[AT] Corn Picking and storage.

[Herbert Metz]

Many years ago on this forum someone told about a young journalist being
sent out to do a story about some farmer.  He stopped in and they had
started shelling corn out of a crib.  After while the farmer got his
circular push lawn mower out, and started it, and let it run at at a fast
idle (back in those days engines had throttles), and parked it about
fifteen feet out of the way.  The young journalist was told to just wait
around when he asked why the lawn mower.  When the crib became close to
near empty, out came the critters, looking for shelter.  
The journalist's story did not include all details.
Herb

> [Original Message]
> From: Paul Waugh <pwaugh at embarqmail.com>
> To: Tractor <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
> Date: 1/30/2010 12:19:36 PM
> Subject: [AT] Corn Picking and storage.
>
> This topic is starting to stir some memories.  The snapping glove my
father used, I still have.  I have tried it a couple of times. The whole
concept of going down through rows and getting beat around by stalks and
piling corn in the snow because it snowed way too early, is a lot of work!!
>
> My uncle was a hog farmer, raising 300-400 head a year. And doing it the
hard way. A lot of work and TLC, he loved his hogs.  To do this he needed
corn, so he built a crib around 1953. Big for our area. 60 ft x 60 ft x 20
ft high.  It was divided into 3 sections. a 40 ft center, with a 20 ft on
each side, and of course, 60 ft long.  Each section had a 'trough' in the
center of the floor. This was 18 inches wide and 12 inches deep. They were
exposed to the outside. There was a lip to hold 2 x 4's to cover the trough
before filling with corn. This gave ventilation and is were we would slide
the 'drags' for the corn sheller.  It was a pretty neat set up and 2 guys
could shell a heck of a lot of corn or a Saturday morning. The sheller was
a MM, I have no idea of model, it was a pull type and pto driven. He had 3
section of drags, each 8-10ft long, they could be hooked together to make
one one drag.  Just pull a couple of boards off the through and let the
corn fall into the drag.
>
> In the falls of 1956 & 57 my uncle contracted to shell 'government' corn.
I have no idea what this was about, other than farmers stored the corn in
every available place he could find.  Some were nice and used cribs. We
would set up the drags along the outside and remove some bottom slats to
get the corn out .. very little shoveling.  Some was stored in bins in
upper part of barn, and was lot of shoveling.  The worse was hog brood
houses.  A couple of farmers just lifted the lid and filled hog houses. 
Any idea how hard it was to get that first corner open enough to stand on
the floor so you could shovel .... by then you were half done with that
house, and the next was waiting on you. We were at one place 4 days
shoveling houses.
>
> It was always interesting, bees, mice, rats, oh my the rats, birds nest,
just about anything.  It was always fun on a warm fall afternoon, when corn
fell down and a wasp nest came with it .... they were pisssed to say the
least. We did a round wire crib that had so many rats in it, we took turns
walking around and smacking them in the head as they tried to squirm out of
the crib and corn  ... must have killed 20-30 rats that day.
>
> I will never feel 16 again, with the warm sun on my back, shoveling,
sweating in 40 degree like it was summer .... I was one of the lucky ones,
I can shovel right, or left handed.
>
> Paul-46555
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