As motorists zipped through Hondo, along U.S. Highway 90 East on Saturday, kids and adults were trying to not get lost in a nearby maze of corn. Nick and Melissa Peterson headed into the green labyrinth with their children Caleb, 5, and Connor, 8. Chris and Michelle Bielski followed with their kids Mason, 10, and Eva, 7.
Within minutes, questions of which way to go arose.
“Guys, this way!” Connor yelled, as he dashed on paths through the 12-foot-high stalks.
Chris Bielski stopped. He said it seemed as if they had come that way before and mulled whether they should split up.
“Let’s all go together so we don’t get lost,” Melissa Peterson said. “If we make it out, I’ll be super impressed!”
The Peterson and Bielski families were among hundreds of visitors who ventured into the maze at the Graff 7A Ranch’s “South Texas Maize” Fall weekend kickoff. This is the 20th year that Ken and Laurie Graff and their family have offered a range of seasonal events at their 5th generation ranch and farm. Admission includes MatterCorn Slide Mountain, farm hayrides and a farm animal exhibit. Fees are extra for the farm’s pumpkin patch which will be open Oct. 10 through Oct. 31. The South Texas Maize weekends end Nov. 28.
“It’s appropriate for all ages,” said Laurie Graff said. “It’s good clean fun in God’s country.”
In 2001, Ken and Laurie Graff began working with the MAiZE company in Utah that designs mazes. It was a way to spotlight agriculture that remains an important part of their lives.
“We wanted to share our lives with the public, and we’ve been able to do that in an educational and recreational way,” Laurie Graff said. “We’ve been very blessed for 20 years.”
Country music echoed across the farm. Guests had a bird eye’s view from atop the MatterCorn Slide Mountain platform where they could see kids jumping on giant pillows, a cowboy’s roping tricks and people lost in the maze.
Laurie Graff said how they make the maze is a trade secret. She said kids are best at navigating the paths.
Marisol Ramirez, maze manager, gives each person an orientation before they enter the maze. She said Corn Cops in the crop who help people stuck in a spot. They patrol two bridges to oversee the participants’ progress.
Her team hands out passports with questions when answered correctly will lead to the next marker. It takes 15 to 30 minutes to walk through one of the two phases.
Each year the theme of maze changes. This year, the cornstalks formed a church, praying hands and a dove. Above the images are “God Bless America” and “Land of the Free.”
“Yay, y’all made it!” Ramirez said as Ethan Wood and Mallory Wilkins, emerged from the maze, pushing their son Hudson in a stroller. The pair said the multiple turns were challenging. And they kept returning to the same spot.
“It was a little tricky at first,” he said. “It was fun, we really enjoyed it.”
Vincent T. Davis is a reporter in the Greater San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Vincent, become a subscriber. vtdavis@express-news.net | Twitter: @vincentdavis
The Link LonkSeptember 19, 2020 at 12:00PM
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Corn Maze Turns 20 - San Antonio Express-News
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