It's almost time to start picking up black walnuts

Mention Hammons Products Company and the black walnut industry comes to mind.

The company, with headquarters in Stockton, Mo., is known as "The Black Walnut People."

The Hammons company, now in its 55th year, is looking to a harvest of 30 million pounds this year. "We're gearing up for a fabulous 2001 black walnut harvest season," says Paul Wannenmacher, a spokesman for the company.

This is not a record year, but it is still a good year, said Wannenmacher, who says thousands of people will start picking up the wild nuts next month.

People pick up the walnuts throughout October and early November.

Hammons will buy black walnuts at approximately 250 buying locations throughout a 16-state area, with Missouri the largest producing state.

Crop estimates indicate that the Show Me State is expected to have an above-average crop.

Hulling locations have already been established. There are more than 100 locations in Missouri, including a number of them in the immediate area -- Steve Shabbing in the Gordonville area, Bollinger County Coop at Marble Hill and Gerald Pingel at Perryville.

Black walnuts grow wild throughout the Midwest and east central United States. The walnuts are one of the few harvested crops still picked by hand. The nuts are hulled, bagged and sold.

The selling process is simple, says Wannenmacher.

"You pick up the walnuts, still in their hulls, take them to one of the hulling locations. There, the outer hulls removed, and you are paid for the in-shell nut weight."

Individuals, families and fundraising group can earn money by picking up the walnuts.

Opening day for hulling stations to open this year is Oct. 1. Hammons has more than 250 hulling stations, which will buy walnuts through Nov. 10.

The Hammons people will be paying their usual of $10 per 100 pounds to start.

Brian Hammons, president of Hammons Products, said the company had a "short crop" last year.

"We need a lot of nuts this year," he said.

The last great year for black walnuts was 1999, when Hammons bought more than 45 million pounds.

Walnut production is a bit of a mystery. Some trees bear a few nuts every year with a major flush of nuts every third or fourth year. Others bear only every second or third year.

This is apparently one of the years with plenty of nuts.

Walnut are used in everything from edibles to cosmetics. Even the shells are used, to produce an abrasive for polish, a filler for dynamite, for use in soaps, dental cleansers and in the manufacture of paper bags and boxes.

Weather forecasting

The black walnut was even mentioned the 2002 Farmer's Almanac, which has been providing weather forecasts, household tips, short stories, recipes, gardening info and other interesting facts for more than 200 years.

Actually, the 2002 edition of the Old Farmer's Almanac predicts a mild winter.

The almanac's weather predictions for last year "were just too accurate," says the editor-in-chief.

"That makes it a hard act to follow this year," said Jud Hale.

The almanac predicts the five-month winter season from November through March, predicting that it should be "pretty mild" in most places except for the Pacific Northwest.

The almanac has it owns "secret formula" for forecasting the weather. It was devised by the founder of the almanac in 1792, and has been enhanced by modern scientific calculations based on solar activity and current meteorological data.

Let's take a look at the Great Plains area, which includes Missouri and Southern Illinois.

There's some snow there and few cold spells, says Hale.

Mid-January will be cold, followed by a thaw, then another cold week, then milder temps for February and March. Some snow is expected in every month, November through March, but could be flurries in some instances.

The almanac was founded by David Young and remains one of the country's oldest continuously published publications. The Almanac continues to grow in popularity, and it's not just for farmers.

Although many pages of the publication is devoted to weather forecasts, you can find a lot in the 2002 edition:

The overall weather forecasts calls for a white Christmas in many areas of the nation, but for our areas, the prediction for Dec. 20-26 is "sunny and mild."

Planting and gardening calendar, listing best days to plant for the entire year.

Best way to avoid the worst kind of cold. Some age-old remedies can help.

Hocus-Pocus Focus: How do some magicians perform their tricks?

A recipe for okra gumbo and other recipes for each season.

New business for Cape

A new furniture store will open in downtown Cape Girardeau soon. Toulouse Interiors plans to open a store at 45 N. Main Street in the near future.

Tom Kelsey, commercial broker with Lorimont Place Ltd., announced the new transaction last week.

Toulouse Interiors is owned by Ed and Shelly Bishop of Bonne Terre, who operate a store by the same name at 44 W. School Street in Bonne Terre.

The 10,000-square-foot store here will specialize in a full line of both new contemporary furniture items as well as a unique line of replicated antique furniture.

Kelsey said the new business is expected to open in early October. The Main Street building, owned by Cape Girardeau businessman David Knight, originally housed the Sterling Variety Store. In recent years, it was used as a gymnastics center. The building was one of the largest available properties in historic downtown, according to the Lorimont broker.

B. Ray Owen is the business editor for the Southeast Missourian.