Just Millin' Around

So it was nearing the end of the school year and I wanted to get another field trip or two in before the summer.  We had done a water wheel experiment in science, and we had even studied about how the ancient Romans used water to grind wheat, etc.  Then, Jim had heard about a corn mill in the area that still used a water wheel for power. Great opportunity for a field trip, right?  I called ahead to double-check their hours, but I had trouble getting much information about the place.  But I was excited to go, so I headed out with 3 kids in tow to Suber's Corn Mill for an educational adventure... which is what I got, though not in the way that I had planned :-).

We arrived that morning as planned.  A man was standing in the parking lot looking at me funny.  I told him we were here to see the mill and the water wheel.  So he showed me inside.  Inside, more stares.  There were 2-3 other good ol' boys sitting around shooting the breeze. Apparently they were waiting for whoever actually grinds the corn to get there (they were the baggers and loaders, I think).  After the first stares of confusion, they took no notice of us as if we weren't even there, so it was a little awkward.  It was surprisingly hot in there so we took off our jackets, which was a mistake... indoors everything was covered in a layer of corn flour, not surprising since it's a corn mill, but didn't really think about it until I saw flour all over my black sweater ;-).

This first picture of Ethan is a little dark, but it was the only one I got of the machine inside.  The tube going into the large funnel is where the corn feeds in. Underneath the contraption lies the heavy millstone which does the actual grinding.  We couldn't see it, but we got to see a similar one outside later on.

There really wasn't anything else to see inside, so I went back to the room with the good ol' boys.  I felt a little foolish for asking, but I wasn't going to come all this way and not see the water wheel.  They said it out back and continued their conversation.  So the kids and I donned our flour-laden jackets and went on the back porch to get a closer view of the water wheel.  

What you see: Three happy kids on a field trip looking at a water wheel.

What you don't see:  Three kids (MY kids!) standing on a dilapidated porch held up by a single column of bricks over a 20+ foot ravine!!!

Check out that front right column... yeah, just a few bricks precariously stacked.  I believe the fourth corner that you don't see was held up by a log (didn't get a picture of that one though... I was too terrified to have my kids on that porch for long).  I wouldn't let my kids get off the porch either for fear they would fall into the ravine (no guard rail or anything separating you from falling).

So we VERY quickly went back in to the building, I bought some corn meal even though the man almost seemed confused to sell me some, as though he wasn't really accustomed to it.  I was glad that I had cash on me and exact chance.  I can only imagine the look I would have gotten if I had pulled out my debit card.  It would have been fodder for stories for weeks... "Yeah, Earl, remember that lady who came in here with her 3 kids and tried to buy a $1.78 worth of cornmeal with a credit card!..."  I have yet to open the bag though... I'm a little concerned about the quality of the cornmeal after visiting such a rundown place!

After we left the building, we walked over to a mill stone in the front yard very similar to the one used in the mill.  It was kind of cool to see it.  I think Ethan was able to make some connections after seeing the mill inside and out, so that was good.

So it was educational alright!!!  An experience I won't likely forget... though I wouldn't mind forgetting that feeling of seeing my kids on the rickety porch over the ravine!  I had planned on the field trip taking at least and hour or two, so when we were done in 20 minutes, I wasn't exactly sure what to do.  But I went to that old stand-by, which ended up being the part of the morning that the kids liked the best- the playplace at McDonald's!

P.S. Just to clarify- we didn't count those 20 minutes as a full day field trip, but combined it with some other things to round out a full day.