Amazed: Crowds pour into Tennessee farm

BLUFF CITY, Tenn. – It’s a little hard to spot the tire-track road that leads to Stickley Farm, a mile down Beaver Creek Road. The dusty path doesn’t stand out amidst the many cement driveways that otherwise line the highway.
But countless folks have turned down the modest path in recent weeks to enjoy at road’s end some outdoor fun at the family-run farm.
“We’ve got roughly 270 acres here sitting in the middle of all of these houses,” said owner Al Stickley. “We got three generations here, too – and nobody in any of them is interested in growing houses.”
As costs have continued to rise over the years while Stickley’s income stayed flat, he said he needed to find a way to supplement his earnings. So three years ago, he and his family decided to take the family farm in a new direction.
“We researched how to build a corn maze and found there are two companies that do it. You tell them what you want and they design it,” he said.
“It’s not big money. But we feel like it’s a place for the community where people can come and have a good time.”
For the third year in a row, Stickley has turned a cornfield into a giant maze that weaves through five acres of head-high stalks. When viewed from above, the maze takes the shape of presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and John McCain in a 2008 election scene. The pathways were cut to form three mazes, he said. One is just .2 miles long, the other two both 2.6 miles.
“It gives kids a rural, agricultural atmosphere, which is pretty rare in this part of the country,” he said. “Kids these days – they think everything comes from a store.”
The maze is the main attraction at the farm from late September to early November. But there are other activities for families to enjoy as well, he said. Kids can pick pumpkins from a patch, play on the playground or go on a hayride, to name a few.
Lexi Poston of Bristol, Va., came to the farm on Saturday with her family and four young kids.
“I just love to watch the kids. They love getting lost in the corn,” she said. “They usually lead us through the maze.
Poston said her family doesn’t go out as much because of high gas prices, and decided to head to Stickley’s this year instead of a similar farm 30 miles farther from her home. She said the cost for her family of six was just about $30 total, which she thought was very affordable for her large family.
Families pay $8 for adults, $7 for kids 5 to 12 and nothing for anyone under 5, Stickley said. Hayrides cost $2 per head and, depending on the size, pumpkins cost between $5 and $8.
The farm has been in the Stickley family since the 1930s, he said, but has not supported itself since the 1990s. Since then, the family has looked for ways to generate extra money.
In fact, Stickley’s story is not unique. Small farms across the country are struggling in these tough economic times. Agritourism, a classification that includes Stickley’s new venture, helps them stay afloat, he said.
According to the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, the number of small farms has dropped significantly statewide because of economic woes. In 1950, more than 30 percent of the state’s population lived on farms. By 1990, that number dropped to just more than 2 percent.
Stickley and his family are not in financial dire straits, he said. But as costs continue to rise, so must his efforts to maintain the family farm.
“We just want to break even,” he said.
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