An eye on the sky, an ear on the ground
Written by Cindy O. Herman
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Crunchy, juicy, sweet, salty and dripping with butter, there's nothing like the season's first bite of corn-on-the-cob. And for most of us, that's all there is to it: Buy it, husk it, cook it and eat it.
Delicious.
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But for the folks who grow it, there's a bit more work and worry involved.
"Knee-high by the Fourth of July" is what the farmers say, though they really hope the corn is higher than that by the time fireworks explode in the nighttime skies. And for dozens of families across Pennsylvania, farming is a way of life.
"They all worked here," Bill Mitchell, of Middleburg, Snyder County, said of the children in his extended family. "And now we have two little nephews (ages 8 and 10) working here, and they're starting to drive tractors."
The 10-year-old even drives the pickup truck sometimes.
"All of us did that growing up," Mitchell added with a grin. "And then when it came time to take our driver's test, we'd flunk because we thought we knew what we were doing."
The Mitchells farm 10 acres of sweet corn, along with about 45 acres of other fruits and vegetables, and sell their produce at their market in Middleburg. The 365-acre farm has been in the family for more than 200 years.
To read more, get the current issue of Inside Pennsylvania.
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