HONESDALE, PA — The Wayne County Commissioners at their June 16 meeting proclaimed June as Dairy Month and July as Ice Cream Month in Wayne County. They noted in the resolution that agriculture is Pennsylvania’s leading economic driver, the dairy industry is key, and “whether you’re serving cheese at a family graduation party or wedding or enjoying a cold ice cream on a hot summer evening, you are supporting our country’s dairy farmers while getting many nutritional benefits.”

Present at the meeting were newly installed Wayne County dairy princess Elektra Kehagias, along with her court: Dairy Miss Zoe Tyler, Dairy Miss Chloe Tyler and Dairy Miss Kenley Roberts. Kehagias pledged to be an active advocate for the dairy industry, thanked the commissioners for their support over the years, and presented them with a cheese board featuring cheeses produced by Calkins Creamery. Kehagias said that she considers her reign as princess as a great honor and that she will do all she can do to support Wayne County farmers and educate those who may be unaware of what goes into running a dairy farm.

Every county in Pennsylvania has a dairy princess. When asked about what the future holds for dairy farms in Wayne County, Kehagias said, “We definitely need some young farmers to step up, I mean we have some older farmers that are doing a wonderful job; they’re really so good at their job and are making some great products, but unfortunately we need some younger farmers to step up when the current farmers aren’t able to farm any more.”

Commissioner Bryan Smith commented that once there were 1,700 dairy farms in Wayne County but that number has declined to just 40, making the importance of supporting those remaining dairies so they continue in the future.

And then they made sundaes

Following the meeting, there was a competition between Kehagias and her court and the commissioners Brian Smith, Joseph Adams and Jocelyn Cramer. Who would be first to create a huge ice cream sundae? The sundaes came complete with copious amounts of vanilla ice cream from Creamworks Creamery Dairy Farm, chocolate syrup, whipped cream and sprinkles.

It was a very close race with lots of smiles and giggles from all the participants, and in the end, the dairy princess court proved victorious. The real winners, though, were all those in attendance who were able to enjoy the bounty of delicious ice cream produced by a Wayne County dairy. Is there anything better than free ice cream?