National Cornhuskers Hall of Fame

Carl's prowess in cornhusking even generated fan mail: Several young women who read in newspaper accounts that Carl was a bachelor wrote to him, suggesting they become better acquainted. In a 1979 interview, Carl (who is now deceased) said that four to six weeks before a contest, he began running a mile a day, and occasionally jumped rope. Milking four or five cows every morning and night helped strengthen his arms, he said, but he maintained that the best training program was harvesting his own corn.

Cornhusking contests came to an end in 1941 when the U.S. plunged into World War II. By war's end, mechanical cornpickers had almost put an end to cornhusking.

In recent years, however, cornhusking contests have been revived, though on a smaller scale. Now, the events have classes according to age, with contests for women and children, too.

And the National Cornhuskers Hall of Fame exists to make sure that cornhuskers are not forgotten. FC 

For more information: The Kewanee Historical Society Museum is located at 211 N. Chestnut Street, Kewanee, Ill., and is open Thursday and Saturday 1:30 p.m. - 4 p.m. from May 1 to Oct. 1, or at other times by special appointment. For more information, call (309) 853-4572, (309) 853-8605 or (309) 852-3191; online at http://www.kewaneehistory.com.  

Dianne L. Beetler is a lifelong rural resident who enjoys writing about people with unusual collections.