Through this spell of rainy weather we are having I am keeping my spirits up by visiting the beautiful flowers here at Hershey Farm.

Not only does Hershey Farm have soothing walking trails and picturesque vegetable gardens, they have a wonderful selection of plants and flowers and outdoor accessories available for purchase.

The Outdoor Market stocks fresh flowers and unique accents for every garden.

The merchandise is always changing and new varieties of plants and flowers will help you make it through the rainiest of days!

Over the Memorial Day weekend Hershey Farm provided a 'Create Your Own' Whoopie Pie activity for children at the Flavor Fest 2009. This fun, interactive experience allows children to make Lancaster's #1 Whoopie Pie, their way.

Starting with a Hershey Farm signature Whoopie Pie shell kids added as much (or as little) whipped filling as they wanted to before topping it off with the second moist and perfectly chocolaty (trust me here, they are great) Whoopie Pie shell.

The next place for your child to create their own Whoopie Pie is at the 5th Annual Whoopie Pie Festival. This free Festival is held Saturday, September 19, 2009 from 11am - 5pm. For more details visit www.whoopiepiefestival.com.

My name is Clair Zeager and I have been working for Hershey Farm since 1998. I work with Michelle in the office taking care of the administrative work for Hershey Farm. I currently live in Boston, MA and I do most of my administrative work for Hershey Farm from my home in Boston. I come to Hershey Farm about twice a week for a few days, so that is why most of you don't see me that much or not at all.
By far the most enjoyable thing for me in my 10 years working for Hershey Farm has been the people that I have met and the relationships that I have built during my time working at Hershey Farm. What little I know about other companies employees makes me believe that we have the most amazing group of people that work for Hershey Farm. I have been so blessed by everybody that takes time to say hi to me and talk with me when I run into them at Hershey Farm. I appreciate the housekeeping and front desk staff that always makes me feel special when I stay overnight at the motel. I appreciate the gift shop staff that always very kind to me when I'm in the store. I appreciate the waitresses that always ask me how I'm doing and how things are going in Boston. I appreciate the kitchen staff and the bakery staff that always have to deal with me giving away food to somebody or some organization. There are so many more people that I could thank individually that have worked at Hershey Farm over the past 10 years, but that would make letter way to long. All of this means to me that we have so many amazing people that work at Hershey Farm, and I am grateful and honored to be a part of this group.

Hello, my name is Brian Ludwig. I attended high school at Garden Spot in New Holland. I then went to Penn State University to major in food services and motel management. I was active in sports in High School and at Penn State I was given the opportunity to work with the gymnastic team to help manage, train and coach. It fulfilled two of my biggest interests, food service and athletic training. Penn State had an excellent food service program and they had an excellent gymnastic program. The year I graduated, the gymnastic team took first place in the nation. I was blessed to work under Gene Wettstone, the gymnastic head coach and gained much valuable information on development and motivation of athletics. I found this to be significant training grounds for learning how to manage food service employees in the future. I thoroughly loved Penn State. The athletic department offered me a full scholarship to receive my Master's degree if I would continue my work with various sports teams. As much as I loved the aspect, I felt it was time to begin my career in food service.
After college, I came to work for Tom Zeager at Family Time restaurant. I managed four restaurants for Mr. Zeager and when he purchased Hershey Farm in 1992, I fell in love with the facility. I was given the opportunity to manage Hershey Farm from 1992-2005. It is an awesome place to work. I still was able to stay in touch with gymnastics and became close friends with Vitaly Scherbo, who in 1992 won 6 gold metals in the Olympics. He spent much time at Penn State so I had a great connection for meeting Vitaly.

Food service and sports have been great for me. I love Hershey Farm and I love training athletes. At the present time I am the retail manager at Hershey Farm. I also do weight training for high school wrestlers. My main focus though, along with my role at Hershey Farm, is being more involved in Christian ministry. I teach 3 bible studies a week and find that to be extremely fulfilling.

I have truly been blessed with my opportunity at Penn State and working for Mr. Zeager and now with a major focus on Christian ministry. I also enjoy writing. I have written 4 short Christian books and plan on writing more in the future.

The Shenandoah Valley has a rich heritage in southern Gospel Music. In March, of the year 2000, a quartet was formed to carry this fine tradition into the new century. They are, *THE PROMISEDLAND QUARTET*, an exciting group of male vocalists based in Edinburg, Virginia. Individually they have ministered in churches, concert halls, schools, and outside events in nearly 25 states, and have performed on regional television and played on Gospel Radio nationwide. Collectively, they have over 60 years of gospel experience. Remarkable, considering that the average member age is only 42! Following the example of some of the *80s and *90s *super quartets*, PromisedLand in such a very short time, has been identified as having a *big traditional sound*. Diehard quartet fans ask; does the bass singer sing LOW? Of course! Can the tenor really go UP? Most certainly! But more importantly, the group has a well-balanced blend of voices and personalities that allows for quite a variety of styles and moods during every concert (if you enjoy laughing, you will not be disappointed).

