About Corn 2003

Corn has long been a staple here in the south and especially here on Sand Mountain.  Sweet corn is not our favorite corn to be “cut off the cob.”  It’s good on the cob, but our favorite to be “cut off” and “fried” is Malsby.  This is an old field corn variety, white in color, and when it’s cooking, water has to be added to keep it from sticking to the pot or skillet.

Well, at this writing we have two beautiful rows of corn in our garden; however, the corn we use for the freezer is usually grown on a little spot of ground some 100 yards from the house.  This year John planted four rows there either three or four times and at last count he had 28 stalks standing.  At first he thought crows were getting the grains just after he planted and he was told to put turpentine on the seed before he put them in the ground to keep the crows away.  He did just that on the last planting and it was then he discovered it was not crows at all, but squirrels.

Those little boogers go out there and dig up the grains after they’re planted.  On close examination, John says he can see the marks left by their claws.  Sometimes they take up the stalk after it comes out of the ground, then they get the grain off the root part and just leave the stalk on the ground.  Well, whether we have corn for the freezer this year remains to be seen.

All this made me think about the many different things corn has been used for here.  Now I know corn has been used for making “white lightning” or “moonshine;” however, I know nothing about this use.  Therefore, I can’t write about that.  I think some stills have been found on Skirum Creek in hidden coves.  I’m told that profession (at one time) was one way to bring in money to support a family and maybe a good one.

Southern corn meal was an absolute necessity in my growing up days, in fact, in this house it still is.  We used to go to the corn crib, pick out the best ears, shuck them and sack them to be taken to the mill.  The shucks were fed to the hogs or cows.  Remember we didn’t waste one thing.  Mother always kept a special fertilizer sack clean to bring the corn meal home from the mill in.  What a treat it was to be allowed to accompany Daddy to the mill.  Of course, our mode of transportation was a two-horse wagon.  We didn’t even own a spring seat.  The seat was a simple board which laid across the bed.  Bump, bump.  We went to the mill in Skirum (two miles away) where Mr. Peacock was in charge of grinding. I believe the miller took a toll of the meal (or corn) as payment.

Before we could make cornbread the meal had to be sifted.  Mother used a sifter that was shaped like a shallow pan and the bottom was something like screen wire.  She could sift without moving anything but her hands and when I sifted I moved every part of my body.  We saved the “bran” for the chickens or put it in the “slop bucket” which went to the hogs.  We added salt, soda and buttermilk to the meal for bread.  My mother tried to have an extra egg she could spare to be added — this made the bread fluffier and better; however, not everybody added the egg.  If you slipped and got too much soda in the bread it was yellow as gold and tasted different.  I’m so used to buying cornmeal mix now, I wonder if I could make a decent pan of cornbread from scratch.  I like to save leftover cornbread to be used in making dressing (I keep it in the freezer), but there is little to save as our dogs and cats love the leftovers, too.

Grits is another of my favorites that’s made from corn.  Meal is/was used for batter in the frying of some meats, to.  Fish is/was always battered in cornmeal, as was rabbits.  When we have fried salmon today, I still add corn meal, flour and an egg to the salmon before frying.

We fed our mules corn at night and the cows got the shucks, or they were taken to the hogs.  I’m told some folks fed their hogs corn to fatten them up before hog-killing season.

In the late summer the blades were pulled from the corn stalk, several blades put together were hung behind an ear and allowed to hang there and dry.  This was called “fodder.”  Several blades together were called “hands” and it took several “hands” to make a “bundle.”  When “hands” were put together to make a bundle, it was tied with yet another blade of “fodder” and dropped in the corn middle in piles to be picked up. It was loaded on a wagon and hauled to the barn to be used for feed during the winter months.

Later on, the ears were pulled and also hauled to the barn to be used for feed.  Following all this, the stalks were cut, allowed to deteriorate and then turned under in an effort to help fertilize the ground.

It was said that during the Civil War, Lee’s army crawled on its belly, fed by fat back, molasses and hoe cakes.  Confederate soldiers were issued two items which had to be kept dry– gun powder and corn meal.  If either got wet it could cost the soldier his life.  With wet gun powder he could be killed by the enemy and with wet cornmeal, he could die of starvation. On well, it’s just some of the stories about country living.
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