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On Saturday and Sunday, September
20th and 21st, the Abraham Lincoln National Railsplitting Festival
was held on the grounds of the Postville Courthouse. While the
weather was very rainy on Saturday, it was much drier on Sunday.
After the tomahawk throwing contest
was finished, the corn shelling contest began. Contest organizer
Heidi Mueller got in front of the crowd and explained the rules.
Each group would be a team of two. There were dried corn cobs and a
gallon metal can on the ground next to each group. When Rankin told
them to, each group would try to get all the corn kernels off the
cobs as quickly as possible using only their hands. These kernels
would have to land in the cans, so each sheller would need to be
careful where the kernels went after they were detached from the
cob.
While each pair was a team, they
had to take turns. Mueller made it clear that only one person could
be touching the cob at a time. When one person was done, the other
would pick a cob off the ground and get to shelling. The goal would
be to fill the metal can up to the top, with the first team to do so
being declared the winner.
For the adult division, there were
only three teams. Bob Rankin counted down for the start of the
contest, as Mueller was on one of those teams. When the contest
began, each team began to shell as quickly as they could. Some
shellers took a few moments to shell their corn, while others had
the entire cob cleared in only a second or two.
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First place was
decided rather quickly, but second place was a nailbiter, with
the teams vying for second finishing within ten seconds of each
other. When the adults
were finished, the kids division was organized. This time, there
were nine teams. The gallon cans were halfway filled for each team
so that the kids did not have to fill the can as far as the adults
did. While it took longer for the kids to fill the cans than the
adults, all teams still worked furiously to shell their corn. In the
end, the top three teams were decided.
The results for each division is as follows:
Adults
- 1st: Cody Friedlein and Jonathon Norin
- 2nd: Jennifer White and Heidi Mueller
- 3rd: Lawrence Dubbelde and Chelsea Dubbelde
Youth
- 1st: Colson Chambers and Lincoln Friedlein
- 2nd: Everett Reinhart and Trinity Bussan
- 3rd: William Dubbelde and Makiyah Ballinger
[Matt Boutcher]
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