Lehigh man fights muscular dystrophy with sweet corn
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
Ted McIrvin and his wife, Darlene, have lived on a small acreage at the north edge of Lehigh since 1998. With the help of family, the 78-year-old man produces continuous sweet corn from the end of June to October.
McIrvin has had muscular dystrophy since his mid-60s but didn't get an official diagnosis from a neurologist until 1995.
"The doctors told me I needed to stay active," he said. "They said, 'push yourself as hard as you can to slow down the loss of muscle cells.'"
Several years later, the couple decided to leave their farm and ranch in extreme southwest Nebraska and look for a smaller place.
They wanted to be near their son in McPherson. They traveled throughout the area before finally settling on the two-acre plot north of Lehigh.
"I didn't want to live in town," McIrvin said, "but I didn't want to be too far out in the country."
McIrvin decided to grow and sell sweet corn.
"The corn program motives me to get out and do something," he said.
He has a 30-horsepower Massey Harris tractor brought along from his farm for preparing the soil and planting the seed.
He emphasized that he could not do it alone.
"This is a family business," he said. "Its purpose is to give me exercise, but without their help, it would not be possible."
His son and grandson usually do the planting. After that, he can do most of the work himself, cultivating the corn with a garden tractor and chopping weeds in the row with a short-handled hoe from his power chair. He also keeps grass mowed.
Weather permitting, seed is planted every week beginning the middle of April. The first crop usually is ready by June 20.
McIrvin said the past summer's extreme heat didn't hurt the corn, although it took a lot of watering.
He has harvested as many as 50 dozen ears of corn in one day. He harvested 700 dozen last year and hopes to harvest 900 dozen this year.
McIrvin controls corn earworms by inoculating the tips of the cobs with vegetable oil. He fills an empty detergent bottle with oil and attaches a tube to it, with the syringe at the other end. About one cc is placed in each ear.
"This is easier than working cattle," he joked. "Corn doesn't kick, beller, or walk on you."
The earworm moth lays its eggs in the silk. Rather than inoculate the ears when the silk is green, McIrvin waits until it has dried, about four days before harvest, to kill the latest hatch. That way, when he harvests the corn, it may have some damage, but the worms are gone.
"People would rather cut out damage than have the corn chemically treated," he said.
The corn is sold in the husk in self-serve style. Bags of about 12-15 ears are placed in an outside refrigerator. Customers can help themselves to the corn and, if no one is around, can place $2 per bag in a container provided for that purpose.
A sign along U.S.-56 at Diamond Road directs customers one mile north to 210th, then west to Jaffer Street and north to the residence. A "sweet corn" sign hangs on an old implement. The refrigerator is to the rear of the house.
McIrvin is fond of his 11-year-old grandson, Robert. He calls him "happy legs." Robert stays with his grandparents during the summer. He rides the planter and regulates fertilizer application. He also helps to harvest the corn.
McIrvin said muscular dystrophy does not cause pain. Rather, it is a gradual weakening of muscles in the arms and legs.
"It's a war we know we'll never win," he said. He built a large exercise room onto the house, where he used to walk. It is light and airy with many windows.
He has been unable to stand up for over a year and gets around using a power chair. Other things such as a transfer board, chair lift, and docking platform help him to maneuver from one thing to another.
He said he has benefited from Jerry Lewis' annual telethons. The Muscular Dystrophy Association bought him a lift seat and provides maintenance on his motorized wheelchair. He has had help in making his van accessible.
He said his neighbors, such as John Fox and Louie Coyle, and other Lehigh residents are available when he needs help, especially in getting on and off the tractor. He carries a cell phone at all times for use in case of emergency.
McIrvin's wife has Parkinson's disease, but she is able to get around and can assist him to a certain extent.
She admires her husband for his efforts to remain active. She said he exercises his arms and legs for about half an hour every morning.
"He has a lot of determination," she added.
The future is uncertain but filled with hope.
"When people ask me if we'll have sweet corn next year, I say, that's up to God," he said. "We'll cross that bridge when we have to."
