Escobar's Opens A "Maizing" Labyrinth Friday at the Farm

In the 1930s, before Stop & Shop and Wal-Mart dominated the grocer industry, Antone Escobar decided to start a small family dairy and vegetable farm. But as the popularity of mass production increased and the market for local agriculture dwindled, local farmers were given two options: sell or diversify.

Louis Escobar, son of Antone and owner of Escobar's Highland Farm, devoted his life to his family's farm. To the Escobar family, selling the farm was not an option, but as the years progressed, meeting the needs of the new mass market became increasingly difficult.

"I worked 14 hour days, seven days a week, 365 days a year," he said, now gray and weathered from years on the farm. "That didn't leave much time to diversify."

But in 1999, the price of milk plummeted 28 percent, devastating the Escobar family business. It was then that Escobar knew something had to be done to keep the farm running.

Escobar had heard of a few corn mazes in Pennsylvania, but did not give the idea much thought until he met John Davis, owner of Davis Farmland in Sterling, MA.

"Davis handed me a brochure of the farm's Mega Maze, and I felt a corn maze would give us a good position here to meet the public," said Escobar, who was already producing corn for cow feed.

With the Davis Farmland's Mega Maze drawing in maze hunters from all over Massachusetts and Northern Rhode Island, Escobar feared that creating his own corn maze may cause problems. But after sitting down with Davis and talking to maze designer Brett Herbst, he realized it was an opportunity the farm could not afford to pass up.

After months of planning, the corn maze at Escobar Farm made its first run in 2000, with the recognizable "Moolennium" cow design. It was a hit.

"The numbers really shocked us," said Escobar, who had hoped that with a good year the maze would reach around 5,000 people. "By the end of the season we added everything up and realized we had around 14,000 people come to the maze. It was amazing."

After the passing of his mother in 2002, Escobar inherited the farm and built upon the corn maze, adding a hayride, a "cow train" and a pumpkin patch. Today, the maze is still growing to host birthday parties, team building projects, school field trips and even a day devoted to Harry Potter.

The Highland Farm maze, unlike most mazes, is designed in two phases to attract people of all ages. According to Escobar, the maze is a happy medium of ease and difficulty for kids, parents and grandparents.

"If you can walk in and out of my maze and not get lost once, I feel like I have ripped you off," he said. "But I also don't want you to get stuck in there for hours and get frustrated."

The 2010, eight-acre corn maze design is the Escobar name in the top right corner, and the Rhody Fresh cow trademark in the center. The design was created to pay tribute to today's booming milk market that has been the foundation of Escobar's Highland Farm since 1937.

According to Escobar, waking up every day to do a job you love is a gift that most people envy, but his years of experience are beginning to show in aches and pains rather than in numbers.

"I am surprised I have not become frustrated," he said. "I have done all that I can do. My back, my knees… physically I can't do it all anymore. Now I'm trying to take a step back to let the next generation take over."

Escobar's daughter, Lori Clarke, has been managing the maze since 2000 and admits that getting everything ready takes months but she is always thinking and looking for new ideas.

"We start months beforehand getting the land ready, planting, doing maintenance," she said. "But we also have to find an educational piece, plan activities, hire workers … It doesn't take all year, but every year you learn something for the next year, what worked, what didn't. So I spend a lot of time planning."

But even months of planning can easily be shattered by the weather.

"Every year is a challenge with Mother Nature," she said, explaining that last year it had rained at least one day every weekend throughout October, the maze's busiest month. This year, Mother Nature struck the farm early, hitting most of New England with a very dry summer. Escobar and Clarke, who normally plant the corn in soft soil by mid June, were burying the seed in dust on June 30.

"At first, not all of the seed came up," said Clarke. "We actually had to go in and do a second hand planting of the seed, which I don't recommend."

"But once the rain finally came, the rest of it sprouted up, so there are different heights in the corn," Escobar added.

With opening day for 2010 just a few days away, Clarke also confessed her uncertainty for the turnout this year.

"We try to make things as cheap as possible," she said. "We have drinks for $1, 10-cent candy, and coupons for admission. But this year, I think we may have a challenge with the economy. I don't expect as many people as in previous years."

The cost for the plan and design of the corn maze is roughly $1,200, plus a traveling fee and six percent of the total revenue. Maintenance of the grounds and maze and time consumption are also costs that go into the corn maze every year.

"We do not make a lot, but it allows us to continue doing what we love," said Clarke.

Clarke and the rest of the Escobar family will kick off the 2010 corn maze season this Friday, Aug. 27. They hope to see you there!

To contribute to the community, Aug. 27 through Sept. 24, customers of Clements Market can receive $2 off the entry fee by showing their market card.