Written by Jim Randall, based on historical notes and research. Edited by Andrew Bertke and Joe Agee. Updated October 2026.
Introduction
The history of the Can of Corn traveling trophy has become hazy, and over the years some myths have grown that need clarifying. The trophy can be presented to any levi/leather club and is not limited to just MACC clubs. It can be presented at any special event and is not limited to just runs. Furthermore, it doesn’t even have to be your event to be passed to any club in attendance.
Here is the history of the Can of Corn. I have had to make some educated guesses here and there to fill in the missing, undocumented portions based on the contents of the box by utilizing deductive reasoning. Some assumptions have been made and may not be 100% accurate; there is a slight margin of error. I encourage any club in receipt of this box to make any necessary corrections and to provide any additional detail.
Chronological History
1980
The giant can of corn was purchased by the Argonauts for Winter Quest 6.
1981
Paul Kiplkowski, president of the Argonauts, gave it to Phil Grasty, president of the Castaways, at Winter Quest 7.
1982
Phil Grasty kept it until the Castaways’ third anniversary run in November, when he presented it to Chris Amick, a pledge of the Black Guard.
1983
The Black Guard passed the Can of Corn to Neil “Pooh” Johnson of the Argonauts during Black Frost in February.
Pooh of the Argonauts kept it until Northwoods in August. He gave it to Tom Johnson, pledge of the Black Guard, as most deserving to be curator of the Corn. Argonauts added a Tiara and Cape. (The Tiara was homemade and included corn kernels. The cape is now missing.)
1984
In March during Black Frost, the Black Guard passed the items to Michael Bielinski of the Argonauts and included a can of Garbanzo Beans.
Michael, of the Argonauts, kept it until Northwoods 10.5 in August and gave the items to Clyde Dennis of Basic Training as being the “corniest”.
1985
In April during Basic Training’s first anniversary, Clyde Dennis of Basic Training gave the items to Bill Jones of the Beer Town Badgers (BTB) and added a can of military C-rations, which are beans with meatballs in tomato sauce.
Since these “loose items” started piling up, BTB built the wooden display case. In September, BTB passed the new Can of Corn display case to Jim Vargo, President of Phoenix Minnesota. BTB added a can of Pabst Beer and a Friendship Pin (button).
1988
Jim Vargo, of the Phoenix, had been the curator of this lovely box of somewhat fragile goodies from 1985 until 1988 and passed it on to Red & P.J. of the Knights of Leather of Minnesota during the Black Guard’s Black Frost. Phoenix Minnesota added one eggshell with a Phoenix Friendship Pin (button) in a plastic bag. The eggshell was to be symbolic of forming of a new club (rebirthing).
The Knights of Leather kept this case unwillingly until the Black Guard Chili Feed in November when they passed it on to David Stair of the Black Guard. Just months prior, at Northwoods 88, David Stair had asked the Knights of Leather about the box. When Red had stated, “That damn thing! I threw it in the trash!” David proceeded to explain about the traveling trophy’s background and its importance. He was so worried and upset that a club could just simply throw the box away. So with his great reaction, the Knights of Leather felt he should have it so he’d know its whereabouts. The Knights of Leather added a Polaroid picture of a garbage can, as a reminder that if the Knights of Leather ever received the box back, it would be going in the garbage. Also added was a pair of handcuffs to represent the fact that this box was in the hands of a REAL leather club.
1989
David Stair of the Black Guard presented the box to Lee Scheez of the Oberons Milwaukee during the Black Frost run in February. David Stair added a half pint of Bacardi Rum and a Can Opener so that someday, some lucky person would have a drink on him and easily open everything in the box while under the influence. (Unsurprisingly, somewhere along the line before the Fall of 2006 the half pint of Bacardi Rum became missing and all the cans were still intact. The can opener is still present as well. Unfortunately there is no record on who had removed the Bacardi. It is a real whodunit mystery.)
1990
Lee Scheez of the Oberons presented the box to the Firekeepers of Indiana on June 17. Lee added a pair of green rubber fairy ears and a friendship pin.
1991
Greg DeSimone of the Firekeepers presented the Corn case to Al Kamke of the Argonauts on August 18. Greg added a muffin to munch on and 2 boxes of matches so that the “fire of the leather family can stay brightly lit!”
1992
Al Kamke of the Argonauts unloaded this thing at Black Frost 15 (assuming February) and gave it to Starr of the Unicorns. Al added a US Flag from the table centerpiece while at the run. This was to allow GHWB (George Herbert Walker Bush) a new campaign slogan (of matches from the Firekeepers, etc.) He also added a new screw pin in a condom-ette, safety being a factor.
Starr added a STAARR Quartz Watch complete with case, a Golden Unicorn Head wrapped around a Quartz Stone, and additional pieces of Quartz.
The whereabouts of the Corn Box became foggy at this time and journal entries were not well kept.
1999
It appears that this traveling Can of Corn box trophy resurfaced again. The K.C. Pioneers came into possession of it and handed it off in the Spring (possibly to the Corn Haulers), as there is added to the box a K.C. Pioneers 24th anniversary run pin attached to an antique finished miniature die cast stagecoach pencil sharpener still in the box.
