“The farmers bring their corn in the husk onto the threshing floor; when everything is in its place, the neighbors, especially the young folks, are invited to the husking. Over the threshing-floor hang lanterns; the boys sit down beside their girlfriends and the floor was often full. The husks are striped from the ears and the ears fly merrily in arcs away over their heads to a place where heaps of them are quickly built up. And so it goes amid merry chatter until 10 or 11 o’clock” – Ms. Lola Hauser reminiscing in 1986 about a Corn Huskin’.
This is an old-time “Corn Huskin” in which a farmer would recruit friends and neighbors to help prepare the years corn harvest for the mill. The “shuck” or “husk” was removed from the ears of corn amidst the chatter and laughter of the group gathered in the lamplight, and fiddle music provided entertainment throughout the evening. This was once considered a highlight of the farm year for places like the Wolf River Valley, until changes in corn harvesting technology eliminated the need for them in the first half of the twentieth century.
Join us at Sgt. Alvin C. York State Historic Park as we host an old time Corn Huskin’ on February 11th, at 5pm in the York Barn. There will be old-time music, refreshments, prizes, and corn that needs shucked. Come out and help us out!
