Kernels of Truth                  -by Karilyn Newnam        

Many people spent some long, hot days this past summer picking and selling sweet corn. The project was very successful with over $13,000 raised for mission projects. We praise and thank God for the abundant gifts that are given to us. The community appreciates the corn project. We know this because the sellers hear comments like “We’ve been waiting for you” and “this is the best sweet corn in town”. A little secret the sellers have is that even though the temperature may be hot, selling corn provides an opportunity to visit with friends. It takes many people to make this a successful project, and we are appreciative of the Men’s Breakfast group for coordinating this project.

With Jim Roush’s help, we’ve recorded some of the humorous and/or interesting incidences that have occurred while selling corn. We hope you enjoy them.

Good at Math - It has always been the policy of Grace Church to sell a “baker’s dozen” when selling sweet corn. An extra ear of corn is included with each dozen. One day a customer had placed an order for a dozen ears of corn. While waiting for the salesperson to sack the corn, a second customer arrived with an order of a half-dozen. The sales person explained that we give seven ears on a half-dozen order. The first customer overheard and quickly changed her order - “Give me two half-dozens”.

Family Harmony -A customer came with an order for a half-dozen ears of corn. The salesperson told the customer that an extra ear would be included. The customer said “I know – my wife and I bought a half-dozen earlier in the week and we fought over who would get the seventh ear”.

 The Customer is Always Right? - A potential customer and the salesperson were discussing our white sweet corn. The customer argued that the corn was field corn, not sweet corn. The salesperson assured the customer that it was our delicious white sweet corn. After considerable debate, the salesperson pointed to land behind the church and told the customer that the corn was grown on that six acre field. The customer sensed victory in the debate as he proclaimed that since the corn was grown in that FIELD behind the church, it was obviously FIELD corn.

Far and Wide –Some customers buy the corn to take to relatives and friends. Some states mentioned by customers include North Carolina, Iowa, Indiana and others. The corn that was picked one day was mature, so the sellers were told to tell the customers before they purchased the corn that it was mature. One customer bought corn that day and said he was taking it to Utah. We hope he was an airline passenger.

Ecumenical Project -A customer in Champaign assumed that the salesperson on duty was a Lutheran since he was selling sweet corn in the parking lot of the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. The salesperson informed the customer that the corn was from Grace United Methodist Church and that the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church was kind enough to let us use their wonderful location to sell our corn. The customer responded by saying that he was a Presbyterian buying sweet corn from a Methodist at a Lutheran Church. He wondered why diverse groups in other parts of our country and world could not get along as well as we were apparently doing in our corn sales.

Oops – Not Intentional – A man stopped to complain to the seller about the sign that is placed on the side of the street to let people know we are selling sweet corn. The sign said “Grace Methodist Church” instead of “Grace United Methodist Church”. By omitting “United”, the Evangelical United Brethren denomination that combined with Methodists to create the “United Methodist” Church was not represented. It’s likely that the person who created the sign just ran out of room.

A Bushel and a Peck - A customer asked the price of a bushel of sweet corn. He was told that we sold corn by the dozen and not by the bushel. The potential buyer said that he and his wife planned to “put up” three bushels of corn and they had to work with bushels, not dozens. He would stop by in a few days.

The research component of our sweet corn staff headed to the laboratory to determine how to convert dozens of ears of sweet corn to bushels of sweet corn. The result – it depended on the size of the ears. A decision eventually came forth that one bushel of sweet corn is approximately equal to four baker’s dozen of sweet corn.

P.S. The potential buyer never came back.

Tried and True - There are as many ways to freeze corn as there are customers who purchase corn for freezing. Each person has their favorite method for “putting up” sweet corn. One interesting method comes from H.B. Lee, who was a member of Grace several years ago. One summer, she and her mother tried to duplicate the method used by H.B.’s grandmother, Grandma Davis who lived in Southern Illinois. They experimented with drying corn and after several attempts, felt they had a product that tasted like their Grandma’s dried corn. H.B. estimates that corn from twelve ears dries to two cups of corn.

If  You Don’t Like the Weather - One day this summer, a seller recalled a day a couple of years ago when a blanket was put over the back of the chairs in an effort to stay warm. That was not needed this year.

People are Generous -Many people gave more than the quoted price for the corn that was purchased. The sellers raised the question as to whether they got to keep these “tips” or whether they should be deposited with the rest of the corn money. They were quickly informed that they should avoid pocketing these “tips” (just kidding).

Seriously, these extra monies provided good evidence that the public appreciated what was being accomplished with our corn project. On more than one occasion, people drove into the church parking lot, handed over a five or ten dollar bill and said they didn’t want any corn; they just wanted to contribute to our mission funds.

Try It – You’ll Like It - A customer wanted to buy sweet corn and we were selling white corn. The customer was hesitant because he had never eaten white corn. The salesperson handed him a couple of ears and said to try it, if you like it (and we know you will), come back.

The customer extended his thanks and said “Wait a minute, I have something for you”. The salesperson wondered what it could possibly be. The customer handed a paper bag through the window to the salesperson. The bag was filled with cucumbers that were approx. six inches in diameter. We don’t know if he came back.

Out of the Mouths of Babes - A woman with two children, ages approx. four and seven, stopped to purchase corn in Champaign. The mother said she had bought some corn earlier in the week and it was so good, she stopped for more. The salesperson thanked her for the compliments. Then her young son shouted out that it was really the best corn he had ever tasted. That was the comment that convinced the sellers that the family had REALLY enjoyed the corn. Who said “If you want the truth, ask a child?”

Almost - Our two biggest corn sales days occurred on August 4^th and August 5^th. On each of these days, more than one thousand dollars worth of corn was sold. August 5 was the day that Mike Smith fell asleep while selling corn in Champaign. The Grace Methodist Men’s Club is convinced that if Mike would have remained awake and alert, we would have set a Guinness record for sweet corn sales on that Saturday.

Thank You Notes

Philo Road Kids Fair

September 10, 2006

Thank you, Pat!

God is in the whirlwind!

Go with God: shalom!