By Judy Klemesrud Special towards the New York Times
GREENWICH, N. Y.—A attorney and their family members from Br klyn spent the weekend having a dairy farmer and their family members here, and also by enough time it was over, some preconceived notions about “city slickers” and “country bumpkins” had evaporated in to the sharp Washington county autumn air.
“I thought certain they mightn’t have dishwasher.” stated Janet Drogin, 37 years of age, the spouse from Br klyn. “But they have most of the modern conveniences we’ve, and our kids have the same fancy walkie‐talkies, the sleeping that is same, and the same World B k encyclopedias.”
And James Sloan Jr., 39, the dairy farmer, was amazed that the Drogins were because understanding as these people were concerning the farmer’s economy.
They truly are the first city individuals I’ve ever met who believe farmers aren’t getting that which you be getting,” he stated. “Every time f d costs increase, we farmers have the impression that the town individuals blame us.”
The week-end visit, known as the City‐Farm Swap, was sponsored by the Agricultural Council of America, a business of farmers located in Washington as a means of educating urban dwellers about the important points and economics of raising meals on farms.
City Visits Scheduled
Next springtime, the farm individuals are designed to endeavor into the town for the return visit.
“The swap is not only a farm trip, where you pet the animals to see the tractor.” stated Allen Paul, executive director of the council. “The individuals actually get to know each other, and understand each other’s financial difficulties. It’s specially valuable for the farmers, simply because they get a feel of this dilemmas town individuals face when they go in to the supermarket and begin filling up that grocery cart.”
About 100 town families t k part in the swap last weekend—50 in the Washington area and 50 in New York State. The brand new York swap, including stockbrokers, college instructors, taxi drivers and auto mechanics from the populous town, ended up being c rdinated by the brand new York State Farm Bureau and had been restricted to three upstate counties Saratoga. Washington and Rensselaer. Comparable city‐farm swaps are held in previous years in Seattle and Chicago.
Ira and Janet Drogin, whom sent applications for the swap prograin on a radio‐talk show, drove up to Greenwich (Pop. 2,263, about 30 miles north of Albany) Friday aftern n with their two sons after they heard about it. Laurerrt, 10, and Peter, S. Mr. Drogin, 41, is just a labor lawyer utilizing the Manhattan lawyer of Leaf, Kurzman, Deull & Drogin, and their clients are the Harlem Globetrotters therefore the regional 966 of the Overseas Brotherh d of Teamsters.
A ClichГ© Disappears
The Drogins expected their host family members to live in a small frame that is white on hill somewhere, but discovered, alternatively, an enormous red house filled with collectibles, not t much different from the massive red house filled with antiques that the Drogins own orr East 23d Street in the Flatbush element of Br klyn.
The farm household can be found on the 750 acres of land that Jim Sloan and his 34‐yearold wife, Connie, very own. They’ve two kids, Edson, 9, and Mary Margaret, 7.
The city family arrived just in time to watch Mr. Sloan and his two hired hands milk the Sloans’ herd of 80 Holstein dairy cows. The Drogin family got the chance, for the first time in their lives, to milk a cow by hand although the milking is done by electric milking machines.
“But just what actually impressed me probably the most had been when Jim went along to the fence and yelled, вЂCome, Boss,’” Mrs. Drogin stated. “All regarding the cows marched as much as the barn and went within their stalls to be milked.”
It don’t just take the two families extremely long to come to the final outcome they had “hit the jackpot” when you’re matched with each other. The kids hit it off immediately—their favorite activity was riding the Sloans’ brown pony, Old Grandad—and the adults found that they’d a lot in keeping.
Wives Collect Antiques
The wives both volunteer in their youngsters’ sch ls, gather antiques, like to sew and therefore are passionate c ks. The husbands usually work late in to the night, much for their wives’ chagrin, trying to earn more money.
The Drogins’ income is “in the vicinity” of $60,000 a year the Sloan’s gross about 90.000 within their dairy and cattle‐selling procedure, but net around $30.000 after their farm expenses are cared for.
The Drogins’ indulgence is the 28‐f t cabin cruiser, the Eagle we. As well as the Sloans’ indulgence is the new getaway home in Boynton Beach, Fla.
“I think our biggest distinction is the fact that we are uptight city people,” Mrs. Drogin observed. “It’s from all of the competition and pressures associated with the city. Jim and Connie Sloan are both really relaxed and free, and it spills up to their children, t .”
The Drogins are Jewish, the Sloans Roman Catholic. Religion, nevertheless, was hardly ever mentioned within the week-end and also the Drogins slept in even though the Sloans visited Mass early Sunday morning.
“We’ve known a Jew before.” Mrs. Sloan said datingmentor.org/escort/minneapolis. “He’s a person whom purchases cattle from my husband over in Glens Falls.”
One of the week-end highlights for the Drogin household were going to an auction that is cattle riding in the Sloans’ $22,000 John Deere tractor, consuming Mrs. Sloan’s homemade baked beans that were C ked in an actual crock, and going to a pot‐luck dinner Saturday evening with all of the other nyc city‐farm swap families at the Washington County fairgrounds.
After dinner, the farm wives staged a tongue‐incheek show of “farm fashions through the ages.” Mr. Sloan wore one of the more interesting fashions regarding the evening—a hand‐knitted cardigan sweater by having a black colored and Holstein that is white cow into the back. The night ended having a round of square‐dancing, which the Drogins stated they enjoyed.
Throughout the weekend, the 2 families invested much of their time round the dining r m table talking about one another’s life‐styles. One subject that kept coming up—and it was actually why the Agricultural Council of America sponsored the swap—was the way the farmer just isn’t completely to be culpable for the increasing costs of f d.
“I’ve complained that milk is 48 cents a quart,” Mrs. Drogin said, “but after talking utilizing the Sloans, I’ve learned that farmers only get 19 cents a quart because of it. Beef costs us $2.29 a pound, however the farmers only have 25 cent a lb in the h f these are genuine revelations in my experience. Somebody in between is truly creating a killing!”