ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, April 5, 1997 TAG: 9704070047
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
Those maizy days of spring: special corn flakes in Salem, and a celebration of corn and culture at Radford University.
CORN FLAKES featuring photos of Salem High School's state AA champion football team on the box go on sale next Saturday at the Kroger store at Spartan Square.
Doubtless the cereal, under the brand name Hometown Stars, will be a big hit with Salemites, virtually all of whom seem to be high-school football fans. Members of the championship team, incidentally, will be at the store to autograph the boxes.
But it seems unlikely anyone will actually eat the cereal. Not that there's anything wrong with corn flakes, mind you, but who would desecrate the keepsake packages by opening them?
And in 10 years' time? Well, perhaps Salemites planning to showcase Hometown Stars in their homes should prepare for a mealy-bug outbreak.
THEY ALSO like corn flakes at Radford University, where they're celebrating ``The Year of Corn and Culture.''
Not an oxymoron, says Radford's ``corn queen,'' Dr. Grace Toney Edwards. Why, shucks, corn has flavored our music (``I'm as corny as Kansas in August''), our television (``Hee-Haw''), our expressions (``a kernel of truth in it'') and our economy (it's a $4 billion crop). Need we mention popcorn, corn chips, corn dogs, cornbread and corncob pipes?
So Edwards, director of Radford's Appalachian Regional Studies Center, other professors and guest lecturers have been teaching corn's history and corn's role in our heritage - an effort that will culminate Tuesday at a university symposium on corn. Those attending, we trust, will be all ears.
LENGTH: Short : 38 linesby CNB