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The Legend of the Whoopie Pie!

The Whoopie Pie is an increasingly more popular favorite in the bakery and snacking world. It essentially boils down to being a baked product that one can refer to as a cookie, pie or cake. The product consists of two round mound-shaped pieces of (most frequently) chocolate soft cake (though increasingly gingerbread, pumpkin red velvet, &tc.) that sandwiches a sweet, creamy filling or icing.

Whoopie Pies

The origins of the treat are confused, or, are at the very least muddied with many regions laying claim. The treat is considered a New England classic and/or a Pennsylvania Amish tradition, they have spread in their ingestion to pints all across the country. The whoopie pie is the official state treat of Maine. Maine also created the world’s largest whoopie pie (South Portland, Maine) weighing at 1,062 pounds!. Annual whoopie pie festivals are held all over the nation, throughout New England and in the Amishlands of Central Pennsylvania.

Four states lay claim to being the originator of the whoopie pie (Pennsylvania, Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire). The Pennsylvania Dutch Convention & Visitors Bureau notes that the whoopie pie recipe comes from the area’s Amish and Pennsylvania German culture, peoples who have not left a detailed record of where and when, thus difficulty in tracing an exact date. Bakeries in Maine, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania all have been selling the treat since the 1920s.

Maine’s obsession with whoopie pies has gone so far as the Maine State Legislature considering to name the whoopie pie the official state pie in their Legislative branch in 2011. The proposal received bipartisan support. L.D. 71, officially known as An Act to Designate the Whoopie Pie as the State Dessert, basically stated that the whoopie pie is the official state dessert. Controversy swirled around this effort as the Maine Legislature eventually decided to declare the whoopie pie the official state treat, and chose blueberry pie (made with wild Maine blueberries) as the official state dessert.

We here at Hilsher’s General Store offer the whoopie pie and many other baked items—all made from scratch in our own kitchen—like, shoofly pie, seasonal pies, cookies, snack cakes and so much more. We also have hand dipped Hershey’s ice cream.
For more information on our bakery in Snyder County and what we have for sale, call us at 570-374-1550 or contact us.

For the Butcher in Need of Supplies

You like to hunt. You don’t want just anybody handling your deer or your turkey. Not only do you do your own gutting, hair removal, even tanning—but you butcher your meat. You make your own jerky, you make your meat cuts, you make your burger.

Or, you may be are local farmer, who sells meat products. Maybe your equipment is out dated, in need of parts, or just replacement altogether. The hassle that comes with factory ordered equipment is not necessary, you can simply swing on over to Hilsher’s General Store and pick-up the butcher supplies that meets your needs.

Hilsher’s carries meat machinery made by the Chop-Rite Two company, makers of meat processing equipment of all sorts. Whether you want to make hamburger or your own sausage, Chop-Rite Two products have you covered. Not only that, they come in commercial grade level so you know your meat will be processed at a highly-efficient level. They even carry scales, grinder plates to fit any meat grinder, sharpeners for knives and grinder plates.

Regardless of your needs, Hilsher’s General Store will get you set with the butcher supplies you need. Enjoy a trip through the types of meat grinder equipment and supplies we offer below:

Manual

Butchering in an area sans electricity? Conduct some research prior to committing to a manual meat grinder. They all vary in terms of what type of metal they are made out of, other factors.

Standalone

A great selection for those who grind meat on the regular. A solid investment, these electric meat grinders boast the ability to use many different grinder plate options. You can experiment more with the type of meat you grind.

Attachments

Dependent upon the type of grinder you purchase, the type of meat you intend to grind, the type of meat you want to make (like sausage) and how often you intend to use it. As mentioned, a standalone (electric) grinder has more grinder plate options than a manual grinder. Keep that in mind as you are deciding on which of these butcher supplies to buy.

Would you like more information on butcher supplies near Selinsgrove? Call Hilsher’s General Store at 570-374-1550, visit us on Routes 11/15 seven miles south of Selinsgrove or you can Contact Us.

Get Ready for Trout Season in Selinsgrove

Temperatures have far exceeded our annual average throughout March 2016, creating an early spring thaw on the Susquehanna River, its tributaries and lesser bodies—winter ices long shed. With our spring thaw more than underway, it is time to start thinking Trout Season in Central PA!

Trout season gets underway April 16th in Snyder County and trout stocks have been under way since early March. Trout stocking efforts in Snyder County through the end of April are as follows:

Completed Trout Stocks:

March 1, 2016: West Branch Mahantango Creek (Brown, Rainbow), North Branch Mahantango Creek (Brown Rainbow).

