Switching Plans
Who knew that the cool weather that was forecast would turn into a light mist mixed with a heavier mist. Obviously the sticthers group that was to meet in an open part was canceled. So much for plan A.
Dennis had come in earlier and felt like his day was also put on hold due to weather. We decided to go online and get into Great Clips in Mankato for much needed haircuts. We had 67 minutes before we would be called. That worked out great. Once there, we were told that online is no longer needed. We could come in, find out what the wait time was and then perhaps run errands until such time. That was good news for us.
Our only other stop was the Mayo Store and then we high-tailed it for home. No other needs to shop for.
As we drove we met trucks hauling sweetcorn. I am not sure where the plant would be to take care of it. They were heading east. In 1969 those sweetcorn trucks meant Christmas money for me and the family. Now, as then, the weather was damp and cool. Mom, myself and two other gals signed up to work the overnight shift for sweetcorn in Glencoe. We would listen to the radio and see if our shift was to work and we car pooled. During that season, Orlin and I worked to get a lot of the prep work done for the livestock in the late afternoon, so it didn’t cause the kids to be out near the barn any later than necessary. It worked out that Orlin would be finishing up the cow barn chores when I had to leave. Both Carrie and Kevin were with him somewhere close where he could keep an eye on them. It’s amazing how well hay bales can make a play pen.
We worked eight hour shifts or until the corn quit coming in for the night. That rarely happened. I started out working on the cream style corn line chopping out worms. The conveyor belt kept the husked out cobs coming and I kept my knife swinging. After several nights there was an opening on the huskers. I signed up. Outside the building the trucks would dump the corn straight off the field down shoots. The shoot could be tightly packed from the weight that was pushing down. The huskers pulled ears of corn out of the shoot and filled in a conveyor belt that had holes in them for the ears of corn to be put in, silk first. There was one speed for that belt and the objective was to not let any holes go empty. There was a bonus for the huskers that kept the belt full. In the rainy weather the trucks never quit and the corn that came down those shoots were wet and sometimes muddy. Come rain or shine when the Jolly Green Giant said it was sweetcorn packing time, there was no stopping until the last field was picked.
I made good money that fall. It was not the easiest on the family for the schedule, but we made it through. I always hoped the kids were going down for the night easily. I got home in the mornings just before the kids would be getting up. I stuck my corn starched clothes in the washing machine for the next night and started breakfasts.
I do remember for that Christmas I bought Orlin a gun from Coast-to-Coast in Hutchinson. I think that gun is still hanging in Kevin’s home. So many Christmas seasons have come and gone and every once in awhile you see something like a sweetcorn truck on the highway and the memories come flooding back as if it were yesterday. Sweet.