page_69 < previous page page_69 next page > Page 69 On February 10, 1996, citing what it termed "differences in philosophy between Musselman and the board of directors concerning the direction and vision of the trust," the Intell announced that Alan Musselman was asked to "step down" as executive director of the Lancaster Farmland Trust. The "first phase" of Garden Spot Village was completed in April 1996. So far, approximately one hundred people now live there. That number is growing. At dusk, Rachel Petersheim rocks in a willow rocker while her three-year-old niece, Sadie, plays with dolls in a corner. As she thinks of Mill Creek Valley's future, Rachel's thoughts are bittersweet, like the sun gently hitting the floor of her sitting room. Sometimes Rachel stops mid-thought, watching her niece play; other times she sighs while she steels her resolve. "There was a time when I told my brother, 'I'm really afraid!' And my mother said, 'Your barn could burn down one night,' and that really frightened me. But you know, these people became what they are because they were uncomfortable with what they were doing. I don't think there's anybody who's comfortable if they can't live with their own conscience. "There was also a time when I 'meetinged-out.' The sense of futility was so strong. I kept thinking, 'Why are we doing all this? Why are we tiring ourselves going to planning commission meetings and township meetings and going to Harrisburg?' But you see, the minute you stop going, that's when they've got you. "But one thing that really gave me a fresh burst of courage just when I needed it most was that in 1993 my brother made the decision to donate the easements on this farm for preservation. I admired his couragethen and now. Since then, two of our neighbors have done the sameone Amish and one Old Order Mennonite. This really meant a lot to me. Larry Weaver, an English farming neighbor of ours, has done the same thing. He owns two farms, and they've both been preserved too. And I feel like my brother got the ball rolling. I believe it's the only hope we haveaside from a miracle." There is a pause, then Rachel says with a half-smile, "I've tried so hard to become wise. This kind of thing, well, it teaches you some hard lessons, like when you need to speak up and when you have to go to a meeting when you really don't want to. And most important, it makes you think of your children and your children's children." Sadie crawls into her aunt's lap, and the two sit rocking in silence for a time. Soon Sadie is sound asleep. Then Rachel says quietly, "There's nothing that makes me sadder than thinking someday in the future people will say, 'Do you remember when Lancaster County had five thousand family  < previous page page_69 next page >