For 30 years, Goebbert’s Pumpkin Patch, 42W813 Reinking Road in Hampshire, has been a favorite family fall destination.
According to its website, “Goebbert’s has been in the farm market business since 1948. George Goebbert started a roadside vegetable stand in Arlington Heights. In 1972, his son, Jim, bought a 40-acre farm in South Barrington and moved his family there. Jim’s three children started selling pumpkins on the roadside in 1978. It got so busy one Saturday that Jim had to close the Arlington Heights stand to come home and help with the pumpkin sales.
“In 1979, Jim made Goebbert’s in South Barrington a destination farm by having the fiberglass pumpkin known as Happy Jack made for the silo. Happy Jack measures 18 feet wide and 15 feet tall.”
The Happy Jack pumpkin also greets visitors to the Goebbert’s farm in Hampshire that Jim purchased in 1985. The 200-acre farm’s annual fall festival that is now open to the public runs to Halloween, Saturday, Oct. 31. Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily except for Halloween when the hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Jim and his wife, Esther, have retired. Their sons, Lee and Lloyd, along with their wives now run the two farms.
Lloyd and Terry Goebbert run the Hampshire farm. They have three adult children: Jessica, Jacob and James.
Jessica is the mother of Daniel, 2.
Jacob, who is a professional baseball outfielder for the San Diego Padres organization, works on the farm after the baseball season ends
James runs his own business, Go-Ro Fresh/J&J Dill Farms in Union, which sells pumpkins, greens and herbs to Chicago produce markets and large, local chain stores.
Goebbert’s Pumpkin Patch in Hampshire has a variety of family activities. There is a pumpkin slide, jumping pillow, pumpkin-eating dinosaur, pony and camel rides, petting farm, pig racing, Pumpkin Express train, haunted house, corn stalk maze, Western town, paintball shooting gallery, tennis ball blaster and wagon rides to the farm fields to pick out a pumpkin.
Mr. D’s Magic and Illusion Show is held on the weekends and Columbus Day.
The Farmer’s Wife Cafe menu includes items such as hot dogs, burgers, soup, pizza, pulled pork, Italian beef, chicken sandwiches, hot and cold cider, coffee, water, juice boxes, milk, pretzels and nachos.
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In the Fall Harvest Market at Goebbert’s, people can purchase pumpkins, squash, potatoes, apples, gourds, kettle corn, fall and Halloween decor, and apple cider.
“We now make our own caramel apples,” Terry said. “On the weekend, we make around 4,500 caramel apples for both the Hampshire and South Barrington locations. We also sell homemade fudge and doughnuts.”
Terry said one of the farm’s newest attractions is the Big Corn Box.
“There are 2,000 bushels of corn in the box,” she said.
The Big Corn Box has slides and toy John Deere trucks for children to enjoy.
Shawna St. Hilaire of Sheridan, Illinois, said that her granddaughter recently celebrated her fourth birthday at Goebbert’s. The Big Corn Box is her favorite place to play.
A “Mommy & Me” house at the farm offers moms a clean, private nursing station and a place to change their babies’ diapers. There are many places for people to sit outdoors on the farm and watch their children at play.
Goebbert’s has a variety of animals, many of which can be petted and fed. Children can climb the steps alongside the giraffe enclosure so they can feed with the farm’s two giraffes.
There are farm animals such as a sow and her piglets, cows and chickens along with exotic animals such as tiger cubs, zebras and monkeys. Visitors can walk inside a parakeet aviary and feed the parakeets. They can also enjoy watching goats climb the 25-foot, wooden Goat Mountain.
While Goebbert’s holds its annual family festival in the fall, Terry said that the farm is available for corporate business parties in the spring and summer. School tours, birthday parties and group outings are available by reservation.
Denise Moran is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.