By Pat van den Beemt, pvdb@comcast.net May 16, 2012

Audrey Haig, 5, and Olivia Donohue, 4, have just polished off their ice cream when they run across the lawn at Prigel Family Creamery to see the cows.

Some 150 fawn-colored Jersey cows are standing in a line that rambles from a gate at Long Green Road through a field next to the creamery.

"Hi, cow. Hi cow. Here's some food for you. Here you go," the girls say as they pull up grass and throw it toward one whose head reaches under a fence toward them.

The youngsters have no idea they're talking to the source of the black cherry and the caramel pretzel ice cream they just ate.

The entire process — from cow to milk to cone — takes place on Bellevale Farm run by three generations of Prigels.

John Donohue and Olivia, of Cockeysville, stop by on this recent Friday afternoon for cows, country scenes and ice cream after he picks her up from Chestnut Grove Child Development Center in Jacksonville.

Olivia and Audrey don't know each other, but they stand near each other, slurping ice cream, and become instant friends.

Like Donohue, Chelsea Haig brings Audrey to the Prigel creamery on their way home from nearby St. John's Lutheran School.

"We come here all the time. We love their ice cream," says Haig, of Perry Hall. "We drive by here every morning and look for Daisy, their dog. It's like this is our very own ice cream store."

Sentiments like that make Bobby Prigel, who heads up the family creamery, as content as his pasture-fed, certified organic cows.

And he knows it would please his great-grandfather John Mathias Prigel, who was a sharecropper on the land in 1895. He bought it in 1906 and named it Bellevale Farm.

"We've had loyal fans since the day we opened two years ago," Prigel said. "Our first day, we wanted to do a slow opening, so we just took down our 'Closed' sign. Four hundred people showed up. It was amazing."

The cows are milked in a barn on the other side of Long Green Road, so they leave their two young friends to follow Scott Childs, 26, Prigel's nephew.

"C'mon. C'mon. Move it up. Move it up," he urges as the cows saunter across the road in the mid-afternoon. Several cars stop and wait out the bovine backup.

"We've never really had anybody get mad about having to stop for the cows," Childs says. "Most people pull out their cell phones and take pictures."

It takes Childs an hour to milk the cows using a machine that suctions onto the udders. He and Bobby Prigel's 20-year-old son, Matt, share the twice-a-day milking chores.

The cows stay by the barn until a 4:45 a.m. milking the next day. They then cross back to the creamery side to spend the day grazing in the fields.

The Prigels sell 1,400 gallons of milk to Horizon Organic Milk each week. They also bottle about 170 gallons weekly at the creamery for local sales.

That still leaves plenty of milk for the two-day process that results in frozen concoctions named Bobby's Black Mud, Cappuccino Chip and Dulce de Leche.

                A stream runs through a small, rolling valley, north of Baltimore, Maryland. The soil is rich along this tributary of Big Gunpowder Falls, which flows to the Chesapeake Bay. Into this "Long Green Valley" came some Amish Mennonites from Pennsylvania in the eighteenth century. They built stone houses, raised large families, and farmed the land for many years, alongside their Catholic and Protestant neighbors. When the Civil War broke out many returned home to Pennsylvania. A small group remained, many of whom are buried in the walled cemetery on Kanes Road (their descendants hold a yearly meeting in our fellowship hall every September). Our story starts in the fall of 1897.

                John Matthias (J.M.) Prigel, and his wife, Wilhelmina, affectionately known as brother Mott and Aunt Minnie, joined the Church of the Brethren in Baltimore. They were baptized into the Woodbury congregation, he in 1893 and she in 1899. The Prigels moved to the Long Green Valley where they lived on the Rankin farm. The Prigels and Charles P. Bonsack were visiting a Sister Haines, who had been living in the Valley some years and was isolated from her church. At the earnest plea of Sister Haines and J. M. Prigel, Charles P. Bonsack agreed to hold a revival in the community if a place of worship could be found. The Mennonites shared their facility.

                By 1902 church services for the Brethren were held in the Mennonite meetinghouse on Kanes Road every fourth Sunday of the month. In April of 1903 five persons, some of whom came from that Mennonite church, were baptized by Charles P. Bonsack in the stream on Prigel’s farm. They were Ida and Lillie Nafzinger, Emma Neuhauser, John Breidenbaugh, and Maggie Glee. The organized effort by the Brethren in Long Green Valley began May 1, 1903.

