Harvesting Memories

It sounds dangerous. Ears of corn falling all around you while you sit in a wagon, pulled by a tractor, that is pulling a corn picker. While there may have been an element of danger in the process, wonderful childhood memories abound with such an event.

A corn picker is an amazing machine produced by the New Idea farming company in the early 1900s. It had the ability to pull an ear of corn off the stalk, husk it, and drop it in a wagon that was pulled behind it. It made it possible for a single worker to harvest fifteen acres of corn per day. Prior to this, corn had to be pulled off the stalk and shucked by hand.

 

Memories of my papaw, Carl McDaniel, cutting corn with a corn knife and husking the ears with hand shuckers are vivid in my mind. He even won first place in a local shucking contest, as not one person in Lynchburg, Ohio could come close to his swiftness. He used this celebrated ability prior to the widespread use of the corn picker.

As a child, my dad owned and operated just such a corn picker on our family farm. When harvest time came, the equipment headed to the field with children in tow. As the tractor pulled the picker through the rows of corn, it would catch the ears and pull them off. From there, it took the corn to a husking bed, where rollers turned and grabbed the husks, pulling them off. The husked corn then dropped into a chute, where it was taken by elevator and dropped into the trailing wagon. As children, that was where the action was. As the wagon filled, we would adjust ourselves accordingly, until there was no space left to sit. From there, it was off to the corn crib, where the corn was shoveled by hand into the crib for safe keeping.

Several years ago, I purchased an aged corn picker for myself, thinking that I might continue the tradition with my children. In my mind, I have envisioned the same process on my farm. Time, lack of necessity, and essential repairs on the picker changed my course. The apparatus is now set for sale, awaiting a new owner for possible future use.

Nevertheless, I can see my dad, Don McDaniel, driving his Ford 8N tractor into the field for harvest pulling the old wagon that we would ride in, as the ears of corn came raining down like magic from above. He knew that his children would be safe as they rode along in his wagon. We never worried about whether we would be harmed, as he always kept a watchful eye on his children. Corn picking and harvest time always triggered smiles on our faces and brought joy to the hearts of his offspring.

Although I may not have used my own contraption, our corn picker has spawned a lot of conversation and has brought back many good harvesting recollections from days gone by. Memories like these are sentimental reminders of a simple life of a loving family growing up on an Ohio farm. For these, I am thankful.

~Mark