Unfortunately, I’ve never had the opportunity to attend one of the famous corn shuckins of my Appalachian heritage, but my Granny used to tell me about the grand affair they were. In a world where most people worked hard from dawn to dusk, Corn Shuckins were one of those rare opportunities to socialize outside of school, work, or church.

When my Granny was a little girl, the community would gather together. Each family would bring their loads of unshucked corn and make a huge pile in a central location. It could be in one of the rooms of the house, in the barn, or on the lawn. It all depended on the size of the pile.

Then the shucking would commence. Sometimes folks would bring their musical instruments and play along. There might be some dancing and singing. And….there was a little bit of prize winning or  ‘courtin’ opportunities too. For example, sometimes there was a large whiskey bottle a the bottom of the pile and whoever found it first got to keep it.

OR (the scenario I like better) is whichever man found a solid red ear corn first got to kiss the “prettiest girl” around the corn ring. Sometimes, the rule was he could kiss whichever girl of his choosing.

Have you ever heard of a corn shuckin? If so what were some of the traditions of yours?