Begin forwarded message:
From: ALAN SKEOCH <alan.skeoch@rogers.com>Subject: episode 1,474; GEORGE RICHEY FARM…..”CLUNK”— LOST IN AN OHIO CORN FIELD ON DARK NIGHT IN OCTOBER 1978Date: December 28, 2025 at 2:27:07 PM EST
“CLUNK…” The truck refused to go any farther. It was dead.the universal joint hung down among the corn stubble. We werein serious trouble… inky blackness all around.When the truck died we had been driving for 8 hours. Heading to the Richey Farm in central Ohionear the Norwich village (population 85). Daylight failed by time we reached Buffalo, then west to Clevelandhugging Lake Erie shore, then south to Pittsburg on super highway, then cutting westward through Amishcountryside where no lights showed. Inky blackness except for headlights.We shared the highway with dozens of 18 heelers en route to the golden valleys of California. Empty trucksdriven by cowboys who resented my pathetic two way radio attempt at conversation— an exaggeration bred by fear.‘How is traffic south to Pittssburg, 10-4?”“Fuck off.”Boxed us in on one occasion. 18 wheelers front back and side…uncomfortable for us. Was boxing deliberate
or imagination?
Two kids, two dogs,two adults…one decrepit brown van limping southward.“Boxed in. Is this deliberate?”“Cut the small talk on the two way radio, Alan,’’The hours slid by…took us 8 hours to reach the corn field…we arrived well after midnight. Our vanwas no longer purring. Sort of grunting now and then but once in gear it kept up with traffic. Very littletraffic west from Pittsburg thankfully. Kids asleep with dogs. Marjorie watching the road seeminglyunaware of our trucks plaintive wheezing.South from Norwich the road twisted and had sharp turns. Black night…black as hubsof hell.
Gravel road….steep hills. Deep valleys. Darkness.
Ancient settlement road seemed to end in the corn field.“Where are we??”“I don’t rightly know>”“Could you not stay on the road?’”“What road?”“What was that ‘Clunk?”“Truck will not move…we are stranded.”“Shouldn’t we ask for help…farmhouse over there?”“Late…black night…danger to knock on door…guns.”Then the night darkness was gone. Headlights popped on,’We were surrounded by camper vans and and half ton truckshere for the annual Steam Up (ran for 40 years)George Richey snuffled a greeting and noticed the gutof our truck hanging…How did you get here with that … no way to transferfrom motor to wheels.”“Just kept moving…noisy.”“We’ll get it fixed,”Two trucks moved over to our truck with headlights…men crawled under…marvelled the we survived the journey…said they couldfix things up in morning.MORNING AT STARVED ROOSTER FARM, OCTOBER, 1978…George and Helen Richey, Norwich, Ohio— 8 hour drive from TorontoBefore we awakened a bunch of mechanics crawled under our truckand used ‘bailing wire and binder twine’ fixed her up for the trip homeon Sunday — therefore we had one day to enjoy and interview,to eat and tell stories about the fertile drainage basin of thegreat Missisippi River.Lionel Hofmeister: “I remember standing on the banks of Missisippi around 1910 and seeing steam spouting froma dozen or more threshing rigs. The soil was that thick and rich. Today that rich black soil is washing away eachseason and no one seems to care.”
<img alt="Aultman & Taylor Threshing Machines Mansfield NEW Sign: 24×30" USA STEEL XL Size – Picture 1 of 1" data-zoom-src="https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/cBEAAOSw9bRngfcQ/s-l1600.jpg" loading="eager" src="https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/cBEAAOSw9bRngfcQ/s-l500.jpg" fetchpriority="high" srcset="https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/cBEAAOSw9bRngfcQ/s-l140.jpg 140w, i.ebayimg.com/images/g/cBEAAOSw9bRngfcQ/s-l500.jpg 500w, i.ebayimg.com/images/g/cBEAAOSw9bRngfcQ/s-l960.jpg 960w, i.ebayimg.com/images/g/cBEAAOSw9bRngfcQ/s-l1600.jpg 1600w” sizes=”(min-width: 768px) 60vw, 100vw” style=”transform-origin: 599px 248px;” class=””>
What Is Sorghum?
<object id="img" apple-inline="yes" style="width: 684px; height: 385px;" class="" data="https://alanskeoch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/20220919154911-1663705064668@2x.jpeg” type=”application/x-apple-msg-attachment”>So first things first, what is sorghum?
“Sorghum is a plant that is part of the grass family, Poaceae. Because of its ability to grow and thrive in dry and drought-prone areas of the world such as Africa and India1, it is a primary crop in these places,” says Lena Bakovic, MS, RDN, CNSC, registered dietitian at Top Nutrition Coaching. As a result, sorghum is actually the fifth-most produced grain globally2and one of the most-consumed grains worldwide3.
The history behind this grain is also fascinating. Evidence shows that wild sorghum was first harvested by hunter-gatherers in the Sahara as early as 8,000 BC4, and it was first domesticated somewhere between 2,000-1,700 BC.