The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1939-10-26
GRANITE FALLS MAN
LEADS IN DISTRICT;
SELKE is FOURTH


Yellow Medicine county cham
pion, was bad medicine to 13
other west central Minnesota
huskers at the district contest on
the Ted Balko farm south CT
Redwood Falls Tuesday after
noon as he picked steadily and
clearly to box 25.644 bushels of
fine hybrid corn for an easy first
place.
Bunched with a bushel to two
bushels less were the four other
district huSkers who are compel
ing this afternoon at Amboy for
the state championship. In the
group is Norman Selke of Milroy,
slender and agile Redwood coun-
ty champion whose load of 24.137
bushels earned him fourth place
in the field of IA county champs.
Second honors went to Rudolph
Hanson of Candy, representing
Lac Qui Parle county, whose load
was 24477 bushels. Herman Mord-
horst of Herman, Grant county,
shucked a net load of 2446 for
third place while August Shriver
CT Tyler, Lincoln county, elboWed
several close competitors out for
fifth place with 23.48.
Has Biggest Gross
HUH, ninth place winner in
1887, had the largest gross load as
well as the biggest net, his haul
of 1880 pounds being one of two
above the 300 mark. He was
not in the district meet last sea-
son.
Of the five top men, Selke was
the only one picking in his first
district meet. Hanson second
place man, was first in 1897 and
placed fifth in the state meet, held
on the Frank Mcnamara farm
near here that season. Last year
he was fourth in the district.
Mordhorst was eleventh in the
1887 state meet, after; placing sec
ond in the district that year.
August Shriver finished third IN
the district last season and fifth
the previous year. He, too, had
had previous experience in Red
wood county corn, picking his
way to third honors in the state
meet here.
Missing a trip to the state by
IL pounds of corn, Herbert Won
Keulin of Lyon county was sixth
with Henry Kay of Traverse a
close seventh. Loads dWindled
from there to fourteenth with
Hiram Norland of Pope county
picking the, smallest load, 1913
bushels while Chalmer Irwin of
Thief River Falls had 20567 for
thirteenth. Grant Peterson of
Renville, the Renville county
standard bearer, suffered almost
200 pounds deductions which took
his good gross load down to ninth
place.
Field Dry, Rolling
Selke drew the largest gallery,
in his own county, but husked
steadily across and nearly back
on the 80 rod rows, picking 40
ears per minute on the home
stretch. Huth was the only husk-
er to complete the return journey
and Ted Balko. taking a turn at
field general as we'll as host, start
er and tractor driver, switched
him onto a new land with only
20 seconds delay which he YVES
allowed after the final gun.
The contest got underway 1T
1850 as Ted raised the shotgun
awarded him by the Redwood
Falls Civic and Commerce asso-
citation after his first national
championship in 1885. AS it BOOM
ed the huskers, many of them
shirtless, began the 80 minute.
grind over the dry, rolling field,
the stalks swapping as they moved
along.
1t was only a matter of minutes
before the straight line at the
starting point became jagged as
the more rapid pickers gradually
moved ahead and the plodderS
Jagged. Behind each wagon fol-
lowed first the cleaners and
judges, mostly business men from
Redwood Falls or farmers from
nearby farms, then several score
of interested fans. Often the
proud mother, father or wife of
the competitor could be recogniz-
ed by his or her special interest
in the proceedings or faithfulneS5
to certain husker.
Huth was first to reach the turn,
swinging quickly onto the return
beat without missing a stride.
Last were the northern Minneso-
tans, unaccustomed to corn of the
calibre raised by the six times
state and twice national cham
pion.
Cooperating sponsors of the
project hadn't missed bet, for
as the final gun sounded and the
procession moved into the tidy
farmyard for weighing and the
figuring-up process, every needed
facility was at hand. At their
lunch counter, All youths dished
up hot dogs and other fare with
efficiency and profit-or was that
butter between the buns?
Out of the field at ITO, the job
CONTINUED on mage sikh