GREENWICH, N.Y. — The harvest season is upon us! Farmers across the U.S. are hurriedly chopping, picking, and hauling the fruits of their fields and orchards. While the harvest has always been one of the busiest times of the year for farmers, it was also a time of year that offered the chance for farmers to have some fun. Husking bees and cornhusking competitions were two forms of fall fun that farmers once enjoyed.
Husking Bees
Husking bees, also called “cornshuckings” or “husking parties,” were an annual event for many farmers that involved area farmers gathering to help a particular farm husk its corn crop. It appears the event first originated with Native American tribes that had communal cornhusking gatherings at the end of the harvest. The practice was then adopted by European settlers and husking bees were common autumn events from colonial times to the mid-20th century.
Husking bees consisted of two parts: the actual husking of the corn and the “frolic” which consisted of dinner, dancing, and games after the work was finished. This combination made the husking bee not just an important work event that prepped a farm’s crop for winter storage and use, but also a social event that gave farm families the opportunity to socialize, mingle, and catch up on the latest news.
Planning a husking bee usually took some time as farmers would first harvest their corn crop by either picking the ears from stalks or chopping and gathering the entire stalk. After allowing the corn to dry for a few days a family member, usually a young boy, would be sent out as a messenger to invite the farmers of the region to attend a husking bee on a particular day. Meanwhile the family would prepare the home, barn, and prep food & drink for the many guests that would be attending.
The husking portion of the event could be tedious work but the time was passed by telling stories or singing songs. Some farms livened up the occasion by turning the husking into a competition by dividing the crop into two piles and the guests into two teams and seeing who could finish their pile first.
Another tradition that helped brighten the husking was the hunt for a red ear. Occasionally in a corn crop there may be a red ear of corn which was caused by a sugar imbalance in the plant. Traditionally, if someone found a red ear, he or she was entitled to receive a kiss from someone of their choosing. Other rewards regarding the finding of a red ear included the finder receiving good luck or a drink, or the entire group chased the finder around the barn until he or she gave up the red ear.
When the work was done, the day would move to the “frolic” portion of the festivities. A large meal was served to all the attendees. While dishes varied based on the region meals usually featured harvest-related foods like apple and pumpkin dishes, special treats like pies, and a variety of alcoholic beverages like beer, whiskey, and cider. According some early descriptions of husking parties, the prospect of fresh alcohol drew many to attend husking bees.
Following dinner, guests participated in a wide variety of activities. Dancing and music were a constant at husking bees with attendees young and old showing off their steps. Storytelling and fortune telling happened and sometimes skits were performed. Tales could range from older generations telling of life in their younger days to spookier “ghost stories” meant to scare. Games featuring feats of strength or skill were also played such as plate rolling, jumping contests, and corn throwing.
As was mentioned husking bees were important social events for rural residents. They were also known to be places where romances and courtships began as young folks had the opportunity to see and interact with friends and love interests. Traditions like the red ear kiss and activities like dancing and fortune telling (and probably the prevalence of strong drink) seems to have encouraged the expression of romantic sentiments at these events. This and other aspects of the frolic gave husking bees a reputation for being rowdy sometimes chaotic events lasting long into the night before guests returned to their own homes by foot, wagon, or horse.
The husking bee was an annual event in the farming year through the 18th and 19th centuries. However, by the early 20th century they became less necessary as mechanized farm machinery lessened the need for communal labor during the harvest.
Cornhusking Competitions
As the popularity of husking bees was waning, cornhusking competitions started to rise in the 1920s. Prior to the increased use of mechanical corn pickers in the 1920s & 1930s, corn harvesting was done by hand and required many workers. Farmers scoured corn fields picking ears for hours a day with the help of husking pegs or hooks. These small instruments would be strapped to the hand or a glove and helped huskers more easily tear off the husks.
Working alongside the huskers were teams of horses drawing a wagon with wooden siding attached to it called a bangboard. The bangboard acted like a backboard in basketball where huskers would bounce ears off the bangboard into the wagon. A good husker could pick about 100 bushels a day and would develop a rhythm that would give the impression of three ears being worked concurrently: one piece hitting the bangboard, one in mid- air, and another being husked and pulled by the husker.
Many informal contests took place in fields as bosses sometimes challenged their workers to see who could finish a row or field faster adding an element of competition to the monotonous task. However, formal competitions began to take place in the 1920s, beginning with a competition in Iowa sponsored by Wallace’s Farm Journal in 1922.
That year some farmers approached editor Henry Wallace expressing concerns about the work ethic and efficiency of corn farmers. To encourage these values in the state’s farmers, Wallace instituted a contest offering $50 to the Iowa man or boy who could husk the most corn in a day. Farmers would keep track of hours worked and bushels collected and send the magazine their results along with an affidavit from the county farming organization to ensure validity. After some disagreements over results an in-person contest was held near Alleman, Iowa between the top three individuals to determine the true champion. On the frosty 16-degree morning of December 8, 1922 Louis Curley of Lee County, Iowa was named the true champion after husking 15 bushels in one hour.
From this start cornhusking grew in popularity and by the end of the 1920s was becoming a national sport with nine states hosting local and state competitions each year. Most cornhusking competitions followed a similar format with competitors given a certain amount of time to pick as many bushels as they could. At bigger events, huskers were allotted 80 minutes. In addition to speed huskers had to be mindful of efficiency and cleanness. Deductions would be assessed to totals based on “gleaning,” ears that were left in the field by a husker or that had missed the wagon when attempting a throw, and “husks,” pieces of the husk that were left on the ear.
Competitions were well attended, covered by newspapers, and broadcast on the radio. In the 1930s national cornhusking competitions brought the best from state competitions together to determine the best shucker in the country. National competitions were hosted at different sites each year, mostly in Midwestern states where cornhusking was most popular. They were huge events that drew thousands of spectators each year. They also doubled as trade shows with farm companies and machine makers demonstrating the latest products.
Time Magazine wrote a piece on the sport’s rise in 1936 and reported that 110,000 spectators attended the 1935 contest in Newtown, Indiana. The sport would reach its peak in 1940 when 116,000 attendees watched that year’s contest in Davenport, Iowa. The crowd was almost double the population of Davenport itself and they witnessed Irvin Bauman of Illinois win the event by picking 46.6 bushels in 80 minutes! To get a sense for the size of these events and see the farmer-athletes in action, check out this newsreel footage from the 1937 National Cornhusking Contest here.
Cornhusking as a sport ended abruptly with the onset of U.S. involvement in World War II in 1941. After the war farming had become more mechanized and less labor was needed to complete corn harvests and other farm tasks. Cornhusking by hand and contests mostly died out. However, cornhusking competitions still take place today and keep the tradition alive. Many Midwestern states have state competitions each year. The National Cornhusking Association consists of nine states and hosts a national competition the third weekend of October every year. This year’s event will be in Greenville, Ohio.
Chandler Hansen grew up and lives in Easton, NY. He is a graduate of Gordon College where he earned a bachelor’s degree in History. He serves as a writer and editor for Morning Ag Clips.
