The corn pit is a real crowd pleaser at Wieck Farms, located in the Texas Panhandle near Etter, Texas – two miles east of Hwy 287. For more info or a map for directions visit their website at www.wieckmazeandpumpkins.com or call (806) 922-3721.
By HEATHER BRIDWELL
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Need a day to relax, have fun, but use your brain a little? Well, you should take a trip to the maze and pumpkin patch that Willie and Mildred Wieck have created and have a great, fun family experience. The Wieck have designed three different sections: the Texas Maze, the Confusion Maze and the No Left Turn Maze covering about 20 acres. The Confusion Maze is a diagonal maze with dead ends in all directions “Confusion is quite a deal, keeping you concentrating and keeping you thinking on where you need to go, where you have already been,” Willie said. The Texas Maze outlines the state of Texas with some of the cities inside the maze, marked with highways and signs to offer a simple explanation of each city. No Left Turn Maze has some short rows and some long rows where you have to try to “take no left turn” because the only way out is to turn right. “A lot of the older kids and adults like to get out their flashlights and try to make it through the maze in the dark. They have a fun time doing it,” Willie said. There is also have a straw playground featuring two cornpits, a small petting zoo, a miniature maze for the little ones and straw bales for climbing. “That is one of the most fascinating things you will see the kids play in. They can play in those cornpits for hours,” Willie said with a laugh. After a fun day of walking and playing on the playground,it’s time to visit the 10-acre pick-your-own-pumpkin patch with 80 plus different varieties of pumpkins. These pumpkins are still on the vines, offering the youngsters the harvest experience of letting them cut their chosen pumpkin off the vine. Select pumpkins from huge to small in a variety of colors – gray, white, pink, red and more. Just in time for Halloween to use as a Jack-O-Lantern or as a decoration for the fall or Thanksgiving season. The pumpkins are priced by size and variety. According to Willie, last year the biggest pumpkin that has come out of the patch so far was a least 100 pounds and the smallest was about 3 ounces. “We have had a lot of school groups, lots of folks from the Guymon area and church groups, too,” Willie said. "If you have kids that suffer from allergies, no worries because they only grow sterile forage (which means no pollen) so your visit will be sniffle free." Wieck Farms is located in the Texas Panhandle north of Amarillo, a stone’s throw away from Etter, Texas – just two miles east of Hwy 287. They are open on weekdays from 4- 7 p.m., Fridays from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m, Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. The cost is $5 for adults, $3 for 6-13 years of age and 5 and under are free. School groups and tour buses are welcome, but the Wiecks request please to call ahead so they can be prepared. Other times are also available by appointment. For more information or a map for directions visit their website at www.wieckmazeandpumpkins.com or call (806) 922-3721.
Photo by SHAWN YORKS/
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Below: Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry greets Dwilene Holbert and 16-month old Damion Collins on Wednesday in Boise City. Henry visited the Oklahoma Panhandle, which is suffering through a drought that has been compared to the Dust Bowl.
Story by MIRANDA GILBERT/
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The word was out. A bounty had been offered for anyone who could prove sighting Gov. Brad Henry in Cimarron County. Fifty bucks was offered as the reward. The culprit? C.F. David, Boise City News owner and editor, who had began running a weekly bounty notice in his newspaper. Just last Wednesday it read: AS of today's date, there are just 915 days left in Gov. Henry's second term. That's 915 days for the governor and his staff to think of 915 reasons not to visit Cimarron County." David went on to recommend that each resident of the county buy an Oklahoma Map, circle the county and mail it to Gov. Henry's office. By Monday David called the GDH with an exciting tip. Gov. Henry had decided to finally answer to the ad. On Wednesday, just after noon, news reporters joined David at his wooden historical newspaper office, just down from the Courthouse in Boise City. TV News crews had arrived, local residents began standing on the lawn of the courthouse - all waiting for the first glimpse of the Governor on Cimarron County soil. A phone call came that he would be 30 minutes late, but his first stop would in fact, be the newspaper office. After a short wait, a Cadillac Escalade rolled up to the curb, followed by two black SUVs. Quickly, Gov. Brad Henry exited and walked up, with David greeting him on the sidewalk with an enthusiastic handshake. Henry reportedly claimed he was there to collect his bounty, joking with David, who then showed him inside to a large check which read "Bounty for Governor" in the memo. Henry signed the check, and asked which charity was in most need of the money, to which David and his wife agreed the Senior Citizens would appreciate it greatly. After that, he began mingling about the office, approaching this writer, who introduced herself by name and title, digital recorder in hand, which naturally as a politician he took notice to. "Now, just so you know,"Governor Brad Henry began, "being born and raised in Oklahoma this is NOT my first visit to Cimarron County. I have visited Black Mesa, and drove through on my way to Colorado." "It was just never an 'official visit.'" Good to know, Governor. So noted.
