The Press-Dispatch
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B-8 Wednesday, July 1, 2020 The Press-Dispatch Lic. #AU10800006 812-598-3936 Call Johny Ray for Details Absolute Auction Auction Location: 114 E SR 68, Lynnville Property Location: 12368 E 100 S, Oakland City Glen and Kathy Burdette Real Estate and Personal Property LARGE 2-SESSION AUCTION Personal Property Auction ursday, July 9 3:30pm CDT Furniture, Antiques, Collectibles, Pottery, Tools and More Personal Property and Real Estate ursday, July 23 3:30pm CDT 2 Bedroom, 1 Bath on 2 +/- Acres Real estate sells at 6pm CDT Every corn farmer has heard the expression that a corn plant needs to be knee-high by the Fourth of July to allow the plant to thrive and reach timely full maturity without risk of frost. Ev- ery corn farm- er also knows that this adage is bunkum. Around here corn is anywhere from just planted (hear me out) to tasseling. Some sweet corn is ready for harvest. Where did this phrase originate? What height should corn be at this time of year? "Knee high by the Fourth of July" has a question- able history, like many oth- er phrases with a lot of age. Some sources claim the phrase originates in co- lonial times, when maize would have been a relatively new crop for white settlers. That source claims the corn should have been knee high to a person on a horse by In- dependence Day. This claim is abjectly false for multiple reasons, but the most obvi- ous one is this. The fourth of July is a very, very ran- dom date to pick in colonial times, prior to 1776, es- pecially when any date in July would rhyme just as well. Also wor- thy of note is the height of modern corn varieties varies substan- tially from their historic counterparts. Knee high on a decent horse in to- day's world might be less than full mature height, but the planophile plants pre-dat- ing the 1960s did not need the height of today's erecto- phile leaf oriented plants to out-compete weeds and pro- duce ears. Looking at cine- matic history alone shows the changes in corn plant physiology over time. Chil- dren of the Corn turns 36 years old this year. Perhaps the phrase is a lit- tle more recent, almost cer- tainly coined somewhere in the Corn Belt. Using this as- sumption, knee high corn is relatively safe from an impactful frost or freeze in the fall, no matter when we assume the phrase began. Recent attempts, then, to change the preferred phras- ing to "corn as high as an ele- phant's eye" seem to be over- kill. Disregarding the prefer- ence for stealing the phrase from the musical "Oklaho- ma," an elephant's eye is anywhere from seven to nine feet above ground level, and corn that tall on July 4 would be ready for harvest rather early, not utilizing the entire growing season for yield. In 2019, some acres were planted to corn after July 4th. In our area, the odds of get- ting a great crop with plant- ing that late are low, but the odds of getting a harvestable crop are pretty good. Some farmers around us have had some success with a double crop corn crop after wheat. In 2011, the Purdue Farm Management Tours includ- ed the Del Unger Farm, a Sullivan County farmer who discussed success with dou- ble-crop corn. Although the Purdue Farm Management Tours this year were can- celed, along with the annu- al Master Farmer banquet, the Purdue Agriculture/In- diana Prairie Farmer Mas- ter Farmer class was high- lighted last week in July's is- sue of that publication. One Master Farmer is Posey County's own Jim and Car- ol Jo Droege, and a well-de- served congratulations to them. The honorary Mas- ter Farmer goes to some- one whose contributions to farmers are extensive while not actively farming them- selves. This year's recipient was Bob Nielsen, Purdue Extension corn specialist. If anyone should know where corn should be by July 4, Dr. Nielsen does. As it turns out, Dr. Niel- sen does not publish infor- mation referencing this say- ing. He does reference get- ting corn planted by May 10 to maximize potential yield. Putting that date into the Useful to Usable Growing Degree Day Calculator, the saying may make the most sense changed to "silking in the heat by July 15th." For more information on these or other items, contact Hans at hschmitz@purdue.edu or 812-838 -1331. Sweet's Column by Barbara Sweet To enter the Birthday Club, email your name, ad- dress, phone number and birthdate to birthdayclub@ pressdispatch.net. Only the person's name, town and birth- day will appear in the paper. As an added bonus, one lucky person each month will re- ceive a free three month Press-Dispatch subscription. This month's birthdays have a chance to win a $25 gift certifi- cate to Fish Hut Pizza, in Petersburg. JUNE WINNER And the winner is... Carly Tegmeyer from Petersburg. Carly won a $25 gift certificate from Kuttin Loose, in Pe- tersburg, and a three-month subscription to The Press-Dis- patch. Congratulations! THIS WEEK'S BIRTHDAYS Paige Holman ........................... Monroe City ............ 