Hand husking a hoot

If you’re reading this Saturday morning, there’s still time to get in on the Nebraska State Hand Cornhusking Contest here in York.
What’s that you say, “I’m a town person and know nothing of farm things ... especially moldy old historical farm things?”
Happily, it doesn’t matter. That’s because this event is as entertaining for city folk as for the octogenarians who actually had to harvest their crop this way for real back in the day. Truth be told, it’s probably many times more fascinating to those of us with little knowledge and no experience of strapping on a glove with a hook and wading into an ocean of corn with naught but your own two hands.
The best of it for me are all the wagons, each one drawn by a brace of fine mules or draft horses. The bang boards stick way up high from one side of the wagon box for very good reason, to give the hand harvester a backstop against which the ears collide, then fall into the wagon.
This is a team project, even though all the categories but one are for individual contestants only. The ‘team’ in every trip down the row is the picker, horses or mules and driver. Each picker has a bit different pace and style. The wagon must be kept ‘just so.’ The tricky part is that ‘just so’ is an entirely different thing to every hand husker.
The contest will be out by I-80, just north of the interchange on the west side of US 81. There’s no charge for parking and admission’s so cheap it’s dang near free, too.
The morning session starts when the teams promenade past the big tent on their way to the field about 8:45 following brief opening ceremonies. Fifteen magnificent rigs have signed up to participate. Their presence alone makes it worthwhile to come out and have a look.
I am not a horse person, let’s get that straight right up front. I never had a girlfriend that some horse didn’t humiliate me in front of. But draft horses have a special place in my heart, and the bigger the better. The first time I watched these massive creatures up close was at the Dawson County Fair in Lexington. I guess it must have been about a hundred years ago by now.
The contradiction of an animal so intimidating that moved with such gentle grace fascinated me then and still does today. To watch Joe Allen’s eight-horse hitch all prancing crisply in cadence, harness bells jingling, heads high and proud, necks bowed was amazing. To see them complete a figure 8 pattern inside the Stevens Arena in Lexington was an eye-popper. Especially for this town kid.
The local committee for the event has lined up the York FFA to serve breakfast and lunch, so you can take a day off from the hassle of meal preparation, too.
What’s not to like? No reason not to join us. It will be a neat time. Guaranteed.
Steve says, “Check it out.”