Corn Boy

I had a speaking engagement today—gave my presentation “How Corn Changed Itself and Then Changed Everything Else.” Lovely venue (Isle a la Cache Museum, posted about elsewhere in this blog), with a great audience. Enjoyed everything about it, but the thing that sent me to my computer was the audience member who said I needed to see “Corn Boy.” He even pulled it up on his phone while I was putting away my notes from the presentation, so I would be sure to see it. It’s easy to see why he thought I should see it—and fascinating to see that 12 million people agree with him. Charming and fun—and it makes me want to go out and get some sweet corn.

Kaskaskia—and Lafayette

When I have a speaking engagement that takes me on the road, I always try to find something to visit at my destination or on the way home (on the way there, I’m usually just making sure I arrive on time). A few months ago, on my way home from Murphysboro, IL, (where, in addition to speaking, I enjoyed once again some of the famous smoked offerings at 17th Street Barbecue), I turned my wheels west, heading toward the Mississippi River and then up toward Kaskaskia, one-time Illinois state capital and the only part of Illinois west of the river.

During my drive, I was struck by just how big Illinois is. In the southern part, the unbroken vistas stretch astonishingly far. Lovely farm country, but daunting. Can’t even imagine what the psychological impact must have been for people who visited before highways and automobiles.

Even after reaching and crossing the Mississippi, I had a fair bit of driving to do before reaching Kaskaskia. As remote as it was, I was surprised to run into other visitors there. But that underscores its importance. In addition to its former status as a capital, it was also the site of the farthest west conflict—and victory—of the American Revolution, thanks to the efforts of George Rogers Clark and company.

When I arrived, I viewed the “Liberty Bell of the West” and read all the historic markers. I was also pleased to see a sign memorializing LaFayette’s visit. In 1825–1826, the great French general made a return visit and tour of the country he aided in achieving liberty. Frenchman Julien Icher has followed the route taken by LaFayette during this “farewell tour,” and having seen a few episodes of his video diary of the effort (Follow the Frenchmen), I was delighted to see that he’d made it to Kaskaskia before I arrived. And so I now turn over the tale of this town to him—to share more about Lafayette but also to explain how Kaskaskia ended up on the other side of the Mississippi.

Bierocks and Runzas

In my book Destination Heartland I have several “food notes,” one of them about Bierocks and Runzas. I knew they were introduced by Russian-Germans—and I knew they were good. But in this episode of Tasting History with Max Miller, Max goes into the background of how those Russian Germans ended up in Kansas and Nebraska. He also teaches you how to make Bierocks. Good fun.

Brucemore Update

My book, Destination Heartland, is not the only way one might have heard of the splendid historic site of Brucemore in Cedar Rapids, IA, but it is because I included it that I get regular updates. The reason updates are welcome is that in 2020, a horrific storm known as a derecho devastated a good bit of the Midwest, including Brucemore. (I actually did three posts on the derecho at the time, including this one, which offers a bit of history.)

I have followed the progress of repairs and just received this latest update. The damage on Brucemore is reported to have been among the most dreadful to any historic landmark in U.S. history. So I was glad to see the amount of headway that has been made. The Brucemore YouTube channel also has a shorter video that shows how extensive the damage was, including massive loss of old trees. There is still work to be done, but it is encouraging to see that so much headway has been made, and and definitely pleasing to see that Brucemore, while still hurt, has been able to resume its place as a center for the arts in the area.

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1824 Cornbread

While this blog has grown to include anything about the Midwest, it still focuses primarily on history and food. Of course, the name of the blog does make it clear that corn/maize is where we started. As the author of the book Midwest Maize: How Corn Shaped the U.S. Heartland, I clearly have an interest in that iconic American grain. So I thought I’d share a video on making cornbread 200 years ago. Happily, this video also connects Midwest Maize with my newest work, Destination Heartland, because the historic cooking reenacted here takes place in St. Genevieve, MO, which is featured in the new book. If you, too, like food and history, you may find much to enjoy on this channel. Hope you enjoy this visit to the past.

Another Farmer

While this blog covers a wide range of topics related to the Midwest, from culture and history to food and fun, I do seem to keep being drawn back to farmers–largely because my experience of farmers (both in person and via Internet) has been so different from what a lot of people (non-farmers that is) expect. They are generally educated, often multi-talented, warm, wonderful, enthusiastic, and they rejoice in their ability to grow things and feed people. If you go back through my posts, you’ll find plenty of evidence of this. But I’ve just come across a new farmer who adds a new dimension — cute, bouncy, young. This video is more than a year old and a more recent one relates that Nebraska farmer Laura is now nearing the end of her business degree. But in case you need more proof that farmers are not homely old hayseeds, here it is.

Corn to Whiskey

You may know, especially if you’ve heard me speak or read my books Midwest Maize or Pigs, Pork, and Heartland Hogs, that getting corn to market was most commonly handled one of two ways. It could be fed to pigs, which could then walk to market. (This led to pigs being referred to as “cornfields on legs.”) Or it could be converted to whiskey. Of course, in addition to getting the corn to market, albeit in an altered state, the advantage of both of these approaches was that it gave those growing the corn both meat and drink.

For those who might be interested in how corn got converted to whiskey back in the 1700s, here’s a video from Townsends demonstrating the entire process. What was being created on farms of the time would not generally be elegant, aged whiskey, but rather a strong, clear, “white” whiskey. So not necessarily good whiskey, but it got the job done.

A New Use for Cornstarch: Scrambled Eggs

Who knew cornstarch could make your eggs better? Well, apparently a few folks knew it, because this is now a thing. I just ran across this today, and because this blog has corn/maize in the title, I thought it would be a good place to pass this tip along. I’m hungry and now need to go make this.

Rescue Training for Farmers

Roughly six years ago (February 18, 2015, to be exact) I posted about how dangerous farmings is—second only to coal mining. In that post, I focused on the dangers faced in grain bins filled with corn. If you’re not familiar with what can happen, you might want to go back and read/watch that post. For those who are already aware of the dangers, here is an encouraging video about training volunteer firefighters in farming communities to rescue people who have become trapped. Because if no one rescues you, you die. This video was created by the MN Millennial Farmer, whom I’ve featured here in the past. Hope this makes you a little more appreciative of what goes into getting you your corn chips. And hope the project it represents saves a lot of lives.

Share a Video, Touch the Future

The Peterson brothers created a video a few years back that when viral – Farmer Style. As a result, I interviewed Greg Peterson, the oldest of the three brothers, for my book, Midwest Maize, because it reflected the attitude of younger farmers—the folks who will be feeding us in the future.

Then, in my book, Pigs, Pork, and Heartland Hogs, I feature the National FFA, which is an organization that offers great opportunities to students, both in rural areas and cities.

So when the Peterson brothers came out with a new video that, if shared, will benefit the National FFA—supported by Pioneer, which also gets a mention in Midwest Maize book—I could hardly fail to respond to the offer. So here is the video. If you choose to share it, future generations will benefit.