                Services continued in the Mennonite church for the next four years. After a revival was held by Abram P. Snader some objections were raised about his doctrinal sermons, and it became necessary for the Brethren to move to another location. J.M. Prigel and his two nephews, John C. Breidenbaugh and Christian P. Breidenbaugh began holding church services in the Prigel's home. Brethren ministers from Carroll County, particularly from the Meadow Branch Church, came regularly to aid in the venture. The Prigel family housed these traveling preachers, and readied their home for Sunday services, preparing dinner for all. Some missionaries on furlough would also visit this new fellowship and encourage them. A Sunday School program was started in 1906.

                In April of 1908, the Brethren in the Long Green Valley petitioned the Eastern Maryland District, asking that funds be raised to help build a meetinghouse. Samuel Utz of New Market was authorized to solicit money for the new church. The funds were soon raised and a lot was purchased from Dr. S.M. Rankin, for $1,000.00. He was the former owner of the Prigel farm. Dr. Rankin also donated the logs from his woods to build the new church. The cutting and hauling of the trees were all done by volunteers. Samuel Neuhauser did the sawing free of charge at his sawmill on Long Green Rd.

                A small meetinghouse was built and dedicated on October 25, 1908. At this time there were thirty members in the fellowship. In 1910, they invited the Mission Board of Eastern Maryland District to come and hold a council meeting in the new church and take the voice of the membership whether a congregation should be organized. The Mission Board sent George Sappington, A.P. Snader, Tobias Fike, William E. Roop and John A. Smith to hold the council. It was decided by a majority vote to organize a new congregation to be known as Long Green Valley, hence our name.

                The first trustees were Moses Nafzinger, J.M. Prigel, William Stauffer, John Prigel, and J. C. Briedenbaugh. When the congregation was organized, A.P. Snader was elected elder-in-charge with C.P. Briedenbaugh as clerk and Joseph Southard as treasurer. There was no resident minster until October 7, 1911, at which time J.M. Prigel was called to the ministry. He was ordained to eldership in 1916.

                In 1925, with the donations and hard work of the members, and some help from the Woodbury Church, an addition to the meetinghouse was constructed. Now there was more room for the growing Sunday School program. This was accomplished without any debt and was dedicated on October 25, 1925. At that time there were about 100 members.

                The first wedding in the meetinghouse was that of Dennis and Martha Reed in August of 1926. This was a new development for the Brethren. Prior to that time ceremonies were performed in the homes of those involved. This was an era of great change for our denomination in general. Gradually the Brethren were shedding some of their plain garb, but this did not come without struggle. Was it right for a brother to wear a tie, or a sister to wear jewelry? What about prayer coverings for the sisters? There were plenty of long council meetings asking such questions.

                In the early 1940's, brother William Kinsey, then pastor of the Bush Creek congregation, painted the picture of Jesus praying in the garden of Gethsemane which graced the front of the sanctuary for many years. He shared this talent with many other congregations. The contributions of other ministers over the years made their impact. Many of these were students from Bethany Seminary who spent a summer in the Valley. Others were called out from within the congregation to preach and teach, as needed.

                In the early 1950's, brother Frank Williar was called as pastor, paid part-time, of this congregation. At the same time he also served the North Baltimore Church of the Brethren, a new fellowship in the city. In 1957 a school teacher by the name of Paul L. Groff was called to be Pastor. Not long afterward, he was asked to put his energies full-time into this church in the Valley. With his leadership, Long Green Valley grew rapidly. Soon we could not fit into the old church, so a new building was erected across the road in 1962.

                Brother Mott served the church as a minister for the last forty nine of his eighty seven years, his God-given vision for a church in the Valley having called it into existence. On October 5, 1960, he went home to his heavenly Father. Able leadership has guided this church ever since: Paul Groff (1957-67), Dale Varner (67-70), Ralph Detrick (70-74), Kenneth Long (74-78), Bernard King (interim 78-79), Scott Duffey (79-89), Warren Kissinger (interim 89-90), and Pete Haynes (1990 to the present).

                A fellowship hall was built in 1988, which was fully paid for in mid-1999. This hall houses Sunday School rooms, a gym, and a very modern kitchen. At present we have 150 active members, not counting many young children. We have an active ministry here, focused both on inward growth and outward mission.

                There is picture in our entryway, painted by sister Martha Reed. In the center of the scene we see the beginning of our church and a baptism in the stream on the Prigel farm. In the upper left-hand corner is a picture of the Prigel home and on the right we see the first meeting house. As you look at this picture, you can see her dream of what a future church would look like. It is remarkably similar to our new building. The story of these Brethren in the Long Green Valley continues.