Local Community Events: Corn Shuckings, Quiltings, Singings and Candy Pulling

Image Gallery Corn shuckings were often chances for neighbors to get together to enjoy food and dancing while getting needed work done. PHOTO: SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS LITERARY FUND

Excerpted from the book Foxfire 2. Copyright©1973 by the Southern Highlands Literary Fund, Inc., and Brooks Eliot Wigginton. Published by Anchor Press/Doubleday & Company, Inc.  

"They'd come in and shuck m'corn, sing, and have th'best time. You've never seen such a good time as they had! I wish you could go to a corn shuckin' sometime. " 

Thoughts like this one expressed by Aunt Arie were what really kindled our interest in researching this chapter. When we got into it, we became truly fascinated by the various community activities that people were involved in back in the "old days". Simple things like candy pullings and ice cream parties and singings delighted people no end . . . particularly young people.

What really amazed us, though, was the way people took a dull, arduous task and turned it into a time for fun and warm fellowship. Corn shuckings and house raisings and log rollings became a time for neighbors to pitch in and have the best times of their lives while working with and helping each other.

We decided that the best way to get the real feeling across would be through the words of the people themselves. Here is what they had to say.

Corn Shuckings

Florance and Lawton Brooks: We used t'have them old shuckin's. They'd just pile up their corn in their barnyard, y'know, instead a'puttin' it in their crib. And then they'd ask all their neighbors around t'come in. And they'd always bury a drink right in th'middle a'that pile and pile their corn on top a'it. Then we'd have t'shuck all th'corn t'find it. We'd shuck all night t'get t'that half-gallon a'liquor. Then we'd all have a drink and probably have a dancin' th'rest a'th'night, if we got done in time.

God, you never seen such shuckin' corn. 

Then sometimes they'd have it where th'man that found th'first red ear got t'kiss th'prettiest girl, and sometimes he'd shuck like th'devil tryin' t'find a red ear a'corn. Somebody'd find one generally ever'time. It was funny because back then 'at was th'worst thing a boy and girl could do would be caught kissin'. That's th'worst thing you could do!

Ever'body'uz invited. Wasn't nobody skipped. They invited th'young and old. They all come together. And you never seen such corn shucks in your life. And if we got done at midnight'r'somethin' like that, why we'd have a big dance from then on to towards daylight. We never counted none on sleepin' that night. No way when we was havin' them big corn shuckin's 'cause we knowed it'd take th'biggest part a'th'night.

'Bout all th'way we had a'havin'fun was at them shuckin's. But I thought it was mighty nice a'them t'have things like that. I wish they'd have'em now back like they used to. There'uz lots a'fun in that.