Larry Shirk, organizer of the New Holland Area Historical Society (NHAHS) event to highlight the history of the Victor F. Weaver Poultry Company, is quick to give credit where it is due. "Ida (Gall) came up with the title," shared Shirk, referring to the name of the presentation, which is "The People and History of Weaver Poultry." Shirk credited Larry Brown, who had been vice president of human resources with Weaver, with suggesting a focus on the people who had worked at the plant. To create the two-night event, Shirk has pulled together a number of former Weaver (now Tyson Foods) employees to make up a panel and discuss their experiences working at Weaver.

The panel discussions will be held at Garden Spot Village (GSV), 433 S. Kinzer Ave., New Holland. The first presentation will be held on Thursday, July 31, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Speakers that first evening will include Allen Tate, who was director of marketing services/corporate communications with Weaver; Brown; and Dennis Sharp, who was Weaver's Main Street store manager. The second event will be held on Thursday, Aug. 7, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Mike Good, Weaver production manager and Tyson complex manager; Shirk, who was district manager of product lines; and Tate will speak at that event. Shirk also plans to have a number of former employees, including Don Welk, Dale L. Weaver, Joe DePippo, Al Kunkle, and Steve Schnader seated near the panel. Following a multimedia presentation at each event, a question-and-answer session will be held.

According to Shirk, the idea of holding the presentation was born of a few other events - one focused on the history of Blue Ball - that were held in the new Steve Loewen Community Room at the NHAHS Museum on Main Street. Gall shared that a number of attendees spoke up about their own experiences in Blue Ball and that the event was recorded. "Part of the reason to do this is that there are a ton of people who have memories (to share)," explained Shirk.

Organizers soon realized that the Weaver Poultry presentation would outgrow the community room and a single gathering. "At one point, Weaver was the third-largest employer in Lancaster County," noted Shirk, who said he thought the organization employed more than 1,000 people at one point. Not only did large numbers of area residents work at Weaver, but Weaver practices were, according to Shirk, ahead of their time. "Weaver was important to the growth of the community," said Shirk, who added that Weaver's Christian beliefs and the way business was done at the company helped forge a connection with a growing Hispanic population in New Holland and also helped Weaver products to become a strong regional brand.

The multimedia presentation will include photos of both people and Weaver products, and each presenter will cover a specific topic, with Tate focusing on the early history; Brown discussing the people and culture; and Sharp, founder of Sharp Shopper stores, talking about the different foods at the July 31 event. On Aug. 7, Good will talk about product evolution. "There are few people in the country who know more about processing chickens than Mike does," stated Shirk. Shirk will discuss product lines on Aug. 7, and Tate will talk about the avian influenza (AI) epidemic of 1982 and 1983. "AI cost the poultry industry $69 million in lost revenue," said Shirk. "It disrupted production." The event will conclude with a discussion of ownership transition from Weaver to Holly Farms and then to Tyson.

A display dedicated to Weaver Poultry may be seen at the NHAHS Museum, located at 207 E. Main St., New Holland. The museum is open each Thursday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There is no admission fee. Information about NHAHS is also available at https://nhhistorical.com or by searching for "New Holland Area Historical Society" on Facebook or @nhhistorical on Instagram.