Decorators begin work on Palace

Trever Wagner, 18, who just graduated from Mitchell High School, isn’t working construction, mowing lawns or waiting tables this summer.

He’s helping decorate the Corn Palace.

And no, it’s not corny. He’s happy with his job.

Wagner is one of the seasonal workers hired by the city to remove the old decorations and get the walls ready for the new murals. The job started Wednesday and will last through August.

When Wagner told his family he had landed the job, they were impressed, he said.

“They thought it was actually pretty cool, getting to work at the Corn Palace,” Wagner said.

On Friday morning, he was one of six young men stationed at a table, tying dock, a bright green weed used as trim on the Corn Palace, into two-foot bundles.

Other workers were knocking last year’s dock, rye and brome grass from the building as tourists and locals watched the work. Some stopped by to chat with the workers.

“It’s actually kind of fun, talking to the tourists,” said Cade Hearnen, 19, a Mitchell resident who is attending the University of Sioux Falls.

Hearnen said the toughest part of the job is mastering the metal ties used on the dock. The small bundles must be firmly packed so they can be stapled onto the walls.

It’s all old hat to Elliot Nelson and his buddy Tanner Bartscher, both 19-year-olds from Mitchell. They worked on the Corn Palace decorations crew last year as well.

“It’s a fun job,” Nelson said.

Sam Fosness and Eric Farris, also 19-year-old Mitchell residents, are on their first year on the crew and are enjoying the work, which runs from 7 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, barring rain. They’re outside, there’s little heavy lifting and there is a touch of glamour to helping create large, popular public art.

“It’s a hands-on job and it pays pretty well,” Fosness said. “And it’s something different every day. It’s fun.”

Tags: trever wagner, corn palace, corn palace murals, cade hearnen, elliot nelson, tanner bartscher, sam fosness, eric farris, news