Ag Parade to Honor Burkets, Mingles

Burket Falls Farm in East Freedom and the Mingle family – Donald and son Doug and his wife, Jo Ellen, – of Roaring Spring True Value will be recognized during Martinsburg's annual agricultural parade on Tuesday, July 2.

The Agricultural Parade Committee has named Burket Falls Farm as the parade honoree. The committee has named the Mingle family as the parade marshals.

Rain or shine, the parade will get underway at 6 p.m. along Cross Cove Road and disband in front of Morrisons Cove Memorial Park along South Walnut Street.

Burket Falls Farm

Cattle breeder David Burket of Burket Falls Farm continues to own and operate the Holstein program he started in 1960, with the support of his wife Betty and their sons Frank, David and John.

David has dedicated more than 60 years to the development and promotion of quality breeding, becoming an internationally recognized leader in developing both polled and Red and White Holsteins.

He took over the family farm in 1946 at the age of 14 after his father suffered an injury. Burket became one of the first breeders to place a polled Registered Holstein sire into an Artificial Insemination organization in 1975, when Burket Falls ABC became available through American Breeders Service.

Burket's Red and White breeding program started around the same time as its polled program, taking advantage of another unusual calf born on the farm.

Over the years, more than 150 Burket Falls bred animals have been classified Excellent, more than 65 were designated Gold Medal Dams and Dams of Merit, and the farm has had numerous All-American nominations in both Black and White and Red and White Holsteins.

Today, the farm enjoys extra income from marketing semen, embryos and live cattle.

"To develop a genetic trait in dairy cattle that eliminates the pain and suffering to the calf and spares the owner the time, cost and a cruel job," David said. "To have this accepted around the world by dairy cattle breeders is very gratifying. It's a good thing for humanity."

Over the years, visitors from more than 30 different countries have visited Burket Falls Farm to learn more about its cows and breeding program.

David was among five individuals who were honored in October as recipients of the National Dairy Shrine's Pioneer Award for their lifetime service. Burket received the 2018 Pioneer Recognition at the annual National Dairy Shrine Awards Banquet in October in Madison, Wis.

"It is nice to be recognized by the Agricultural Parade Committee," John said, who noted that the farm has been nominated for being among the top 25 influential breeders in the world in the last 25 years.

Mingle Family

For more than a century and a half, the Roaring Spring Department Store: True Value has been in continuous operation, making it Blair County's oldest retail business. The store was inducted into the Blair County Business Hall of Fame in 2001. In 2011, it was recognized as the "Best Hardware Store in Town" by True Value Co.

The Mingle family has been a part of the department store's history for more than 100 years. The store has been solely in the Mingle family for three generations.

The store is owned by Doug and Jo Ellen Mingle. Previous owners include Doug's grandfather and father, Ammon "A.D." and Donald, respectively. Doug is the third generation of the Mingles to own the department store, which came into the Mingle family after three generations of the D.M. Bare family.

Since the early 1990s, the Roaring Spring Department Store has been associated with the True Value Co. When the department store remodeled in 2009, True Value offered consulting on everything from color scheme to store design.

"It was a real nice surprise to be asked to be the marshals," Jo Ellen said.

The Mingles regularly attend the ag parade and are always supportive of the park's Fourth of July celebration.

"The parade is a big event for the Cove," Doug Mingle said. "It is such a key event for those who live in the Cove. We are happy to be a part of it."