Dairy

Milk is not what it used to be. In the beginning, there was whole milk, pure and simple. Then came low-fat and skim milk to satisfy consumers worried about the butterfat content. But the tinkering did not stop there. Because of the long and steady slide in the amount of milk that people drink, dairies have been seeking new ways to stimulate sales. They are reinventing their product, so to speak. Simple no longer, milk is being given new looks, new packages and new flavors.

Stop complaining. Forget nightmare traffic. Forget long lines at the supermarket. Forget more lawnmowers and whining children shattering the neighborhood bliss on once- pleasant Saturday mornings. Forget every indication that housing is up and open space is down. Here's the latest: farming - some forms of farming in some places - has been on the increase in South Jersey. Honest. The U.S. Census Bureau says so. Because the region's farmers say so. Recently, the Census Bureau released the New Jersey portion of its 1992 census of agriculture, with comparative figures from its previous once-every- five-years ag census.

Drink size a public-health issue New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's decision to limit the size of sugary-drink containers in that city has resurrected the age-old debate over the role of the state in protecting the public's health. In recent years, this debate involved bicycle helmets, car seat belts, tobacco, trans fats, saturated fats in meat and dairy products, and sugar (or, more aptly, high-fructose corn syrup). Public subsidies for tobacco, meat, dairy, and corn production added fuel to the debate.

When Francis G. Brown received his draft notice for World War II military service, he replied: "My beliefs upon which I claim exemption stem from a very fundamental religious principle. ... "There is something of God in every man. I believe that all men, viewed thus, are infinitely precious and are therefore entitled to be treated with respect. ... "War submerges the good in men and brings out fear, hate, and distrust. ... Therefore, I affirm that all war, whether offensive or defensive, is morally wrong.

No battle took place here, not even an American Revolutionary War skirmish, although a stream of British troops once marched through the southernmost part of this township's rolling countryside. For nearly 300 years, the land was a virtual theater of the times - but not one featuring political or military history. Its historical significance is far more prosaic: It concerns cattle, dairy farms and horses. Such bucolic assets have helped a large tract of land here earn a place on the National Register of Historic Places.

A few fierce sunshowers could not spoil yesterday's anniversary party celebrating Haverford Township's acquisition 20 years ago of one of its most prominent properties - The Grange. In between raindrops, people moseyed around the 10-acre preserve, walking in the woods, touring the historic mansion, sipping lemonade under a porch roof. By midafternoon, children were clapping to a sing-along on the front veranda. The celebration was sponsored by The Friends of the Grange, a support organization.

Ask anyone in these parts, and he'll tell you: The name of this one-street speck on the map used to fit. Here, in a sprawling, old, tin-roofed dairy converted into shops, a glassblower shapes vases and lamps, and potters wrap their hands around wet clay. Drawn by the green road sign - HARMONY, POPULATION 18 - tourists can while away a peaceful hour or two before heading on up Highway 1 to nearby Hearst Castle or Big Sur. Cows roam across the rolling green hills. Birds twitter in the silvery loquat trees.

A relative videotaped the event last May as Horace Haenn, born in the horse-and-buggy era of the last century, blew out the candles on his 100th- birthday cake. As the tape was played back and his visage instantly presented to Haenn through the wonders of modern technology, the old man, hard of hearing but sharp of intellect, smiled with great interest. "As the world changed, he just took it in stride. He went with the flow. Maybe that's why he lived to be 100," Haenn's daughter, Eleanor Miller, said yesterday, as she prepared for funeral services for her father.

STOP CALCULATING AUTO PREMIUMS BY ZIP CODE Philadelphians need a class-action suit against insurance companies and officials responsible for discrimination against Philadelphia residents. A Reuters news service article published last month by The Inquirer reported that California was "outlawing the use of simple territory, or postal ZIP code ratings, as the basis for setting rates. . . . rates would be determined primarily by three factors: A motorist's driving record, the number of miles driven annually, a motorists length of driving experience.

To help pay for the construction of the long-awaited connection between the Pennsylvania Turnpike and I-95, turnpike officials plan to borrow $200 million from wealthy foreign investors. The investors, expected to be primarily from China, could get green cards for themselves and their families to live in the United States in exchange for their money. The complex deal is being brokered by officers of a prominent and politically connected Philadelphia investment management company.