March 21, 2016: Middle Creek (Brown, Rainbow), North Branch Middle Creek (Brown, Rainbow), South Branch Middle Creek (Brown, Rainbow).

April 2, 2016: Middle Creek (Brown, Rainbow).

Pending Trout Stocks:

April 14, 2016: Kern Run (Rainbow), Swift Run (Brook, Rainbow).

April 27, 2016: North Branch Middle Creek (Brown, Rainbow), Swift Run (Brook, Rainbow).

Trout require their own level of angling equipment. Selinsgrove residents, replenish or replace your fishing supplies at Hilsher’s General Store—trout rods, combo rods, fly rods and lures. Get ready for fishing all types with hip waders, tackle and bait for local fishing and sundry items, non-specific rods and reels, equipment and supply.

If your angling falls within the Susquehanna, a small stream or a farm pond, Hilsher’s General Stone located in nearby Port Trevorton can handle all of your fishing supply needs. Call Hilsher’s General Store at 570-374-1550, visit us on Routes 11/15 seven miles south of Selinsgrove or Contact Us.

How to Prevent Clogged Drains

One of the biggest plumbing hassles is a clogged drain. It seems like a problem that should be simple to fix, but sometimes you have to call in a professional plumber for help! We thought we’d share a few tips on how to avoid a clogged drain to begin with and a few tips on what you can do if you find out you’re dealing with a clog. Come to our hardware store in Snyder County to find all you need to deal with this plumbing problem and more.

Prevention

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! Make sure you do a few things to help prevent your drain from clogging in the first place. For example, to keep your kitchen sink from getting clogged, make sure you dispose of all grease and fat in a glass jar and then throw it away. Do not pour grease or fat down into your kitchen sink, even if you have a garbage disposal running. The same goes for coffee grinds, aluminum foil, egg shells and other items like that. They do not belong in your sink; throw them in the trash.

After you use your sink, make sure you run hot water down the drain for a bit. This will help keep any oils moving down and through your pipes, instead of building up inside of them. If your kitchen drain starts to smell, you can throw a cup of baking soda into it and then rinse it through with some hot water. The baking soda is a good cleaning agent, and it will also help get rid of those bad smells.

If you have a clog

If you discover that you have a clog in a drain, there are a few things you can do before you call a plumber. You can use a plunger to try to suction out the clog, or you can pour a pot of boiling hot water down the drain and then add a half cup of baking soda. Let that sit for a few minutes and then add a cup of vinegar and a cup of very hot water on top of that. Cover it with a drain plug and let it sit for a few minutes. Then remove the plug and pour another pot of boiling water down to drain to to flush it all through.

Would you like to visit our hardware store in Snyder County? Call Hilsher’s General Store at 570-374-1550, visit us on Routes 11/15, 7 miles south of Selinsgrove or you can Contact Us.

A History of Wooden Toys

wooden toys central pa hilsher's general storeFor centuries, toys have been an important part of a child’s life. Archaeologists have found wooden toys dating back to ancient Greece and the Roman Empire! Toys like these are fun to play with, and they can be educational too. Wooden toys in Central PA are quite popular, so we thought we would take the time to discuss a history of these toys and why they continue to be so popular.

Most of the wooden toys made during ancient times were hand-carved. But by the 18th century, German toy makers were making them in large enough quantities to sell to the general public. There were traveling salesmen who would sell them to families, and they would also take orders for custom toys or toys for special occasions. During this time, some of the most popular wooden toys were animals and life-like doll babies.

Thanks to advances in technology, as the years progressed, toy makers were able to make more elaborate toys. Doll houses, toy soldiers, wooden trains and similar toys were gaining popularity, and this is right around the time when Jack in the Boxes were becoming popular too thanks to their bright and vivid colors.

After World War 2, new materials were being used to make toys (such as plastic) and wooden toys decreased in popularity since plastic toys could be mass produced and were usually a bit cheaper for families and others to purchase. The production of wooden toys started to decline as a result.

Nowadays, while wooden toys still are not as popular as their plastic counterparts, you can still find them in most stores, like Hilsher’s General Store. Wood is generally a more durable material than plastic, so wooden toys tend to last longer. Not only that, they are a classic! Wooden doll houses and train tracks are fun for kids of just about any age to play with, and wood can be painted just about any color you can think of.

Wooden toys are beautiful because of their simplicity. They encourage kids to use their imaginations and wooden puzzles are great for developing problem-solving skills and motor skills. They make a great gift for just about any child in your life!

If you would like to browse through our selection of wooden toys in Central PA, call Hilsher’s General Store at 570-374-1550, visit us on Routes 11/15 seven miles south of Selinsgrove or you can Contact Us.