A Visit to the Pumpkin Patch

Here is one of our favorite family autumn outings! When I first began home schooling our children in the early ‘80’s, I discovered Book’s Family Farm and utilized it every autumn as one of our favorite field trips!! The farm began in 1984 as a small ten acre pumpkin patch, inspired by Grandma Book’s need for a nursery school field trip activity for the school she directed. The pumpkin patch/farm soon included horse-drawn wagon rides, petting farm animals, and expanded so rapidly in popularity and size, they had to relocate in 1987 to their present 250 acre site along Highway 99 in Durham, California.

The entire Book family resides at the new acreage, and includes Grandma and Grandpa Book, their three children and their spouses, and eleven grandchildren. A true family farm!! Every autumn they host their annual harvest festival, which now includes corn and hay mazes, a bounce house, local elementary school scarecrow displays, along with their draft horse-drawn wagon and carriage rides, and live music. And, of course, fields full of pumpkins to choose from!! It is always more fun to visit with our grandchildren and their parents, but even us “old codgers” still love and look forward to it!! Meet you there next October!