The Promised Land Quartet will be coming to Hershey Farm Restaurant, October, 2009.

Sat 10/3 - Breakfast show

Sun 10/4 - Breakfast show

Sat 10/17 - Breakfast show

Sun 10/18 - Breakfast show

Sun 11/22 - Breakfast show

Please visit www.promisedlandquartet.com for details on this group.

Call 1-800-822-7866 to book your reservation today!

If you've stayed or eaten at Hershey Farm Restaurant & Inn over the past 18 years, there is a pretty good chance that somewhere along the line you've run into me, Brett Eby.

I might be what you call a Hershey Farm "Lifer". My career at Hershey Farm started as a busboy at age 15. My mother applied for a hostess position and a stipulation of her taking on the job was that they would hire me as a busser. I made my first promotion at age 17 to become the first male waiter. Soon after that, I began greeting & seating at the front desk and eventually became front desk manager of the restaurant. During my time working at Hershey Farm, I graduated from a local high school and went on to receive a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management from Goldey-Beacom College in Delaware. In 1997, I transferred to the Inn. This transfer has broadened my knowledge of the business and enabled me to appreciate all aspects of Hershey Farm operations. Hershey Farm graciously held my position for me several times during which I participated in mission work overseas in 2000 & 2001. Through my position at the Inn, I've had the opportunity to meet individuals from virtually all 50 states and many foreign countries, as well.

Next time you're passing through Lancaster County, stop by Hershey Farm Inn and say hello. I'll be waiting for you J

Hershey Farm is much more than a delicious Lancaster County Smorgasbord and Inn. Hershey Farm plays host to fun farm animals, walking trails, a fishing lake and more! In the next few posts we will discover together everything Hershey Farm has to offer in Lancaster County, PA.

Last week, while the sun was shining, I toured part of Hershey Farm's 23 acres. Starting in front of Hershey Farm Restaurant I was delighted to meet the two newest additions to the Hershey Farm family, sheep named Buwe (pronounced Boova - it means boy in PA Dutch) and his sister Fluff. These friendly farm animals greeted me with sweet faces and happy personalities, even before I produced a bag of animal feed I had brought along (feed for the animals is available in the Inn lobby and the Outdoor Market).

After visiting with Buwe and Fluff I made my way down to the red barn. The red barn is located behind the restaurant next to the fishing pond (a future post). The red barn is home to a few goat families. A trip to Hershey Farm, especially in the Spring and Summer months would not be complete without visiting these characters. Each goat will compete for your attention using every trick in the book. These clever farm animals enjoy eating feed from your hand and being scratched on the head.

Each grouping of goats has an inside and an outside pen, which makes visiting in wet and rainy weather possible. When you are in the area, plan on taking the time to visit the fun and friendly farm animals that call Hershey Farm home.

My name is Michelle Wood and I joined Hershey Farm March of 2002 as an administrative assistant. After just a few days I knew my decision to join Hershey Farm was the right one. There was such a warm and caring atmosphere among the management and employees. Coming from a manufacturing background, this was a new and delightfully different experience from the work environment I was familiar with.

This is the first job I have had that I can honestly say I enjoy. You can usually find me in the corporate office doing the daily bookkeeping and office duties or running errands through out the day. I assist the CFO and am the one to come to for payroll, employee or insurance issues.

Hershey Farm and its people mean a lot to me and I want to be here to see it flourish and grow. It is a promising place both spiritually and personably and I wish for everyone who spends time here the same warm and wonderful feeling I experience.

Mother's Day is Sunday, May 10, this year. Treat Mom to a delicious meal at Hershey Farm Restaurant.

Breakfast
7:00am -10:45am
$7.95 adult
$3.95 Children 4-8 $5.95 Children 9-12
(Plus tax and gratuity)

Smorgasbord
12:00 noon - 5:00pm
$20.95 adult
$7.95 Children 4-8 $9.95 Children 9-12
(Plus tax and gratuity. Senior discount is 10%)

Family Style
12:00 noon - 2:45pm
$19.25 adult
$12.25 Children 4-12
(Tax and gratuity INCLUDED. Parties of 8 or more.
Reservations Required. Must be one check.)

Please call 1-800-827-8635 x716 for Reservations!

Hello!

I wasn't able to get over to thank you in person for everything! Our stay was amazing! My group wanted to know when I was going to arrange another
one- at this point I just laughed (I was lucky to be healthy enough to travel this time around), but when I do get around to it, Hershey Farms will be first on my list.

Even my husband really enjoyed our stay and was brainstorming when/ways that we could make personal trips to visit Hershey Farms again. We really liked our room- it was the first time we had to relax as a family since we had
Gianna- who also enjoyed herself very much... especially with the geese.

Of course we all also enjoyed the food! I really cannot say enough good things about it. The group enjoyed the play as well- maybe when my little girls get old enough we'll be able to take them to see a show too.

Thanks for everything once again, and I hope to have to opportunity to schedule another group trip with you in the "near" future!

God bless (and thanks for the prayers!)

-Bridgette