Sunday Patriot-News, Harrisburg, Pa. Sept. 6, 1959
Strip Farming Boosts York County Productivity
County farmers are celebrating their 20th anniversary of participation with special programs and ceremonies.
Selected to receive the 1959 Soil Conservation Award was C. B. (Chris) Musser, a 63-year-old Mt. Wolf R.D. 1 farmer.
Musser operates a farm in Manchester. He has raised potatoes, peaches, corn, barley, oats, wheat, chickens, turkeys, fattened steers, and hogs.
The lifelong farmer became a co-operator with the York County Soil Conservation District in 1943; his gently sloping farmland is protected from erosion by 75 acres of strip cropping, 12 acres of perennial hay, and 11 acres of pasture. He has a farm pond for water storage, fish production, fire fighting, and recreation. He has planted hedgerows for wildlife cover and food.
The Musser farm was selected as an outstanding example of farm family life for a full-length color movie, “For Years to Come,” by the U.S. Department of Agriculture throughout the nation, China, and Russia.
Musser is interested in the reforestation of idle areas surrounding Pinchot Park, which he believes will help control erosion, conserve rainfall, and enhance the aesthetic value of the countryside.
York County depends heavily upon its agriculture. More than 40 percent of the 200,000 persons live in rural areas and are engaged in agriculture or related industries. The average farm is 75 acres, 90 percent owned by the farmer. This farmland is valued at $65 million and provides an annual income of $32 million.
Musser Farm As It Was Worked 16 Years Ago
Chris Musser is shown with his horses and equipment as he formed his
land before he joined the strip cropping program. It is barren, and
large areas of the land remain untouched, almost going to waste.
Musser Farm As It Appears Today
The same Chris Musser cultivates the same area, but now under
the soil conservation planning. The picture was taken from
approximately the same spot as the earlier photo.
York Conservation Queen Meets the Mussers
Connie Quesenberry, 16, Stewartstown, R. D. 1, thanks Mr. and Mrs. C. B. Musser
for the watch, they presented to her on behalf of York County Soil Conservation
Service at 20th-anniversary celebration.
Aerial View of Musser Farm
The contour of Musser’s land, as shown in this aerial photo,
describes better than words the meaning of strip farming.
Service Administrator Meets Musser
Donald A. Williams, administrator for U.S. Soil Conservation Service,
Washington, D.C., congratulates Musser for his fine farm program
at the 20th anniversary celebration at Musser farm.
Water Pond Helpful in Successful Farming
Glenn Musser, 16, left, son of Chris Musser, stocks farm pond with bluegills
as father looks on approvingly. The pond is necessary to provide water for
fire-fighting, recreation, water storage, and fish production.
Repairs Implements
Glenn Musser uses arc torches on implements. Being able
to make repairs is important on a farm.
Contour Plowing Aids in Strip Farming
Paul Musser, 31, one of the Musser sons, demonstrates contour plowing.
Every furrow acts as a little dam and keeps soil from washing away.
Sunday Patriot-News, Harrisburg, Pa. Sept. 6, 1959
Science & Medicine
Bullet-Like flight
After X-15 takes off, it will climb almost vertically until it
reaches the peak of its bullet-like flight. Plunging back
toward Earth, the pilot will be guided by a gyroscopic
system to avoid the danger of re-entry.
X-15 Will, Blast Off
From ‘Mother Ship
At a Speed of 3600 mph
By WAYNE HUGHES
For the Sunday Patriot-News
Snuggled under the wing of a giant B-52 jet bomber, the X-15 rocket research airplane is carried high above the Earth to its point of takeoff into space. At 38,000 feet, it will be fueled with liquid oxygen, and its pilot will climb into the tiny cockpit. Then, it will cut loose from the “mother ship,” and an American astronaut will begin his first flight into space.
The rocket engines will fire, and the needle nose of the X-15 will swing up. From the moment its flight begins, a Complex gyroscopic control and guidance system will assist the pilot in navigating the craft. Blasting into space at 3,600 M.P.H., Or better, X-15 will rise more than 150 miles above the Earth at an extremely steep angle of climb.
More like a bullet than an airplane, the X-15 will reach the peak of its trajectory within 90 seconds. With fuel exhausted, it will hang on in space momentarily as its momentum tapers. At the precise instant, the guidance system will tell the pilot to use his supplementary rocket controls to dip the nose back toward Earth.
Fighting the sensation of zero gravity, the pilot will begin his plunge toward the Earth’s atmosphere, where he will encounter one of his greatest hazards – reentry.
As the craft hurtles down, the gyroscopic system must “sense” the reentry point, warn the pilot, and help him pull out of his dive to slow the craft and avoid overheating. X-15 will burn to a crisp in moments if he fails to pull out.
In a series of dives and flat glides, the X-15 will descend through the atmosphere until it lands at a slow 275 miles per hour on the nose wheel and skids.
The entire flight, from blast-off to landing, will require only a few minutes. Within that time, man will have entered the doorway to outer space. He will have escaped from the Earth and returned.
The next step will be manned orbital flight around Earth. X-15 will pave the way.
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
September 17, 1959 – Thursday
The North American X-15 jet fighter made its first powered flight, with test pilot Scott Crossfield guiding it. A B-52 bomber carried the X-15 to 38,000 feet over Edwards AFB, and Crossfield then launched to 50,000 feet. The X-15 could reach a maximum altitude of 67 miles, sufficient to put it into space, although not into orbit.