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On a foggy, humid morning in mid-July, the Rev. Keith Conover, pastor of the Pleasant View Presbyterian Church, in Smock, Fayette County, sighed as he surveyed the 22-acre field off Rowes Run Road.

"It's not good this year," he said, as he leaned against a red Chevy pickup, lightly puffing on a pipe. "Usually the corn is 5 or 6 feet tall by now. It's only around 3 or 4 feet," he said.

But Conover and his flock have faith the corn "grown by God" will come to fruition.

Three years ago, the congregation brainstormed ideas about how to become a solid presence in the community. At the suggestion of a local farmer, church members decided to grow corn and sell it to fund mission projects.

"We want the community to understand we're not just a bunch of holy rollers that never get our hands dirty," Conover said.

Thus, the Sweet Corn Project was born.

The church's corn-growing is not motivated by profits. A portion of last summer's $7,500 profit was donated to tsunami victims in Southeast Asia. Another healthy chunk went to a Fayette County group that cares for elderly shut-ins.

"It has allowed us to respond to every mission need," Conover said.

The beneficiary of this year's harvest has yet to be determined. "It will go into an emergency fund. We don't budget for anything," the pastor said.

In the Redstone Township field donated by local farmer Robert Constantine, a Roman Catholic, five volunteers gathered Wednesday morning for the first harvest of the season.

A typical early morning picking session would yield 150 to 200 dozen. On this day, volunteers brought in only around 20 dozen.

"It was cold in May when we planted. There's not been enough rain. Usually we pick corn on day 68. Today is the 90th day," the minister said.

Conover wasn't always so corn savvy. He grew up near Trenton, N.J., a typical city kid. Little did he know he would one day end up in the middle of a Southwestern Pennsylvania cornfield trying to make a difference in the world.

Last year, about 3,000 dozen were sold between July and August. Around 70 volunteers were involved with the corn-picking. Many aren't even church members.

"People know we are picking corn, and they just come out. There were a lot more than we ever figured there would be," he said.

Volunteers Bill and Irene Williams, retirees from North Union, got up at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday to join in the corn picking, which got under way just before 7.

Bill Williams lamented the low corn yield. "Normally, Rev. Conover's pickup is brimming over with corn," he said. "It's about a week and a half behind."

Irene Williams, a member of the church, has been managing the roadside stand along Route 51, in Waltersburg, since the inception of the Sweet Corn Project. Her husband, a Roman Catholic, simply enjoys participating in the harvest work.

Williams said she was raised in Missouri, but became a corn connoisseur after moving to Pennsylvania with Bill five years ago.

"My husband's grandfather had crops, and we have corn growing at our house. I have the water boiling when he's picking it. That's how you do it. As soon as it's picked, you start losing the nutrients and flavor," she said.

Williams wishes she could join her husband in the fields, but she's highly allergic to some of the weeds and plants that weave their way through the corn rows.

"I wish it was just calamine lotion I needed. I have to get all kinds of shots. Last year was a good year. I only had to go to the doctor once last year," she said with a laugh.

Despite the threat to her health, Williams embraces the project as a labor of love. "I don't care. I love the corn. I love the work. I love the people."

Her roadside stand duty is very fulfilling, Williams said. "There's so many people you meet. And they are regulars, too. I remember this one man in a business suit stopped. He said he was stopping at a hotel on his way back to New York. He wanted to know how long the corn would last. I told him just to keep it cool," she said.

After the brief field duty Wednesday morning, Williams was busy placing calls to folks eager for the church's first harvest. "The Catholic church (St. Hedwig's in Smock) is having a church picnic on Sunday, and they wanted our corn," she said.

She anticipates more queries about the belated corn crop. None of the ears ever go to waste, she said. "We're always sold out."

In addition to the roadside stand, the corn is sold at the Giant Eagle and Foodland supermarkets in Uniontown, and the Save-A-Lot in North Union.

To find out about corn availability, call the church at 724-677-2149.

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