Harvesting memories: Corn picking and shelling, as well as vintage farming equipment, to be featured

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Kevin Larkey stands beside one of his corn pickers last week near Walnut. Larkey will participate in the Cornpicker Celebration Friday through Sunday at the Bolz farm. Some corn picker owners are expected to travel from some distance away to participate. They will work in a 100-acre cornfield, demonstrating how those machines work. From 20 to 30 corn pickers are expected. (Chris Padgett/cpadgett@svnmail.com )

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WALNUT – Growing up in the 1960s, Kevin Larkey remembers the corn harvest as a busy yet special time.

Amid brown rustling stalks and golden ears of corn, a 6-year-old farm boy could rustle up a lot of fun.

While his grandfather steered a two-row corn picker through the fields, young Larkey, perched behind the wheel of a tractor, got to drive wagons brimming with ear corn back to a wooden crib in the barnyard. There, his grandmother unloaded them, hooked the empties to Kevin’s tractor, and sent him out to collect the next load.

Back in the cornfield, Kevin’s grandpa sometimes allowed a special treat.

“I’d ride in back of the wagon and dodge the ears as they were coming up,” Larkey recalled last week.

“And now and then I’d get clunked in the head or whatever, and try to catch them. That’s where the fun was.”

The days of helping his dad and grandpa during harvest time are long gone, but vintage harvest equipment from that era isn’t.

Larkey began collecting corn pickers and wagons last year and took them to a couple of farm shows.

Now, with the help of friend Dave Kepner, Larkey is putting on a 3-day Cornpicker Celebration this weekend at the Bolz farm on Walnut’s northeast edge.

The working demonstration of corn picking and shelling takes place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Visitors can watch about 25 mounted and pull-type corn pickers work their way through a 100-acre field, specially planted in 38-inch rows, to see how harvesting was done in the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s, before higher-volume combines nudged slower corn pickers into rusty obsolescence.

People also can munch on hot dogs, brats and pork chops provided by the Walnut Rotary Club, and tasty offerings from the Walnut Bible Church. An Amish family near Tampico will bring pies, cakes and rolls, while Brian Smith of Walnut, who owns three Culver’s restaurants, will provide frozen custard.

Admission is free, but donations will be accepted to defray expenses.

Larkey, who farms 2,300 acres in corn, soybeans, seed corn and a little wheat, and feeds 40 head of cattle, is eager for fellow enthusiasts to bring a vintage tractor or wagon along and pitch in during the demonstration.

“Come have a good time, ask questions, and if you want to participate to a degree, we’re looking for volunteers,” he said.

Along with Larkey’s dozen or so pickers, Kepner will have perhaps four on hand, including John Deere, New Idea and Ford models.

In a test run last week, Larkey and neighbor Glen Huseman made several passes through the cornfield – Larkey at the wheel of a yellow 1967 Minneapolis-Moline tractor and picker, with Huseman driving a green 1949 Oliver 77 tractor matched with a 1954 Oliver Model 4 picker.

Under the mechanical onslaught powered by chugging six-cylinder gasoline engines, whirring belts and clanking chains, the rows of corn slowly yielded their bounty, but not without a fight. Late-maturing stalks that were still wiry, not brittle, caused a few clogs, and a stubborn belt slipped off its track.

But the trailing wagons soon were filled with ear corn, and Larkey and Huseman paused to hunt for a wrench to fix that wayward belt.

Why does a 57-year-old like Huseman enjoy running half-century-old pickers?

“You know what? It’s relaxing. You don’t make a lot of progress, but it’s fun. To me, I’ve always enjoyed it.”

The same goes for Larkey, 49.

“There’s nothing better than sitting in a combine, but you know, these bring back childhood memories, farming with your dad and your grandpa, and it was just fun then.”

It was mighty special, too.

How fast could farmers pick?

By hand, 1930s and before – Two or three flair box wagon loads a day

■ With corn pickers, 1940s-1960s – Around 160 to 180 bushels an hour

■ With 1999 John Deere 9610 8-row combine – 1,500 bushels an hour

■ With latest John Deere 16-row combine – 3,000 to 4,000 bushels an hour

Source: Kevin Larkey and Glen Huseman

To attend the Cornpicker Celebration

When: Friday through Sunday

Time: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Place: Bolz farm on northeast edge of Walnut

Directions: Once in Walnut, take state Route 92 to Rodney Avenue, go a block north, then turn right and follow gravel lane to farm.

Admission: Free, but donations are accepted.

Information: Kevin Larkey, 815-878-2524; Dave Kepner, 815-379-2264; Glen Huseman, 815-878-8351

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