Glasscock Farm in Joliet closing its stands

JOLIET – Jennifer Danielson of Shorewood said she cannot remember a time when her family didn’t put corn from Glasscock Farm on the table in the summer.

“I’m 33 years old and I remember going to the stand on Essington with my parents as a kid. It’s definitely the sweetest corn and stood out from the rest. It just melts in your mouth,” Danielson said.

“How is this summer without Glasscocks?”

That’s a question many area residents are asking after Glasscock farms announced it is closing its doors. The announcement was made Friday on Glasscock Farm’s Facebook page, which received almost 30 comments from sad patrons, as well as an outpouring of messages and more than 100 comments by those sharing stories and feelings about the news.

Minooka resident Jamie Adams was only introduced to Glasscock’s corn two years ago when she “heard it was the best in town.”

“We tried it one time and we were hooked. I am sad to hear the news about their closing, I feel like we missed out on many years of delicious corn,” she said.

The family sold the corn at four major produce stands in the area: The Laraway Road home stand, New Lenox, Essington Road and Lockport.

Farm owner Scott Glasscock said increased truck traffic on Laraway Road in Joliet, which feeds its most successful farmstand, the economy and age has led to the decision to close the farmstands.

In the past years, Glasscock has sold the majority of his property to CenterPoint Union Pacific-Joliet Intermodal Center. He said the decision to sell came from the need to look into the future and see the land as an inheritance property.

“[CenterPoint] hit my buttons and I sold the land at 125 times what my father paid for it back in 1959, and now I have an inheritance to put food on the table,” Glasscock said.

He said he kept farming and offering a quality product, but with the increased truck traffic in the region, the decline in the area’s economy and cheaper prices of corn in stores, he began using that inheritance to fund his farm.

“Why should I do that?” Glasscock said. “Stores are selling eight ears of corn for $1, and people want to buy for price anymore, not for quality.

“Selling to CenterPoint was a double-edged sword. I now have my family inheritance, but the traffic is so bad, that our largest farmstand is only selling one-third of what it used to sell,” Glasscock said.

In 1959, Glasscock’s father bought the farm and house and would walk up and down the hallway wondering how he was going to pay for it all. He figured out that sweet corn was the way to go and began having his three children man stands around the area.

“I was 12 or 13 years old when I was selling sweet corn. He would even have us kids go to neighborhoods and peddle the corn door to door.” Glasscock remembered.

The final straw to close was in January when it came time to order seed and fertilizer. At the same time, Glasscock’s insurance agent made a house call, which became a game changer for the farmer.

“I asked him what he wanted. He wanted to remind me that in about six months I would qualify for Medicare,” he said. “ ... I don’t feel like I am that old, I want to keep going, but I am always working. I work March to December, and never was able to go to [a] state fair or Mount Rushmore and other places.

“I’m now starting to live my life.”

Glasscock said he still plans to farm recreationally for his family and friends, and is in the process of selling another 25 to 30 acres on Laraway Road and Route 53. He has moved with his wife, Beth, to a home south of Morris.

When asked what his first big vacation will be, he answered, “I don’t know, I’m still too busy.

“My wife and I may just have to get in the car and go.”