2000
The Corn Haulers presented it to LEO (Leather Engineers of Omaha) probably at Corn Haulers Corn Ball in the Fall, since Corn Haulers and LEO used to alternate their run years. It appears that the Corn Haulers added a jewel-encrusted corncob with one of their friendship pins attached.
2001
LEO passed it off to Gateway MC during LEO’s “In the Jungle” run on September 9 and added a stuffed lion with their run pin attached to one front paw and a LEO friendship pin attached to the other.
2002
No documented handoff recorded; trophy remained in the custody of Gateway MC.
2003
Gateway MC President, Richard Bell, presented it back to the Argonauts, where it all started, during their Show Me 30 “It’s a Wonderful Life!” thirtieth anniversary run on November 2. Added was a Gateway MC tin cup, run booklet, and thirtieth anniversary run pin.
2004
The Argonauts president, Michael Sapp, performed a Broadway musical production number and presented it to the K.C. Pioneers as the distance award in an attempt to get it as far away as possible. It was presented during the Argonauts/Castaways joint run “Camping it Up—Broadway Style” on August 22. Added to the box were “Send in the Corn” lyric sheet, joint run pin, MACC thirtieth anniversary pin, Argonauts thirtieth anniversary pin, and Castaways twenty-fifth anniversary pin.
2005
K.C. Pioneers, during their run in April, presented it to Trident Windy City. They added a pink bear candle, an unsold silent auction item that was so ugly most guests weren’t sure what animal it was.
Trident Windy City passed it on to the Corn Haulers as a wedding gift during the Trident Windy City Neptune run “Atlantis is Rising” on July 31. Added were run pins from Neptune I and Neptune II and a wedding gift card “to the Corn Haulers w/ Love.”
2006
The Corn Haulers presented it to the Minnesota Storm Patrol during their Corn Ball run “You’re Invited to a Wedding” in the Fall. The Corn Haulers added a fragile bride and groom wedding cake topper. On the journey back to Minnesota with Jim Randall and Joe Siedschlag, the groom became decapitated.
Minnesota Storm Patrol founding officers Jim Randall and Joe Siedschlag kept the trophy in climate-controlled storage as several aging contents had become volatile. Jim cleaned the box, salvaged what remained of the 1991 muffin into a sealed bag, and compiled the lineage.
2012
During the Atons 40th Anniversary Run, the trophy was transferred to the Atons of Minneapolis, with Jim Randall formally documenting its complete provenance as an Atons pledge project.
2013 to 2023
Over the following decade, the trophy returned to the custody of the Argonauts, where it remained safely stored away.
2024
In early 2024, Jim Randall’s original 2012 manuscript resurfaced in Kansas City during a basement cleanup and was transferred to MACC Historian Rob Ridinger. At the April 2024 Spring MACC meeting, formal administrative steps were initiated to officially recover the traveling trophy as conference property.
2025
In the spring of 2025, MACC successfully recovered the physical Can of Corn traveling trophy and awarded it to Midnight Howl KC at the Kansas City Pioneers Run.
Later that year, during the Midnight Howl Run, Midnight Howl officially passed the trophy along to the Atons of Minneapolis, bringing the historic case back home to Minnesota.
2026
In September 2026, during the Blue Max Cycle Club Anniversary Run in St. Louis, Missouri, the Atons officially presented the Can of Corn display case to Blue Max. Custody of the legendary artifact now rests in St. Louis as the trophy continues its Midwestern pilgrimage.
Master Inventory Reference List
- Original artifact: Giant Can of Corn (Argonauts, 1980)
- Structure: Handcrafted wooden display case (Beer Town Badgers, 1985)
Provisions and cans
- Can of Garbanzo Beans (Black Guard, 1984)
- Can of C-rations, beans with meatballs in tomato sauce (Basic Training, 1985)
- Can of Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer (Beer Town Badgers, 1985)
- Metal can opener (Black Guard, 1989; the Bacardi rum is missing)
- Preserved bagged muffin (Firekeepers, 1991; bagged 2006)
Regalia and whimsical oddities
- Corn-kernel tiara (Argonauts, 1983; the cape is missing)
- Rebirth eggshell in plastic bag (Phoenix Minnesota, 1988)
- Handcuffs and Polaroid photo of a garbage can (Knights of Leather, 1988)
- Green rubber fairy ears (Oberons Milwaukee, 1990)
- 2 boxes of matches (Firekeepers, 1991)
- Table centerpiece US flag (Argonauts, 1992)
- Screw pin in a condom-ette (Argonauts, 1992)
- STAARR quartz watch, golden unicorn head, and quartz stones (Unicorns, 1992)
- Miniature antique stagecoach pencil sharpener (KC Pioneers, 1999)
- Jewel-encrusted corncob (Corn Haulers, 2000)
- Plush lion (LEO, 2001)
- Gateway MC tin cup and run booklet (Gateway MC, 2003)
- “Send in the Corn” lyric sheet (Argonauts, 2004)
- Pink bear candle (Trident Windy City, 2005)
- Wedding card and decapitated bride and groom cake topper (Corn Haulers, 2005/2006)
- Assorted run and commemorative pins: KC Pioneers 24th, LEO Friendship, Gateway MC 30th, MACC 30th, Argonauts 30th, Castaways 25th, Neptune I and II, Phoenix Friendship, BTB Friendship, Oberons Friendship