7/2 Marilyn Kinder .......................... Petersburg ............. 7/3 Jensen Manning ......................... Winslow .............. 7/3 Kirstin Asbell .............................. Winslow ............... 7/4 Tyler Asbell .................................. Jasper ................ 7/6 Debra Cavins............................. Petersburg ............. 7/7 THIS MONTH'S SPONSOR Corner of 9th & Sycamore, Petersburg 812-354-9046 REAL ESTATE TRANSFERS Amy D. Melhiser, Justin Melhiser, Andrea Miley, John Melhiser and Joseph Melhiser convey to Stephanie M. Richardson and Logan R. Dawson, real estate as record- ed in Pike County. Michael C. McLain and Cathy Harker convey to Sherri Wesley, real estate as recorded in Pike County. Timothy Wheeler conveys to Josh Tinsley, real estate as recorded in Pike County. Mark A. McClure and Kerry Wayne McClure convey to Linda M. Hunter, real estate as recorded in Pike County. Gene A. Bottoms, Sr. quitclaims to David S. Powers, re- al estate as recorded in Pike County. Stephanie E. Houchins conveys to State of Indiana and Indiana Department of Transportation, real estate as re- corded in Pike County. Delbert Shimer by AIF, David L. Shimer and Neoma Shimer by AIF, David L. Shimer convey to David Lee Shim- er II and Amber Shimer, real estate as recorded in Pike County. First Federal Savings Bank conveys to Anthony J. O'Bri- an, real estate as recorded in Pike County. Freedom Mortgage Corporation conveys to Twyla Da- nae Graber, real estate as recorded in Pike County. Lily A. Vaughn conveys to Angela K. Wells, real estate as recorded in Pike County. Hi stars and welcome to the big stage all lit up in red, white and blue lights and decorated to help celebrate with all our stars who will have a birthday or anniversary in the week of July 2-8. Don't be shy. Come up onto this stage and take a bow. July 2 - Sarah Lane turns 18; Re- id McCandless turns 8; Kya Maier turns 18. July 3 - Shanna Bolin; Ryan Coleman turns 48; Dan Reute- pohler turns 55; MacKenzey Dunn turns 18; Tommy and Sharon Culbertson celebrate 22 years. July 4 - Brandi Meyer turns 38; Cainan Abel Hulfachor turns 8. July 5 - Adrienne "Buck- wheat" Sharp turns 49; Tim and Jeanette Wheeler cele- brate 12 years. July 6 - Don Meyer turns 64; Remington Bottoms turns 15; John Warner turns 43; Lerie Mitchell Ridenour turns 29. July 7 - Teresa Nicholson turns 70 ; Terry Aldridge; Ben and Florence Huddleston cel- ebrate 30 years; Brian and MaryAnn Dillman celebrate 21 years. July 8 - Carson Charles Mc- Donald turns 11; Cory Sharp. May all our stars have a re- ally great day and may all your wishes come true. Keep in your heart and in your prayers all our stars who have coronavirus and their caregivers, those with season- al allergies or who are suffer- ing from the aches and pains of everyday life: Tim, Terri Ann, Marie, Benny, LaNora, Agnie, Sue Ellen and Steve. We are saddened to hear of the passing of Robert Lemond, Jr., on June 9, 2020, age 29, and the passing of Forrest Boger on June 14, 2020, age 88. To the families and friends, remember all the great times and share your memories, and more memories will be added. Robert was shy and didn't talk much, but he was always kind and helpful. I didn't know Forrest, but we do know that he must have been a great father to have raised a daughter like Sherry (Dennis) Bishop and to know his grandchild, Robin (Eric) Smith. EVENTS July 2 - Winslow Lions Club will meet at 7 p.m. at the Com- munity Center with their monthly meal. If you are in- terested in joining the Lions, you are welcome to come. We do practice social distancing. July 4 - Independence Day - celebration of our country's in- dependence, when we became the United States of America. July 5 - Spurgeon-Monroe Fire Dept. meeting at 3 p.m. at the station house. July 6 - Winslow Fire Dept. meeting at 6:30 p.m. at the sta- tion house. July 9 - Petersburg Lions will meet at 6 p.m. at the Vil- lage Inn. July 10 - Pike County prop- erty taxes are due. July 11 - 30th Spring Poe- hlein Bass Tourney from 5 a.m.