by Rachel Hunter
A record-breaking 200 people drove to the Harvest Town Corn Maze, 1580 US-11, Gouverneur throughout the day on Saturday, September 19 to enjoy some old-fashioned family fun. For a $5 admission cost per person, families can enjoy an obstacle course, walk through a corn maze, play on the glider, go a hayride, etc. There is free admission for all those under 3 years of age. The Harvest Town Corn Maze is open Saturdays and Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. -- rain or shine. Private parties can also be booked upon request.
Harvest Town Corn Maze opened to the public on Labor Day (September 7, 2020) and Owner Karl Bender of Gouverneur said repeat customers have already returned to enjoy all the activities at Harvest Town. For Mr. Bender, it is a dream come true.
“I always loved doing them when my kids were small,” Mr. Bender said. “We actually did one in Morristown… it was three generations at the time. My father passed away, and we had lived in the Village of Gouverneur and moved out here and got the land. So we decided to move the corn maze to here.
“Friends of mine in Lake Placid have the mining system, and I always thought that looked great and I always wanted to do it. So we built the mining tower, the mining system, and they can mine for gems, fossils. So we put that in.
“We have the maze. We used to do a haybale maze. I don’t have hay, so I was trying to figure out what I could do. So if you see our mine shaft, I was driving down the road and I saw a bunch of tires stacked up. And I said, “I could do that. I could make a tunnel.” So I went to Smithers Tire here in Gouverneur, and they gave me the tractor tires. And I said, “Well, if I have tractor tires, I can do a balance beam. And after I did the balance beam, I said: “I could do stairs.” And then of course everybody has to do the football obstacle. And then you come over and you run through the mine shaft (tunnel) and then you end by shooting balls to take on the dragon. That’s how you finish. We have two stations over there, so you can race.
“We have this glider over here, which is really interesting and cool, that we built and perfected across the road. Then we brought it here and the kids are loving the daylights out of it… It’s made out of one-inch PVC pipe, and wheels we bought on Amazon. And they hug the one-inch PVC so it stays on.
“We do a hayride too. And starting in October, we are going to have haunted hayrides on Saturday nights, time to be announced. This year, we are going to have Salem Witch Trial. This is fictitious. But here is the story: “I bought a map of St. Lawrence County. An old map of St. Lawrence County. When I unrolled it, there was another, smaller map. The smaller map had a road from Salem, MA to Gouverneur, NY. I then found out through my research that Gouverneur was a puritan community just like Salem. So you know how the Salem Witch Trials ended up being fake, right? That’s because the real witches got out before it happened. There was only two Puritan communities besides Salem that they had ben welcomed to. One of them was in Maine and one of them is in Gouverneur, NY. That is the tie. So while I was getting ready to do my haunted hayride, the shed over there will be full of witch stuff. We found it in the woods! And we kept being followed by a young lady. I think this young lady might be from Salem… We are posting these videos on Facebook. So we are whispering that were 100 feet away, using a telephoto lens and that she can’t see us. And she is sitting up in a tree… What happens is we tell the story of how I found the shed. And then she shows and we drop the camera. So we have (this footage) and we’ll be posting them along the way to tell the story. So I am going to be dressed up as a Bannister (judge), and the Salem Witch Trials rules and regulations are still in the Salem government books. The governor of Massachusetts has graciously allowed us for one night to use the rules and regulations of the Salem Witch Trial here in Gouverneur. We happen to know where this person is in the woods. I want to see if they are really a witch, and I need people to come and be the jury. As members of the jury, we’ll find out who put this witch on trial… following the Salem Witch Trials rules of 1692.” So that is our thing, we put them on the hayride, take them out. We get them in the woods, which is scarier than scary. We put them through two or three little scares, and we put them in the trial. It is more of a theater act, and we want them to ask questions of the witch and try to help me either prove she is a witch, or she is not a witch.”
When asked by the Gouverneur Tribune Press how many people could be in this jury, Mr. Bender said that the maximum allowed number was 6,000.
“New York State rules and regulations say that we can only have 33 percent capacity,” Mr. Bender said. “We are 13 acres, and that works out to 20,000 people. We are allowed to have 6,000. If we hit 6,000 in one night… we’ll have to go and have somebody look in the Village because there won’t be anybody left.
