Md. Kids Hear Real-Life Farm Safety Stories

Laurie Savage
Maryland Correspondent

JEFFERSON, Md. — About 50 campers kicked off for safety June 24-25 during Farm Safety Camp here at the Frederick County 4-H Camp and Activities Center.

The 14th annual camp offered sessions on food, personal, farm and survival safety, and included stories from farmers on their own experiences.

Director Diane Ogg of Thurmont said the goal is for each child to leave remembering at least one safety sound bite, such as “look twice at railroad crossings” or “always walk in groups.”

The three-year Catoctin High School agriculture teacher said she is excited about taking over the helm.

“It seemed like a good opportunity, especially being in the education field. It was a good fit,” she said.

Jane Smith of Jefferson said she and her husband, Charles, started the camp as Frederick County Farm Bureau Safety Committee chairpersons. Smith headed up the camp until last year.

“I thought it was something we had to do,” she said.

Over the years, many groups supported the camp, including the county sheriff’s office and the Farm Bureau and Farm Bureau Women.

“We did accomplish quite a lot of goals,” Smith said.

This year, three farmers and safety advocates spoke to campers about their own experiences with accidents and efforts to prevent them in the future.

Paul Coblentz of Middletown, Md. said he was hauling manure when a man came to his farm. He watched the visitor carefully. “For some reason, I worried about what he might do,” he said.

Coblentz could see the man with his arms on the fence, but after the tractor passed by him, the man suddenly stepped in front of the spreader.

“It was a big spreader. Of course, he lost his life,” he said. “I couldn’t understand why this would happen.”

His wife believes after the loud tractor passed, the man stepped out, not realizing the spreader was behind it.

“When you feel responsible for taking someone’s life, it’s hard to deal with for a while,” Coblentz said. He encouraged the campers to always be mentally aware.

Mehrle Ramsburg of Thurmont said he was harvesting late corn in December 1989 when an accident took his arm.

“I was unloading the wagon. It had a power takeoff shaft on it, and the shield was not in place,” he said. When he reached across the PTO, in a fraction of an instant, he was caught in the turning apparatus.

Ramsburg knew his daughter would come by soon. She found him and shut off the tractor.

The helicopter could not transport him from the scene because of snow, so he was taken to Frederick Memorial Hospital before being sent to the state’s hand center.

“They operated for six hours that night” attempting to reattach the arm, Ramsburg said. That was to be followed by a 28-day stay in the hospital.
After just a few days, Ramsburg realized the operation was not successful, and the attempt to save the arm was abandoned.

“I made the decision that if I lost that arm, I’d have to go on,” he said.
In the 19 years since, he continues to operate tractors. He takes his time. He learned how to button his pants by leaning up against a door jamb. He relies on his wife, Thelma.

“When you lose an arm, it changes your life forever,” he said.

Glenn Markley of Frederick grew up on a farm in northwest Iowa and said many friends and relatives lost their arms in accidents. Before combines, corn pickers were used, and farmers tried to unplug them without shutting off the machines.

Now Markley works with Operation Lifesaver, a group that promotes railroad crossing safety.

“Look, listen, live. That’s the motto for Operation Lifesaver,” he said.
Many farms are divided by tracks that must be crossed, in addition to moving machinery over crossings on the road.

When traversing railroad crossings, farmers need to be careful equipment doesn’t get caught, he said. “If it does get caught, you need to have someone call the train.”

Each crossing should be numbered and have a number to call in order to stop the train.

“When you go to make your crossing decision, when you see the train, don’t cross,” he said.

Some campers related to the group farm incidents and the messages they took away.

Dusty Kahler said he ran into a fence while riding an all-terrain vehicle. He later participated in the county’s tractor safety course. Tyler Hipkins said the flagpole at the camp is there in memory of his uncle who was killed in a tractor accident.

Smith said her granddaughter was killed in a car accident because she was not buckled. “When you begin to drive, make sure you are buckled up and your dad and mom are buckled up.”