-5 p.m. You can fish as a single or doubles. Contact Greg at 812-789 -3778; 4th An- nual Clog the Patoka. Mill- ers Field will have camping spots, as well as behind the American Legion. Breakfast served by the Winslow Lions at Millers Field and lunch at Riverside Park. In the evening, sup- per will be at the Legion. July 18 - County-wide Yard Sale. Winslow and Petersburg se- niors may meet on their days, but check with your leaders before making the trip. The Winslow Senior Citi- zens are still delivering their home-cooked meals to Pike County seniors and the hand- icapped. Contact Frieda Bolin at 812-789 -2986 for Monday and Thursday delivery. Sweets Column, Winslow, IN 47598 received no post- cards this week. Winslow Patoka River, at last look, was still low, but we have had some rain. It has not been enough to make it rise or to water the house plants under the shade tree. We did see a kayak that was being loaded into the truck at River- side Park and hope they didn't come across too much debris sticking out of the low water level. Lots of colorful flow- ers are sill in bloom along the roadways and in yards. Have you been able to see the fire- flies or lightning bugs danc- ing in the yards and fields? They are amusing to watch as they light up the area from the ground to the tops of the trees. They have been around for a few weeks now. The mow- ing of lawns is still heard, but not as often. All the yards looked great for Father's Day. The temps all last week, ex- cept for two days, were hot in the high 80s to low 90s, but the humidity was also high, which meant the air condi- tioner was on day and night. But when last Wednesday and Thursday were in the 80s and no humidity was with it, the air conditioner went off and the windows flew open. The high temps and humidity be- gan again on Friday and last- ed all weekend. The fresh air is refreshing when the hu- midity is low, but when a fan doesn't help anymore, the air conditioner must be turned on again. Friday, June 19, Norm and I did our weekly thing and dropped off the column at the Press Dispatch. We some- times stop at the bank and this day, we found out the bank lob- by is open, but only a few cus- tomers at a time are allowed. However, the drive-thru is still open. This Friday, we called to see if they were open before we went. The treasurer's of- fice is open at the courthouse if you like to pay your property taxes in person like we do. We entered the courthouse lobby and it was real deserted. We only saw one person and she has an office there. We didn't see anyone else until we got to the treasurer's office. They were set up for social distanc- ing with a table at the room en- trance that said "stop here un- til your name is called." Since we were the only ones there at that time, we were asked to step over to the first win- dow. The red arrows and Xs were on the floor and several more tables were set up along the way. The two ladies were glad to see someone come in. They were friendly as we talk- ed and paid our taxes. As we left, Norm was told to have a Happy Father's Day. Saturday, June 20 was the first day of summer and the temps were high. The humid- ity was also high, so we took a drive to Evansville to see just where the L ST is located af- ter its move to their downtown riverfront location. It is locat- ed just west of where the ca- sino was docked. We didn't get out of the truck this time, but we will visit it at another date. While we were in the ar- ea, across town, we found Dr. Dashboard to see if we could find a radio and have them install it. We did find the ra- dio we wanted, but the install wouldn't be until July, so we have it all set up and soon the truck will have sound. No ra- dio hasn't bothered us too much because we could hear the different sounds the truck has and whether or not to have the sound fixed. However, it's time to install some much needed music as we take our drives around the areas of In- diana and beyond. Before we left Pike County, we stopped at Petersburg Hardware to get a battery for the key fob. A fter it was installed, it had to have a small repair done. Thanks to all who had a hand in getting the key fob working again. Oh, at Dr. Dashboard, there was a gentleman who brought in a small tree on a stand to the salesman. I had to ask him