'American Sniper' Theme of Lockport Corn Maze

It’s become a yearly tradition for Siegel’s Cottonwood Farm in Lockport Township to create a corn maze and this year they’ve gone with the subject of Chris Kyle, the controversial man whose life story was turned into the hit blockbuster “American Sniper.”

Kaity Siegel said the family chose Kyle because of their love not just for the movie and the book written by him, but because of the man himself. They wanted to show their support for the military.

“He was a true hero, he was our American sniper,” Siegel said. “We’re doing it to show our tribute to both Chris Kyle and his family.”

Kyle has been the subject of much controversy since the movie came out, with some calling him a killer rather than a hero, but that wasn’t a concern for the Siegel family.

“We see in our eyes that he was a hero,” Siegel said. “He fought for our freedom. He was part of the military and he did his job. We don’t in any way see him as a murderer.”

To plan for the maze, the Siegel family figures out what they want the concept to be. Once the concept is locked down, they’ll plant the corn. When the corn is about a foot high they go through and map out the design.

“It usually takes us a good four months to narrow it down to what we want it to be,” Siegel said.

The family originally thought to do a Blackhawks theme, but decided against it since they’ve already done it twice before.

Included in the maze design is a John Deere symbol and the words ISIS. Siegel said they included the symbol because they’re a John Deere family and they included ISIS to show they’re not afraid of the terror organization.

“We’re not scared of them to come on American soil because we know our military can take care of them, just like Chris Kyle took care of all the bad people that are trying to come after us,” Siegel said.

The skull in the photo is associated with Kyle and his team and they used it as a sort of logo, according to Siegel.

The maze will be open Sept. 26 and run through Nov. 1., including weekends and Columbus Day. Admission to the maze will be $15 Saturday and Sunday for all attendees 3 and over. Children 2 and under will be admitted free of charge. During the week, the admission is $12 and grandparents get in free during that time, as well. The farm is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and located at 17250 Weber Road in Lockport.

In addition to the maze, Cottonwood Farm will offer a variety of other activities, including a sports-themed ball zone, rides, a haunted barn, petting zoo, a smaller maze, train rides and more.

“If you come and do all the attractions for 15 minutes each, you’re going to be here for over 7 hours,” Siegel said.