“So, this has been a dream of mine because it is one of the things we did as a family. My family is still highly active. We added the mining because it was something I always wanted to do. The obstacle course was because I couldn’t afford the haybales, so everything here is free. The sawdust comes from the Amish sawmill down the road, and the tires came from Smithers Tire in the Village. We recycled it all, and people are enjoying the daylights out of it… We lowered our fee. We were at $8, but lowered it to $5 because of the COVID-19, and our first post on Facebook hit 25,000 views in one day. And there is a high chance that we are going to get a lot of repeat customers… so I said, “Let’s lower the price and make it more affordable for families.” The very first day I had a grandfather, grandmother and four grandchildren. They came up and asked: “How much is it?” I said it is $5 per person. The grandfather looks at me, and he says: “Corn maze? Obstacle course? The glider thing?” I said, “Yeah.” He was like, “For $5?” I was like, “Yeah. The only thing you have to pay for was this mining thing, because I got to buy the roof… oh and I forgot, you also get a hayride.” And he was like, “I get a hayride too for $5?” I was like, “Yes, sir. You are getting all that for $5. We are doing this for family fun. We enjoy the Gouverneur community, and we are members of the Gouverneur community. We are here…”
Mr. Bender said the Harvest Town Corn Maze is possible thanks to his family, who is integral in every aspect of the operation. He said it is still being operated by three generations, as his children and grandchildren are involved. “I just moved up a peg,” he said.
Mr. Bender said he gets a kick out of seeing all the families come and enjoy the activities at the Harvest Town Corn Maze, and especially when he sees repeat customers back for more old-fashioned family fun.
Mr. Bender said that Harvest Town Corn Maze will be open through Halloween on Saturday, October 31. “And at the end, we are going to pick the corn. We got a corn picker. Right now most of the farmers are harvesting their corn, and come November it will be past where it is worth anything except for the corn itself. So we bought a corn picker, and we’re going to sell the corn off too. So everything is going to get used. And we’re hoping that it keeps growing.”
When the Gouverneur Tribune Press asked about COVID-19 precautions, Mr. Bender said the following: “We are considered a low-risk outdoor activity… because we are outdoors. The requirements by New York State is that you have a mask, and as long as you are more than six feet away and in your group, you don’t have to wear a mask. Once you get within six feet of somebody, you have to mask up.” The owners clean/disinfect common surfaces, and especially the pans that are used in the mining activity. Those, he said, are cleaned after each. Also mention was that the tables are cleaned once a day, and whenever customers aren’t using them. Mr. Bender informed that all requirements are followed as provided by the health department.
“We went through stuff with the Health Department, Economic Development… because both had the right to say if we could open or not. But we’ve met all the rules and regulations, and we have a whole COVID-19 plan, COVID-19 policy,” Mr. Bender said.
Mr. Bender also informed that through 95.3 The Wolf, Gouverneur Breast Cancer T-shirts were available for purchase in support of that organization’s mission to to help someone who is facing the long road from diagnosis to recovery from breast or ovarian cancer in St. Lawrence, Jefferson, Lewis, and Franklin Counties, New York. All funds received from donations become direct financial support to someone who is facing a diagnosis of breast or ovarian cancer and needs help during this challenging time. A Virtual Walk is also being organized, check out gouverneurbreastcancerfund.com for more information.
“You can buy your shirts here for the $10, and all the proceeds are going to the Gouverneur Breast Cancer Fund,” Mr. Bender said. “The COVID-19 really hurt their fundraising… So 95.3 The Wolf came up with this idea, and said: “Will you help us out with this?” And I said, “Hey, we support the Gouverneur Breast Cancer Walk too.”
Food trucks are also available on site. Nibbles Snackery of Rensselaer Falls has been on site to serve customers. Joining in October will be Nick and Amber Ormasen’s Cotton Candy N More. They will offer their usual menu along with the addition of hot cocoa and hot apple cider.
Mr. Bender also informed the Gouverneur Tribune Press that pumpkins were available from purchase. He said they came from Charlie Burt of Rowan’s Little Pumpkin Ridge in Gouverneur. The pumpkins have already attracted much attention from those who arrived to the Harvest Town Corn Maze in the past couple weeks.
Mr. Bender said he hopes that, as word spreads about the great activities offered to North Country families at Harvest Town Corn Maze, that this past weekend’s record attendance will be smashed. Don’t miss your chance to visit Harvest Town on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. The time for the Haunted Hayrides on Saturday nights through October will be included in an upcoming edition of the Gouverneur Tribune Press when the information becomes available.
Ed. Note: Karl Bender is also the Owner/Professional Engineer at AOK Engineering, PLLC, in Gouverneur.
