The Rural Voice, 2002-08, Page 20Perth County couple have the world by the
trail as they open their 36 -acre cvf'n maze
You might say Ernst and Nelly
Hofer threw themselves a
birthday party last year and
6,000 people showed up.
The Hofers both turned 40 last
year and thought it was a special
occasion so came up with the idea of
The Ontario Maze.
They'd seen a small maze in
Switzerland while they were on
vacation there and liked the idea.
Theirs would be much larger. They
picked out a 36 -acre field as their
canvas.
Last year's theme was the
province of Ontario and, seen from
the air, it presented the crest of the
province. "Last year it was awesome
when you saw it from the air," Nelly
says. "If you walk it, it's good but
when you see it from the air, it's
different."
If you've already been successful
on a grand scale, why not take on the
world. So when the maze opens for
the new season on Saturday, July 27,
it will sport the theme "The Amazing
World", with a map of the world laid
out in corn for the continents and
mixed grain for the oceans.
"I promised my wife I'd take her
on a world trip," Ernst jokes.
Planning for this year's project
began in December, says Ernst. The
plan is created then entered into a
global positioning computer system
to map where borders should be.
Location of the continents was
marked on the ground with spray
paint.
"After we got the outline of the
continents mapped out we started
16 THE RURAL VOICE
Nelly and Ernst
Hofer's second effort
at a corn maze is this
36 -acre map of the
world, seen (above)
from the air. At right,
the couple shows
some of the indoor
displays that will give
more information
about the countries
that make up the
maze.
seeding."
The corn came first
and the mixed grain
was planted later so it
wouldn't be too mature
as the time approached
for the opening of the
maze. Of course the
dry weather then
slowed germination.
Despite planning, a
lot of decisions get
made on the fly, Nelly says. With
growing crops you have to adapt.
In mid-July came the task of
cutting paths through the corn to
mark the political boundaries of the
different countries. The paths form
the maze for the people to follow
(and get lost, Nelly chuckles).
Last year there were two or three
occasions where people had to be
rescued because they got disoriented,
Ernst says. With the field being 36
acres of corn with paths cut through
it, the possibility of people getting
lost was bigger. You could hear
people if they called out, Nelly says.
Usually, Ernst adds, it was the
parents who got lost, not the kids.
This year with the corn making up
a smaller portion of the maze it
should be possible for people to walk
out to the "oceans" of mixed grain
and easily find their way.
In the first year the maze drew
more than 6,200 people from as far
away as Holland, Germany,
Switzerland and Austria as well as
closer locations such as Toronto,
Sudbury and Chatham.
"It was very interesting to talk to
them," says Nelly. "Because it was
the first year, last year, you really
don't know what you're getting into
so you might worry about different