Corn is growing along Main Street in downtown Bountiful for the first time in 100 years, says Dell R. Holbrook, 76, a lifetime resident of the city.
Holbrook, who owns Lakewoods Home Furnishings, 70 N. Main, Bountiful, planted a 75-foot-long row of sweet corn along the sidewalk near his store about six weeks ago, after a downtown redevelopment project built new streets and sidewalks from Fourth North to Fifth South on Main Street and suddenly produced a long, narrow dirt plot in front of the Lakewoods parking lot."I had to do something with the plot so I spent $50 to buy geraniums, marigolds and other plants and 35 cents for corn. The corn is a quick growing, early variety that only grows four feet tall.
"The corn makes a great background for the flowers, with its wide green leaves and stalk. When I was in England on an LDS Church mission from 1932 to 1934 I noticed the British planted corn in their parks as decoration and I remembered how well the corn looked with flowers."
Holbrook, who was born in Bountiful and who has lived within a block or two of his store most of his life, said he has already harvested some delicious ears of corn from his flower bed and expects to pick a lot more corn for his table in the next few weeks.
"I understand there were farms in Bountiful in the early pioneer days and corn and other vegetables were growing in this area, but I doubt if anybody living in Bountiful now has seen corn growing downtown in their lifetime," Holbrook said.