WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. – Janet Panko’s facial expression resembled one who had just bitten into an incredibly bitter lemon.
Panko, of South Whitehall Township, was among a throng of customers lugging dozens of cobs of sweet corn out of Newhard Farms Corn Shed in Whitehall Township on Friday morning.
Friday was Day One of sweet corn sales at Newhard’s, 3 1/2 months after it was planted.
- Newhard Farms in South Whitehall Township was incredibly busy on the first day of sweet corn sales on Friday
- Customers lined up 50 deep some 30 minutes before The Corn Shed store opened for business
- The Newhard family is into its fourth generation of farming sweet corn
What, Panko was asked, is so darn special about this sweet corn that created a parking lot full of vehicles and a checkout line that snaked around the store and nearly to the front door?
“Huh?” Panko said. “Have you tasted this corn? If you had, you wouldn’t be asking such a silly question. This corn is ambrosia.”
With that, Panko tossed the two bags of corn in the back seat of her car and drove off. As she did, others drove in. For hours.
Lining up before opening
No sooner than 15-year-old Evan Newhard, son of Newhard President Joel Newhard and grandson of founder Donald Newhard, had loaded the cooler shelves inside the store with bags of corn, customers quickly emptied them.
“People were lining up at 8:30 this morning — the line was 50 people deep —and we didn’t open until 9,” said Dennis Guth, a Newhard employee who was directing parking.
“My father and mother, Curtis and Jean, started this years ago. Dad had a small roadside stand where he’d sell the corn. They cared about growing the best, sweetest corn. I feel the same way. And my son, Joel, who left a career as an engineer to work the farm, does, too.”Donald Newhard
“Our corn is the best around. You can’t get sweet corn like this at a supermarket; who knows how long it’s been sitting there? We pick the corn one day and it’s in the store soon after.”
As customer after customer lugged bags of sweet corn out of The Corn Shed, 73-year-old Donald Newhard smiled beneath a mustache of white. As he raved about his thriving sweet corn business, he reminisced about its beginnings.
“My father and mother, Curtis and Jean, started this years ago,” Newhard said. “Dad had a small roadside stand where he’d sell the corn. They cared about growing the best, sweetest corn.
“I feel the same way. And my son, Joel, who left a career as an engineer to work the farm, does, too.”
Newhard waved a hand across the parking lot jammed with cars.
“When you care about something the way we do about our corn, this is what you get,” he said.
The process from soil to sales is months long. In the fall, the Newhards test the soil in the fields, add the proper nutrients and plow the earth. Come winter, a decision is made about which varieties of white and bi-color sweet corn customers favor, as well as the addition of new varieties.
In the spring, the seeds are planted soon as the soil dries. Several acres of plastic cover the seeds to keep the soil warm, which speeds up plant maturity. The corn is ready to be harvested in time for Fourth of July cookouts.
'There's nothing like it'
Newhard’s wife, Karen, took a moment from working the checkout counter to rave about her corn and customers.
“We will be busy like this from today until the Fourth of July,” she said. “People come to stock up for the holiday, when they’ll cook it by boiling it, grilling it, or dumping the corn in a cooler full of hot water. Any way you cook it, it’ll taste great.”
Newhard’s best form of advertising comes straight from the lips of its customers.
“It’s so sweet and delicious, I wouldn’t buy corn anywhere else,” said Amanda Belletieri, of South Whitehall Township.
“There’s nothing like it!”
“It’s the best-tasting sweet corn around,” said Valerie Heleva of Schnecksville. “And it’s all locally grown, so you’re supporting a local business.”
“I’ve been coming here for corn since they first opened. You won’t find better, sweeter corn anywhere. That’s why you see all these cars here.”Carole Rinkunas of Northampton
“I’ve been coming here for corn since they first opened,” Carole Rinkunas of Northampton said. “You won’t find better, sweeter corn anywhere. That’s why you see all these cars here.”
As Panko was loading her bags of corn into her SUV, she was jokingly asked why, if the corn was so incredibly good, wasn’t she among the first 50 people in line a half-hour before the store opened.
“I was here,” she said. “When I got home, I realized we needed more than I bought earlier this morning, because more family is coming to visit for the Fourth. That’s why I came back.”
