This weekend I was invited to a wonderful traveling dinner theater production called "Peace Through Corn." The play was based on the visit of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and his friendship with Iowa farmer Roswell Garst in 1959. Perhaps because my parents were so young during this event I was never exposed to this part of Iowa history. Although it seemed to have been a day the world stood still for a minute, that minute has been lost over time. I am incredibly grateful for the presentation, recapturing the heart of the event and sharing it with a generation that may have not witnessed it.
During the height of the Cold War when the atomic bomb was a threat to all and children were learning the jingle to "Duck and Cover,' one Iowa seed corn dealer and farmer started a friendship with Khrushchev. Garst started his friendship with a letter, stating an idea that there would be no war if everyone was well feed and corn could be the answer. Khrushchev liked Garst because they were very similar in personality, despite one being a Communist and the other an avid Capitalist. When they first meet in Russia they also found their wives were very similar and they too became friends. Garst fed Khrushchevs need for corn and made a good profit. Khrushchev to this day is remembered as being corn crazy, planting corn wherever he could. After years of a business relationship and friendship the Garst family asked the Khrushchev over for dinner in Coon Rapids, Iowa. They accepted and the news spread.
The actors portraying Khrushchev (John Earl Robinson) and Garst (Michael Cornelison) were fantastic. Well-seasoned stage actors from the Des Moines area. The traveling show is continuing throughout Iowa. I was able to see the show in Guttenberg. The play was written by Iowa playwright Cynthia Mercati and produced by Robert John Ford. Along with each performance the audience is treated to some extra special extras, such as q small concert by Coon Rapids musician Chad Elliot who wrote an accompanying song to the play called "Peace through Corn." The play is also followed up with a panel discussion with the actors and a member of the Garst family. We had the pleasure of speaking with granddaughter Liz Garst, who was at the event, although very young.
Liz was an amazing storyteller as well. She was able to answer questions on the families ridicule about befriending Communists during the Red Scare and tell about how the relationship between the two families has continued. Liz Garst also brought the audience up to speed about the impact of corn on Russia's economy. She stated that Khrushchev was interested in corn as a way to have meat, milk, and eggs for his people. He was corn crazy and planted corn everywhere, despite Garst's advice. Seasonal corn was planted in Siberia and so forth. She went on to say that while the Cuban Missile Crisis may have been the end of Khrushchev, it was also the huge debt he had created purchasing corn that led to his fall.
I especially loved the dialogue Garst spoke about the world being one world and men just being men. We need to think bigger and look beyond our own backyard. While I was encouraged by the idea of feeding the nation to prevent war, I was a little unsettled with the idea of corn being used for meat, milk, and eggs because I have issues with hybrid corn being used to feed animals rather than grass, but I understood the idea. I thought of Garst as an amazing salesperson and entrepreneur who thought out of the box. He didn't let anyone tell him who her could or not associate with and for this I truly admire the man.
