Corn Huskers Compete in Bremen
Published: Friday, October 12, 2018
The Indiana State Corn Husking Contest was held last Saturday in Bremen. Stormy weather persisted throughout the day, but rain didn't put a damper on these die-hard contestants' plans. —although they did have to alter some of those plans.
The contest was delayed due to lightning. Instead of horse-drawn wagons like they traditionally used, with the exception of a few brave teams, tractors were used to pull the wagons. Mud and rain seemed to add an exciting challenge to the contest as competitors slugged through the mud to pick as much corn as possible to win the prize.
Clay Geyer is the president of Indiana Corn Husking Assn. He has hosted the event at his farm for the last five years. Although it's a lot of work to prepare for the contest, he hopes to continue to host the event on his farm.
"I like to contest because it's just a fun, family-oriented event," Geyer said. "It's kind of nice when we can run with draft horses because it's more quiet. You can hear the ears banging off the back board. Due to the weather conditions this morning the horses didn't want to hang around, they weren't sure how the animals would respond to the weather."
Even though they couldn't use many horses, Geyer said the competition must go on. There were two teams of horses that pulled wagons throughout the day, but the rest of the wagons were pulled by tractors.
Cash prizes were earned by winners of each class, but the main purpose of the contest is to preserve the history and tradition of farming. Today, farmers make up less than 1 percent of the U.S. population. The contest accentuates the values of farming, such as hard work and family fun.
The top three individuals from each class are eligible to compete at the National Corn Husking Contest in Flandreau, S.D.
In the men's open division, Ted Richard from Rochester placed first with 359.75 pounds of corn. Atlee Lambright of Topeka came in second with 306 pounds and Mike Geyer was third with 239 pounds.
In the women's open, Barb Amiss of North Manchester placed first with 107 pounds.
During the young men's class, Kevin Lambright of Hudson came in first with 271 pounds. Duane Lambright of Shipshewana was second with 268 pounds, and Clay Geyer of Bremen was third at 228.86 pounds.
Steven Schuman of Columbia City was first in the men's senior with 213 pounds. Wayne Roach of Walkerton placed second with 192.11 pounds and Arlen Miller of Plymouth placed third with 189.55 pounds.
The 15 to 20-year-old boy's class was won by Chase Bruns of Brookville with 78.12 pounds. Second place went to Kaidyn Baker of South Bend with 60.27 pounds. Trevor Wickizer of Walkerton came in third with 57 pounds.
In the youth boys 14 and under class, Gage Richard husked 73.97 pounds of corn to earn first place. Second place went to Marshall Finke of Kewanna with 66.27 pounds and Kane Finke also of Kewanna placed third with 29 pounds.
Larry Fervida of Nappanee husked 87 pounds to place first in the men's golden agers class. Ralph Murphy of Wabash placed second with 75 pounds and Dale Boggs of Warsaw placed third with 60 pounds.
In the handicapped class, Julie Smiddy of Walkerton placed first with 43 pounds. Second place went to Lewis Fox of Frankfort with 33.66 pounds.
Shaylee Kelly of Rochester won the young women's class with 180.15 pounds. Mary Hollett of Plymouth earned second place with 151.9 pounds.
Phyllis Calloway of Macy husked 169 pounds to win the women's senior class. Sue Nielsen of Medarywille came in second with 112 pounds. Janice Hurford of Plymouth placed third and husked 89.84 pounds of corn.
Sophia Gebhart of Albion won the 15 to 20-year-old girl's class with 58 pounds. Lize Wise of North Liberty husked 57.14 pounds to earn second place. Third place went to Melanie Gebhart of Albion with 49 pounds.
In the team competition, Team Lambright of Topeka husked 279 pounds of corn and came in first. Second place went to Pine Creek Church of Lakeville with 179.9 pounds. Third place was LaVille FFA with 108 pounds.
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