State cornhusking competition Saturday at Lewis Farm near Good Hope

GOOD HOPE — The Illinois State cornhusking Competition will take place on Saturday, Oct. 15, at Lewis Farm, 14241 N 1800th Rd, in Good Hope. The National Cornhusking Competition will take place on Sunday, Oct. 16, at the same location. Registration is at 8 a.m. and the competition starts at 9 a.m. both days.

Organized cornhusking contests was started by Henry A Wallace, an editor for the Wallaces' Farmers Magazine in 1922. Wallace later became the 33rd vice president of the United States (1941 to 1945), Secretary of Agriculture (1933 to 1940) and the Secretary of Commerce (1945 to 1946). The competition for who was the greatest cornhusker became more popular than other national sports.

In the original competitions in the 1920s, contestants were given 80 minutes to pick the biggest load of corn. It was not unusual for a person to be able to pick over 100 of bushels of corn a day, while 2,000 bushels an hour is normal for combines today. The first contest in Illinois was in 1924.

In 1941, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the contest took a hiatus, there was never a contest in 1942.

Henry Wallace decided to revive the old national contest in 1970. A group of people who had previously won were gotten back together in 1970-1971. They used a farm in Urbana, and set up the rules again, which each state joining back in.

There are thirteen states that compete in the nationals: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Iowa, South Dakota, Kansas, and Nebraska.

Richard Humes, Illinois State President of the cornhusking competition says they are expecting 200-300 people at the event this weekend. Three people from each of the classes in the 13 states will qualify for the national competition. According to Illinoiscornhusking.com, there are 12 classes: Girls Youth 10-14 – 10 minutes, Girls Youth 15-20 – 10 minutes, Boys Youth 10-14 – 10 minutes, Boys Youth 15-20 – 10 minutes, Women 75 and up – 10 minutes, Men 75 and up – 10 minutes, Women 21-49 – 20 minutes, Men 21-49 – 20 minutes and Men's and women's 50 and up – 20 minutes, and Men's and Women's open – 20 minutes.

The time of the contest has went from 80 minutes in the 1920s, so 10 and 20 minute picking times for today's event.

“You pick for so many minutes, you need to pick clean and not leave a lot of ears in the field,” Humes said. “Too many corn husks left on the corn will count against you. We will have some big loads.”

“The cornhusking competition is a place to find good friendship, some of the best people you'll ever meet in your life, he said. “We have some tremendously good pickers in Illinois. It's like going to a family reunion.”

This article originally appeared on The McDonough County Voice: State cornhusking competition Saturday at Lewis Farm near Good Hope