Columbia-Montour Quarterly Vol. 17: July - September 2025

Red Majesty: Raising Deer in the Heart of Pennsylvania by Linda Sones

I love visiting the Rolling-Hills Red Deer Farm in Catawissa. The deer are beautiful, the farm is pic- turesque, and the people are truly a joy to be around. Naturally, I was curious why they chose to focus on red deer, so I asked Dolly about it and learned some interesting facts! In 1993, Lloyd and Dolly George toured Dou- ble Diamond Deer Farm and the Elk Country Visitor

Center with four other couples. Lloyd became very interested in deer and was advised to visit the “Red Deer” farm in the Benezette area, which is now closed. This prompted Lloyd to envi- sion a transformation from a beef farm to a venison farm. At that time, he was managing two beef farms, along with growing crops and peaches. A short time after, two pastures with 10-foot fencing were completed, and they acquired 14 females and one male, whom they named Adam. Thus, the Rolling-Hills Red Deer Farm was born in 1994. These deer were smaller compared to those at the other red deer farm, so after conducting some research, they became more selective about the deer they purchased. The plan was to raise the deer for meat, just like cows. However, a farmer must wait two years before a red deer can be harvested. To address this waiting period and to satisfy public interest, they built a gift

8

Powered by