Some people define themselves and chart their life's course early in their youth.

Darlene Brosky, of Zionsville, is one of them.

"My parents were big on giving back to the community," she explains, adding, "It rubbed off on me."

Something else rubbed off on her, as well.

"I was always an outdoor kid. My parents had large gardens and my grandfather in Palm had a farm and an orchard. I worked in all of them," she says.

Brosky, the youngest of seven children, recalls she liked to plant peppers, carrots and corn in her childhood garden.

While still a student at Emmaus High School, she had a little Christmas tree farm.

"Some of the trees at my house now (next door to her old homestead) were raised as seedlings from when I was in high school in the 1970s," Brosky notes.

Hooked on the great outdoors, Brosky chose to make agriculture a major part of her life.

"I was a member of FFA (Future Farmers of America) in high school. I showed sheep. I attended Lehigh County Vo-Tech to study horticulture," she begins.

"I worked on landscape projects and learned horticulture judging," while still in high school, she explains.

There was more. "Back in the '70s the Vo-Tech had apple orchards. I learned how to prune trees, pick apples and make cider, which we sold in the restaurant run by Vo-Tech's culinary students," Brosky recalls.

After graduation she utilized her FFA skills at the Allentown Fair, where she worked in Ag-Ed for 20 years. "FFA now refers to itself as Ag-Ed," she explains.

"Kids would bring their fruits and vegetables to the fair to be exhibited and judged. I set up the displays and kept the judges' books as recorder," Brosky says, adding, "I learned a lot about judging from those judges."

For the last five years she has been the Allentown Fair's superintendent of farm products and Christmas trees, where she is responsible for the section of Agricultural Hall that includes honey bees, Christmas trees, farm products and produce and nuts.

During fair week she usually works 11 or 12 hours a day. On the days prior to fair opening, "I'm usually there 14 hours a day, prepping for the judges," she reveals.

A certified judge herself, Brosky says she may not judge in any of the categories she is responsible for at the Allentown Fair.

The Pa. State Association of County Fairs provides classes for judging certification yearly in January in Harrisburg, according to Brosky.

Her certificates include honey, desserts, vegetables, fruits and nuts. "Every year different judging classes are offered," she says.

Brosky's certification in judging desserts is put to good use at the Schnecksville Fair.

"For about three years I've been judging rhubarb desserts there," she notes. "A lot of people don't like rhubarb, but I love it," she adds.

She and her husband Jeff also volunteer in the Schnecksville Fair's poultry and rabbit exhibits.

"We help take care of the animals and answer questions from the visitors," she explains.

Brosky enjoys working at fairs. "I like meeting people and teaching them how to exhibit, what the judges look for. I tell them about websites that explain the judging criteria. I try to encourage exhibitors, especially the first-timers," she says.

She had ample opportunity to encourage and teach future exhibitors during her 14 years as a 4-H leader at the county level.

"We had a wildlife habitat and a rabbit and guinea pig club. The kids learned proper feeding and care, clipping toenails, tattooing animals for identification," Brosky begins. "4-H is a great way for kids to get involved in agriculture."

She elaborates. "I had kids from Berks and Lehigh counties. We joined with the Northampton County 4-H clubs to teach the kids to run rabbit shows."

Brosky says the students learned to "prepare the animals and the building for shows, get judges, run registration, provide prizes; they had to do everything."

Her love of educating and being outdoors extends to her recreational pursuits, too.

Brosky and her husband have been Civil War re-enactors since 1988. She says relatives on her mother's side fought in the Union Army during the war.

"We love history," she declares.

Initially the couple joined the 96th Pa. Volunteer Infantry, where her husband portrayed a soldier and she participated in a civilian unit presenting the home front image.

"I was part of the U.S. Sanitary Commission, which later became the model for the American Red Cross," Brosky explains.

Now both she and her husband belong to the 4th Maryland Artillery. He is on the cannon crew and she re-enacts civilian life in costume.

They also are members of Friends of Camp Geiger, a local group of re-enactors who organize and sponsor Lehigh Valley Civil War Days, an annual event at the Whitehall recreational area, according to Brosky.

Rather than curtailing Brosky's busy life, a diagnosis of Stage 3 breast cancer 10 years ago led her to become involved in still more activities.

"You can't let it get to you. You just keep going. You get through it better with positive thinking," she maintains.

She volunteers at and competitively walks in the Women's 5K Classic and the East Penn Relay for Life, both of which raise funds for breast cancer research.

With her church, Zion's Evangelical Lutheran in Old Zionsville, she cooks and serves breakfast once a month at the Allentown Rescue Mission.

Brosky has no intention of slowing down. Her role-model mother, after all, is still volunteering at age 92.

Brosky's goal these days is to enjoy life. "Cancer changes your whole outlook. You don't sweat the small stuff anymore," she says.

She quickly adds, "Any morning I get up and can do things is a good morning."