Five Kernals of Corn
By Norma Q. Hare
Of The General Society of Mayflower Descendants
It was a good, gray day on November 15, 1620. The “Mayflower” rode at anchor near the shore, while a group of eager men set sail out in a small boat to explore the desolate, barren land in which they’d come. One of the first things they discovered near the beach was a deserted cornfield where the dry, broken stalks rustled in the sharp wind. Nearby they saw several strange mounds. Upon digging into one, they were amazed to find odd-looking yellow, red and blue Indian corn. They took some with them to use for seed when they planted their crops in the spring. They couldn’t know then how important that corn would prove to be in the colony’s future.
