Getting lost in the maize

Etsch Farm home to new corn maze

By: Stephanie Brown
   MONROE — The Etsch family invites one and all to get lost in the autumn harvest season by taking a stroll through its cornfield maze.
   After months of preparing a cornfield maze, the family gathered Saturday at its corn farm at 101 Hoffman Station Road, eager to reap the fruits of its labor.
   Caroline Etsch gushed over the first patrons.
   "You have know idea how exciting this is for me," said Ms. Etsch, as she walked among the gold and green corn stalks. "I love nature and walking through the field; it’s so peaceful. I wanted to let somebody else share it, too."
   The mild Saturday afternoon marked the opening day of the family’s first cornfield maze. The maze is open Saturdays and Sundays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., for the rest of the month. Admission is $3 per person, and free for children under 2 years.
   The Etsch family has farmed in Monroe since the 1930s and owns four farms, including its homestead on Route 522, two on Hoffman Road, and another on Union Valley Road. In the past, it has farmed potatoes and other vegetables, but today it specializes in grain and hay.
   Standing at the maze entrance, up by the Etsch family’s barn, the cornfield doesn’t seem very large. But looks can be, and in this case are, deceiving.
   The field is a sprawling 5 acres — that’s over 200,000 square feet of towering 8-foot corn stalks, twisted paths and dead ends.
   Lester and Alice Taylor of Monroe strolled into a small clearing at the center of the field that the family dubbed "the meadow."
   The Taylors said they have never been to a cornfield maze and found the experience to be to be an enjoyable one.
   "They didn’t have these when I was a kid so I have to do it now. I said to my husband, ‘Do you feel like E.T. when he’s in the cornfield,’ " Ms. Taylor joked.
   The cornfield maze was a creative solution to make up for lost farming profits, Jim Etsch said.
   The corn farm abuts an open space lot, which is home to many deer that often satisfy their hunger with ears of corn.
   Mr. Etsch said the ravaged crop doesn’t turn much of a profit and he was going to turn the corn farm into a hay field, "but certain people had other ideas," he said, referring to his wife and her two friends, Carol Sabanos and Sue Mucciolo.
   Ms. Etsch said she felt a cornfield maze would offer people unique opportunity to enjoy nature.
   "It’s unusual for someone to have the opportunity to walk in the middle of the field," she said. "It’s a very pleasant experience. So I wanted to give people the chance to experience that."
   Planning for a corn maze takes a lot of foresight, and began three months ago, in July, when the corn was planted.
   By August, when the stalks were about knee high, Mr. Etsch set to work making the paths by mowing the crop down with a tractor.
   Ms. Etsch said she researched corn maze patterns.
   "The best advice I got was to go in turn left, turn right — go anyway you want to — It’ll be better than some large company’s," she said.
   Ms. Etsch said she had to make sure the property would be safe for the public.
   "If people are coming onto your property, you want to make sure it’s safe," she said, adding that while there are no safety requirements for cornfield mazes, the state Department of Agriculture provides helpful recommendations. "Most people who run a corn maze are respectful and want to provide a safe environment."
   For the past week, Ms. Etsch, Ms. Sabanos and Ms. Mucciolo tidied up the paths, added decorations and posted corn facts.
   "We wanted to make it fun and educational at the same time," Ms. Sabano said.
   The trio said the maze is a work in progress and they are still putting on the finishing touches.
   "It’s been a lot of work, but it turned out to be a great amount of fun," said Ms. Mucciolo.
   In addition to the maze, visitors can also get a taste of fresh farm produce. Ms. Etsch’s homemade grape jelly and salsa are available for purchase, as well as pumpkins of all sizes, straw bales and corn stalk bundles.