By Dan Chase

People of all ages enjoy losing themselves in the corn maze at the Jensen Historical Farm south of Logan. These two seek the path to the center at midafternoon on Oct. 23. Many paths are misleading, so it takes a good memory to recall where you already have been. The corn maze is open through Oct. 30. Photo by Cameron Bailey.

WELLSVILLE -- Nestled in the middle of a field just off of Highway 89-91 in Wellsville, a scarecrow jumps in front of a passer-by to scare him while he shivers from the cold air and attempts to weave his way through obstacles over cold, damp ground.

Sounds a lot like a haunted house doesn't it? It isn't.

It's the Jensen Historical Farm corn maze.

In its second year, the maze opened the last week of September to accommodate activities for Utah State University's College of Agriculture Week.

"It was a lot of fun," said junior and first-time corn mazer Carrie Davis. "I didn't expect it to be as big as it was. It took us a lot longer than I thought it would."

One-and-one-half hours to be exact.

"It wasn't quite as simple as I'd heard it would be, at least from last year," added Davis' friend Shalyse Sorensen. "It was a little bit more complicated and was very well made, (but) they need hot chocolate in the middle."

And you can be certain that creating the maze wasn't an easy task.

According to volunteer Shirlee Forester, about six weeks and as much as 500 staff and volunteer hours were spent creating what Luke Waldron says is a 5-acre maze.

"When it comes time (to cut corn), then what they'll do is they'll go in and they'll either cut or they'll pull the corn out," said Forester. "After they've got the paths and all that, then they'll go in and till it so that we have a smooth path to walk on. And from there, we rope off around the path and the edges of the path so that people are not as likely to cut through the corn."

And despite the efforts of volunteers and staff to create a challenge for visitors, John Carlisle said that many are able to complete the maze quickly.

"We've had people (finish) in 20 minutes," Carlisle said. "There's one couple that went in there and came right back out."

"There is the luck of the draw," added Forester. "There are people like that who go through the first time really fast and they think they have the maze mastered, and they come back and it takes them two hours to get back through because they didn't have it so mastered."

And though the maze may seem to many as impossible to complete, few actually get stuck and need help getting out.

"Last year we had a family in there for about two hours and they finally gave up and walked out through the entrance," Forester said. "They didn't even make it to the center of the maze. It just depends basically on the people and how good their sense of direction is."

The maze is open Monday through Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m., Friday from 5 to 9 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Entrance fees are $3 for adults, $2.50 for students with current ID and $2 for children ages 3-12. There is also a $10 family rate.

Prices for Oct. 30, the last day of the maze, will be slightly higher, however, due to the farm's celebration of Pumpkin Days.

MS
MS