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Oh shucks — Sisters share community by preparing corn

A clear sign of summer — and an exciting day for those who work and eat at Mount Saint Joseph — is when freshly harvested corn arrives and the Sisters and staff help prepare it so it can be enjoyed for the coming year. On July 29, 2025, the Sisters shucked, chopped and cut 1,500 ears of corn, which was purchased from Ayer Farms in McLean County. The Food Service staff blanches the corn in hot water, then cuts the corn from the cob and freezes it. Every day it is served, it tastes like fresh corn. And the Sisters share a sense of community working side by side, fulfilling the adage, “Many hands make light work.”

Here are some pictures from their time together.

From left, Sister Maureen O’Neill, Sister Cecelia Joseph Olinger, Sister Mary Henning and Sister Rose Jean Powers shuck the fresh corn.
Sister Ann Patrice Cecil, left, and Sister Grace Simpson are undaunted by the stack of corn they need to shuck.
Sister Nancy Murphy, left, and Sister George Mary Hagan are deep in discussion as they work on their corn.
Amy Fogle Stiff, left, the new director of Local Community Life, works side by side with Sister Mary Timothy Bland, center, and Sister Michele Morek to fill their pan.
Sister Margaret Ann Aull, standing left, and Sister Elaine Burke survey their progress.
Sister Jane Falke, left, and Sister Michael Ann Monaghan, seated, shuck their corn, as Ashley Wilkerson, coordinator of pastoral care and activities in Saint Joseph Villa, wields a big knife in the background.
Sister Amelia Stenger chops the ends off a table full of corn to get them ready for shucking.
Sister Ruth Gehres, left, and Sister Catherine Barber get those last silks off their ears of corn.
Bailey Tipton, left, a member of the Food Service staff, assists Sister Mary Henning in loading a full pan of corn to a rolling cart.
It was a sea of yellow throughout the small dining room when the corn was all shucked.
Sister Amelia Stenger moves to the kitchen to cut corn off the cob after it is blanched. The corn is then bagged and frozen for later use.
Amanda Geary, left, of the Mount Food Service staff, and Sister Chanh, a Vietnamese sister who was helping for the day, cut corn off the cob in the Mount kitchen.

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