if that was a real tree because it was only 1/2 inch or a little taller, and he said it was a hob- by of his that he started about a year ago. It was a wire tree. He showed me pictures of dif- ferent trees and the wood base he makes also. Some are so real looking, like the Bonsai and pine trees. His hobby is worth seeing and maybe one day he will be on one of the T V morning shows with his work. I'm not familiar with down- town Evansville, so we got to see more of the side streets. I think we can almost get to the area we want to find. A f- ter we left Evansville, we took another way out through farm- land and soon drove into Boon- ville, then home. Sunday, June 21 was Fa- ther's Day and I hope all of your fathers had an enjoy- able day with family and an "I love you, Dad." Norm gets up before me on Sundays and he is the one to fix breakfast because I fix him meals all through the week. I believe he likes frying the bacon or sausage and frying the eggs without breaking the yolk. He does a great job of that and it's tasty and filling. His Father's Day gift will come in July with a truck radio and I was won- dering what to get him. Laura gave him two packs of gum, two packages of donuts and a picture she colored of a deer head with colorful flowers along the antlers. We want- ed to get out for a drive and decided to drive through Monroe City into Vincennes, where they have done many makeovers, like benches un- der the decorative iron awning by parking areas. One spot by the university has colorful apartments going up, with the siding and shutters all in dif- ferent colors. Then there are several lots where trees are planted and along the side- walks, there are streetlamps along the way. From there, we took Hwy 41 south into Prince- ton, where we came into miles of cones along the White Riv- er Bridge and at the Prince- ton exit ramps. On this Fa- ther's Day, we didn't see fam- ilies, but the houses had lots of cars and trucks, and every so often, we smelled or saw the smoke from a grill in the back- yards. There was some rain, not heavy, through our drive, but it was a pleasant day to get out. Road construction with de- tours is all around Pike Coun- ty on Highway 64 and High- way 56; in Princeton on Hwy 64, west of the shopping area; I-69, from Washington south to Evansville in several areas. Some of these are to redo bridges and some are to pave sections, but if you know the back ways on rock roads, you can save time. Otherwise, you have a long detour. Have an en- joyable, scenic drive. As you used to take the north road our of Pike State Forest, you will now have to stop and go back into Pike State Forest and take the west roadway out. The bridge will soon be taken down and re- habbed, then will go across Prides Creek in Petersburg. No more bridge at Survant across the Patoka, where the floaters begin Clog the Pato- ka on July 11. No more bridge to cross for a very long time. There is only Hwy 364 in and out. Winslow has two work- ers for the town, Nick and Zack, and they work with Na- than and Norm to spruce up Winslow streets each week with weedeating, mowing, helping with holes, meter reading or other jobs that are in dire need of doing. Wel- come, guys, to our Winslow streets. Since July 4 is coming soon, this year will be very different with no Otwell parade and no Otwell fireworks. However, they will have dinners and homemade ice cream. It will be like a picnic, so you will eat outside. Last year, Winslow had different spots of fire- works, which we all enjoyed. This year, we will have to see what colors will be in the sky. Family get togethers and more grilling will be in the air. How- ever your 4th of July celebra- tion will be, we hope you all have fun in your own way. Well, I guess you all need to rest your eyes after reading so much. I will start to dim the lights for this week. Keep an eye on family and friends to be sure they are hydrated in this heat and see if they at least have a fan. Slow down and see all the beauty everywhere you travel or walk. As always, smile, wave and say "hi" to ev- eryone you see this week. Happy 4th of July! Fly your flag proudly. Down on the Farm By Hans Schmitz, Purdue Extension Educator Knee-high by the Fourth of July MARRIAGE LICENSES Stacey Williams, 43, of 210 N. 7th St., Petersburg, daugh- ter of Steve Corten and Debby Osgatharp, to Darrell Moo- tispaw, 39, of 1146 US 52, Aberdeen, Ohio, son of Darrell Mootispaw and Cindy Cantrell.