I-69 Heritage Corridor - Huntington County
DeKalb Cty -- Coney
-- Hochstettler
-- Houser
-- Minard
-- Myers
-- Placencia
-- Riser
-- Waterloo jam session
-- Sarasien
-- Sechler
-- Stackhouse
-- Rowe
Grant Cty -- Adkins
-- Butler
-- Petro
-- Neuhouser
-- Garage pickers
-- Cox
-- Hoke
-- Cash
-- Powers
Hamilton Cty -- Bundy
-- Davis
-- Day
-- Gordon
-- Cricket players
-- Dr. Bomie Han
-- Gerald Terry
-- Bobbie Kauffman
Delaware Cty -- Jackson
-- Doris Jean Coil
-- Ronald Davis
-- John Zile
-- Ken Shipley
-- Atchade
-- Roberts
Allen Cty -- Mowry
-- Zehner
-- Bozarth
-- Cynar
-- Lengacher
-- Gorman
-- Hollman
-- Patria Smith
-- Penny Myers
-- Rugsaken
Madison Cty -- Spencer
-- Joe Rice
-- Theoharris
-- Carol Ball
-- Greg Adams
Huntington Cty -- Enyeart
-- Glessner
-- Alice Stickler
-- Company Singers
-- Dick Hinton
-- Goldenberg
-- Jay Peters
-- Gil Shideler
Henry Cty -- Bennett
Dick Hinton, a real estate broker in Huntington, participates in hand corn husking competitions. In addition to this hobby, Dick belongs to a group of connoisseurs of antique tractors and other vintage machinery. --
Photo by Butch Ross
Dick Hinton -- Champion Cornhusker
Dick Hinton of Huntington, Indiana learned how to shuck corn when he was a boy of eight, helping his father pick up the corn left in their fields by the automatic corn pickers. Dick notes that newer corn pickers are much more efficient – they miss relatively few ears of corn, so the farmer doesn’t have to collect in their wake.
Dick’s entry into competition corn husking came almost by accident. In 2002, the Ageless Iron of Roanoke Antique Tractor Club – of which he is Secretary/Treasurer – responded to a call for volunteers to help Indiana host the National Corn Husking Contest. This event drew more than 6,000 visitors to Huntington in two days – a benefit to local hotels and restaurants as well as the contest itself. Ultimately, Dick found corn husking to be a fun and invigorating hobby.
Dick describes the technique of shucking as a “simple” combination of strength and skill: “It’s just a matter of finding a stalk of corn, and [you] grab it, and hold it in one hand at the bottom, and rip the husks back off of it. [You] kind of twist the corn, so that it comes away from that pile of husks, and throw it in your sack or throw it in a wagon.” A really fast contest competitor shucks an ear of corn every ten seconds.
Listen to Dick talk about
the process of corn husking
(transcript)
.
Weather is an important factor: click
here
(transcript)
to listen to Dick describe one fateful experience picking wet corn early in the day.
A field of corn planted specifically for the 2002 competition covered eight to ten acres and stood three to four feet tall. The ideal contest corn is a uniform stand at “arm height,” so pickers can “just reach and snap and throw it away.” Contest results are based on weight, so a twelve-inch ear is preferable over an eight-inch ear of corn. The collected ears must be “clean,” however; “dirty” ears with leftover husks are deducted from the total weight. Any missed ears in a row are counted against the competitor, as well.
The competitions are open to anyone: “If you can walk, you can try it,” Dick proclaims. He and other enthusiasts use the opportunity to educate children about the uses of corn, explaining its journey from field to cereal bowl.
For more information on the National Corn Husking Contest, visit
www.cornhusking.com
.
Listen to Dick talk about:
The process of corn husking
(transcript)
The effects of wet weather
(transcript)
.