REELIN' IN THE EARS

STUHR MUSEUM On a golden Saturday afternoon in September, what could be a better way to honor our heritage than by husking corn by hand? That's what 39 people did at Stuhr Museum, which for the second year in a row hosted the Nebraska State Hand Cornhusking Contest. Do you think that sounds like a lot of work? Aw, shucks. Horses and mules pulled wagons through rows of corn on the southwest side of the museum grounds on Saturday, Sept.

14. The pickers walked alongside, yanking cobs of corn off the stalks as fast as they could. What's the key to being good at cornhusking by hand? "You always need to have an ear in the air," said Ayme Barry of Raymond.



A good picker should be throwing an ear into the wagon every two seconds, or even faster. Instead of husking corn by hand, the competitors could have been on the couch, watching football. But they were happier being around stalks of corn.

Rick Custard of Bartlett likes being outside, and he didn't mind the work. "Hard work is fun, because at the end of the day you know you did something," he said. Custard, 67, likes carrying on a family tradition.

"You need to respect where you come from, I do know that," he said. There's more than a kernel of truth in that remark. Marlene Otte of Fort Calhoun also wants to see cornhusking continue, because her parents picked corn by hand.

Competitors use a husking hook, strapped onto their hands. The device was invented by a Nebraskan, W.F.

Lillie. Otte didn't pick corn when she was a kid. "I would ride in the wagon when my mom and dad were picking by hand with a team of horses," she said.

Otte would lay in the wagon, enjoying a rest. "But I got hit in the head a few times. I decided that wasn't such a fun place," she said.

Otte, 81, competes in the Golden Aged women division, which is for those age 75 and older. Otte has been a state champion many times. As she picks corn, she counts to herself, "1, 2, 3.

" She grabs each ear and breaks it open with her thumb hook and flips it into the wagon. "You don't want to overextend your arm because that takes time, to bring your arm back," Otte said. She had to adjust the strength of her throw because it was lighter-weight corn and the wagon was taller than normal.

On the side of each wagon is a bangboard. The sound differs as to whether the cob hits the bangboard or the side of the wagon. If you hit the side of the wagon, the ear falls to the ground.

The competitors can pick up the cob, but it takes time. You also have to be sure to remove the husk and the silk. "Some people will have a wagon full of corn, but if they throw in too much husk they will have a minus score," Otte said.

Barry was with her parents, Bob and Jo Ann. Why do they come? "It's just a nice day to come out and pick corn with my family and see all the friends that we've met through picking corn," Ayme said. She's also very good at it.

Ayme was the defending champion in the women's open category. "They love corn shucking," Jo Ann said of her husband and daughter. They even practice before each competition.

This year, they didn't practice. "But last year they went out at least five times," Jo Ann said. Attendees and competitors know their way around an ear of corn.

Duane Frazier of Gibbon noted that a wagon box will hold 33 bushels. Some days, "Dad and I would pick a load before school," said Frazier, 86. The best pickers Saturday qualified for the National Cornhusking Contest, which will be held Oct.

20 in Hastings, Iowa. The top two huskers in the youth through Golden Ages categories advance to the national contest. The top three finishers in the men's and women's open categories also qualify for nationals.

Before the competition began, Stuhr Executive Director Chris Hochstetler spoke about the history of cornhusking contests. The 1935 national contest in Indiana drew an estimated 110,000 people. "The Midwest taught the world how to feed itself," Hochstetler said.

"Farmers had everything to do with that." The contest at Stuhr gets a big boost from Syngenta, which donates seed corn and labor. The event makes for a fun day "and more people should come out and try it," Ayme Barry said.

The competition began shortly after 11 a.m. The last husker left the field at about 6:30 p.

m. "So it was a full day of keeping history alive," reports Karen Hurst of Stuhr Museum. Listed below are the results: NOVICE (10-MINUTE CLASS) 1, Dave Otte; 2, John Otte; 3, Rachel Marquez; 4, Marilyn Deitemeyer.

BOYS 14 AND UNDER (10-MINUTE CLASS) 1, Owen Fairley, Brady; 2, Joseph Wostrel, Pierce; 3, Oliver Kully, Lincoln; 4, Jace Guthrie, Alma. GIRLS 14 AND UNDER (10-MINUTE CLASS) 1, Brynn Guthrie, Alma; 2, Karsyn Schutt, Giltner; 3, Nora Boyd, Blair. GOLDEN AGERS MEN 75 AND OLDER (10-MINUTE CLASS) 1, Alan Schulenburg, Red Cloud; 2, Vernon Curtis, Milford; 3, Robert Barry, Raymond; 4, Duane Frazier, Gibbon.

GOLDEN AGERS WOMEN 75 AND OLDER (10-MINUTE CLASS) 1, Marlene Otte, Fort Calhoun; 2, JoAnn Barry, Raymond. WOMEN 21-49 (20-MINUTE CLASS) 1, Heather Kully, Lincoln; 2, Erin Fairley, Brady; 3, Brooke Boyd, Blair. MEN 21-49 (20-MINUTE CLASS) 1, Ryan Boyd, Blair; 2, Seth Stenehjem, Waverly; 3, Jake Fairley, Brady.

MEN 50 AND OLDER (20-MINUTE CLASS) 1, John Ostry, Nickerson; 2, Jerry Guthrie, Alma; 3, Loren Wiese, Howells; 4, Barry Denning, Central City; 5, Bill Buettner, Grand Island; 6, Gary Peters, Elk Creek; 7, Pat Boyd, Fort Calhoun; 8, Ralph Tate, Papillion. WOMEN 50 AND OLDER (20-MINUTE CLASS) 1, Angie Boyd, Fort Calhoun; 2, Katherine Seacrest, Valparaiso; 3, Carolyn Tate, Papillion. WOMEN'S OPEN (20-MINUTE CLASS) 1, Ayme Barry, Raymond.

MEN'S OPEN (30-MINUTE CLASS) 1, Riley Guthrie. Alma; 2, Rick Custard, Bartlett. 3-MAN TEAM (15-MINUTE CLASS) 1, Riley Guthrie, Marlene Otte, Ayme Barry; 2, Ryan Boyd, Jake Fairley, Duane Frazier; 3, Jerry Guthrie, Alan Schulenburg, John Ostry; 4, Carolyn Tate, Barry Denning, Erin Fairley; 5, Vernon Curtis, Brooke Boyd, JoAnn Barry; 6, Gary Peters, Ralph Tate; 7, Katherine Seacrest, Heather Kully, Pay Boyd; 8, Joseph Wostrel, Owen Fairley, Oliver Kully; 9, Angie Boyd, Loren Wiese, Reese Hodge; 10, Robert Barry, Rick Custard.

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