HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania — The first time Mee Cee Baker went to the Pennsylvania Farm Show, she was a 12-year-old 4-H member whose pig got loose during the market show and took off into the center of the massive complex. A chaotic scene emerged as the frightened animal ran haphazardly among the large equipment, tractors, and people, with everyone in attendance, at least to Baker’s 12-year-old eyes, seemingly chasing it down or running away.

The next year, Baker, who later worked in education and outreach in the Rendell administration’s state agriculture department, said she found herself traumatized again in a different way when she was forced to sleep overnight in a hay bale there when a snowstorm left many participants unable to leave for home.