1938 National Corn Husking Contest

1938 National Corn Husking Contest. . On a windy, cold, and damp 3rd of November 1938, the eyes and ears of the nation focused on Dell Rapids, host to the greatest annual competition of American agriculture: the National Corn Husking Contest. An estimated 125,000 people from all over the nation came to this location, the farm of Jim and Nellie Jensen. They came to watch 21 contestants, including 2 huskers from South Dakota, pick corn by hand during timed competition., An 80-acre site known as "Tent City" contained an Indian village, 48 concession stands, farm machinery, a replica of Mount Rushmore, a fire department, an emergency hospital with a corps of physicians, hundreds of police officers, telegraph and telephone stations, a post office, and parking areas for 35,000 cars. This was said to be the largest gathering ever recorded in South Dakota up to that time., The day of the contest opened with a two-mile parade. It featured seven marching bands, Contest Queen Venita Apply, 14 other queen contestants, political notables, brightly decorated huskers' wagons, a band of Oglala Sioux Indians, and a great array of up-to-the-minute farm machinery., At 11:44 a.m. the starting bomb exploded signaling the beginning of the contest. Urged on by the cheering crowds, the contestants, representing 11 corn-growing states, rapidly moved down the field. Each competitor hand ripped ears of corn from the stalks, two rows of corn at a time. They were followed by contest marshals and referees totaling nearly 1000 men. Score guards with ropes kept away the eager milling crowd while gleaners gathered any remaining marketable ears to be weighed and charged against the contestants. Thousands of corn ears were tossed in a steady stream against the bang boards of the contestants' wagons., Bands played briskly while the loudspeaker system filled the air with official announcements, calls for individuals, and appeals for the parents of lost children. The NBC radio network carried a live "bang-by-bang" description of the contest., Despite the damp penetrating cold, the contestants weaved and crouched to reach low ears of corn and to retrieve fallen ears. Many slipped on the damp earth. It was a pressing grind from start to finish as they picked, husked, and tossed corn ears into the filling wagons, averaging one ear a second. There were no time-outs for rest and no stops for water as the minutes clicked away., At the close of the 80-minute contest, Ted Balko of Redwood Falls, Minnesota, the 1934 champion, won his second national contest. He hand-husked a net of 22.64 bushels of corn to end the 1938 "Battle of the Bang Boards."