There is a pond across the road from the mill. The millers control the water to the wheel and can shut the water off when they are done.

Bag by bag the fruit of their labor makes it to the public to make grits and other goodies.

John Nizer, president of the Old Wye Mill’s board of directors, shows off the underside of the milling operation.

After trying the sack race a few times, this Sudlersville family opts for an old fashioned foot race behind the Old Wye Milll. From left to right are Layden Lofland, Layla Wintermyer and Alanna Lofland.

Millers Jim Casey, left, and Hal Van Aller volunteer their time to keep the mill running.

There is a pond across the road from the mill. The millers control the water to the wheel and can shut the water off when they are done.

Bag by bag the fruit of their labor makes it to the public to make grits and other goodies.

John Nizer, president of the Old Wye Mill’s board of directors, shows off the underside of the milling operation.

After trying the sack race a few times, this Sudlersville family opts for an old fashioned foot race behind the Old Wye Milll. From left to right are Layden Lofland, Layla Wintermyer and Alanna Lofland.

Millers Jim Casey, left, and Hal Van Aller volunteer their time to keep the mill running.

WYE MILLS — The opened dam allowed the water to turn the wheel once again on April 30 marking the 340 anniversary at the Old Wye Mill. Inside the mill, churning belts, shafts and gears grind the corn into a powder that is ready for baking. It is loud. There was the gossamer dust hanging in the air coating everything with a fine powder. One of the workers measures out a bag of flour on a scale with weights.

“I love the Old Wye Mill and seeing people grinding grain,” said John Nizer, president of the Old Wye Mills Board of Directors. “We have five millers now. We grind grain on the first and third Saturday of each month from May to October. We are open during the week Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday and Sundays from 10 to 3.”

The mill had a special request to make a stone ground pancake mix as a wedding gift. So they consulted colonial recipe books and will be making pancake mix, according to board member Brenda Davis.

“We have been taste-testing all different things. Pancake mix is coming,” Davis said.

Different levels of coarseness come from different millers. Some like it fine, some like it grittier. Is this where the term “Grits” comes from?

“When you grind the corn coarser we are able to take the residue that did not get ground up and we put it through a series of sifters. It is labor-intensive. You get the tiny little grit and that is how we get our grits,” Nizer said.

He likes to eat grits with shrimp or early in the morning with eggs.

They have a farmer on site who grows einkorn wheat.

“It’s an ancient Egyptian wheat. It has never been hybridized. It has a very low density gluten so if you have a gluten intolerance, you can often eat it,” said Davis.

Farmer Gerry Godfrey said, “I started growing einkorn on a whim. My granddaughter developed a rash. Her mom cut her off from good bread. Einkorn is German for single seed. The yields are awful on this stuff, maybe 15%. I would like to have people have more access to the Einkorn.”

Jim Casey, who is a volunteer miller, said, “In 1952 it stopped as a commercial enterprise when the newly built Bay Bridge brought large rolled milled material from Baltimore. It was cheaper and quicker.”

Volunteer Casey likes fussing with mechanical things as his day job is as an automotive technician.

Hal Van Aller, vice president of the board, said “We put in as much water as we need to. We control the dam. We shut it off when we are done. I like the corn meal and put it in anadama bread. You put in cornmeal, wheat flour, molasses, honey, applesauce. It’s an old recipe from my great aunt and it is really good.”

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