991: Ben Franklin

1992: Dairy Princes with 4-H Child

1993: Ice cream vendor

1994: Football players

1995: World War II butter rations

1996: President Eisenhower feeding a calf

1997: Amish community (Amish boy pulling a calf)

1998: School lunch program (cafeteria lady with apples)

1999: Miss Commonwealth

2000: Tribute to county fairs (carousel)

2001: Produce market (first use of colored butter)

2002: Tribute to 9/11 heroes

2003: Tribute to Pa. Farm Show (cow with relief sculptures)

2004: Tribute to Milton Hershey (use of chocolate)

2005: Tribute to Farmland Preservation

2006: Tribute to progress in the dairy industry (old milk wagon delivering new milk vending machine)

2007: Ben Franklin with the Liberty Bell

2008: Tribute to agricultural education in Pennsylvania (children boarding school bus with cow)

2009: Tribute to the Pennsylvania National Guard and dairy farm families

2010: Dairy farms’ economic contribution (farm family at breakfast table)

2011: Tribute to Fuel Up to Play 60 (kids on jungle gym, farmer and football player)

2012: Tribute to 100th anniversaries of the Pennsylvania 4-H and Pennsylvania State Association of County Fairs

2013: Tribute to PA Preferred

2014: Tribute to 60th anniversary of the PA Dairymen’s Association Milkshake

2015: Tribute to local food banks and the “Fill a Glass with Hope” milk campaign

2016: In honor of the 100th Pennsylvania Farm Show and the people who participate in the

show’s contests and exhibits

2017: Tribute to dairy farmers who are committed to A Culture of Stewardship

2018: Pennsylvania Dairy Industry: Strength in Our Diversity. Careers from Crop to Consumer.

2019: Choose PA Dairy and Find Your Power

The sculptors

1991-1994: Raymond Mackintosh

1995: Jim Victor

1996-2002: Ed Shank

2003-2007: Jim Victor

2008-2019: Jim Victor and Marie Pelton