Corn-fed fun returns to Wall as Circle S Acres opens again

WALL — She was loveable, but Daisy was not a pretty pumpkin-eater.

Lindsey and Chad Schaertl are the owners of Circle S Acres just outside of town. Now in their ninth season, their main feature — a  4-acre corn maze — is the largest attraction in their park, which also includes a 24-foot Mega Slide, corn cannons, flower garden and of course, a pumpkin patch.

Daisy was a friendly cow in the petting zoo the family used to lease for the month. A gentle, sweet creature, she also had an affinity for pumpkin.

“She had a mind of her own,” Chad recalled, laughing. “Some pumpkins were just on the other side of the fence from her, so she managed to push that fence over and get out.

“She was wandering all over the property, eating everything in sight.”

A-mazing variety

If Daisy were still around, she might also take an interest in the pick-your-own flower garden the Schaertls have near the corn maze. Colorful varieties of sunflowers, along with Zinnias and other blooms waving in the breeze, also serve as a lovely location for photography.

From the garden, it’s hard to ignore the maze and the excited chatter from within as families and couples explore the design. A map near the entrance invites visitors to photograph it for reference once you’re deep inside and not sure which way to turn.

The couple got the idea for a maze based on a similar one in Shallowater called A’tl Do Farms. Growing up, it was one of Lindsey’s favorite memories, and so she took Chad there before they married in 2009.

Before that visit, Chad recalled being annoyed at something he’d noticed at a city park.

“Everybody was on their cell phones, not even paying attention to their kids,” he said.

If a child was about to fall or get in trouble, it seemed like no one would notice. But that wasn’t the case at the corn maze.

“No one was doing that. The parents were both very involved,” he recalled. “Everyone was giggling and laughing and having a good time, and kids were being adventurous.”

Standing beside the garden, the sunflowers were catching the last of the day’s sunshine while children still kept going down the Mega Slide. As the evening cooled, the slide’s plastic surface allowed for even longer, faster rides, and parents stood nearby ready to capture the moment. Circle S averages up to 12,000 visitors per season.

“I like seeing that. I like seeing all the families out here,” Chad said. “I like that there's an avenue for the old, all the way down to the young, who can come and enjoy some outdoor time, not in front of a screen.”

Corny fun

The maze also turns out to be an excellent place for a first or second date. You can learn a lot about someone by the way they exit a maze.

“If the date’s going real bad, you know, you just say, 'You go check that way,' and then, ‘adios!’” Chad joked, laughing as he pantomimed a quick exit.

He doesn't really recommend ghosting a date, but he does recommend their special Haunted Maze Oct. 19 and 26, featuring later hours and befitting the San Angelo Broadway Academy and the Tom Green County Sheriff’s Department. Otherwise, their park is open varying hours Thursday through Sunday through Nov. 2. Learn more on their website

The Schaertls grow their maze in a different pattern each year. Some have honored first responders, Angelo State University, teachers and even Reba McIntire.

“Our design this year is 75 years of ‘Peanuts,’” Lindsey said. “So, we have chosen the iconic image of Snoopy on his doghouse with pumpkins all around it.”

A kernel or tooth

Most corn crops are close to harvest by this time of year — but not here.

“That very first year, we planted when all the farmers planted and realized very quickly that was too early,” Lindsey said.” So, now we always plant somewhere around the Fourth of July, give or take a week.”

This corn isn’t meant for eating, it’s meant for wandering around in. In theory, you could probably eat one of the ears, but it would take a while.

“It's not as good as sweet corn,” she said. “One year, it had already gotten hard, like field corn does, and my husband was determined, 'I bet I can make that soft again and we can eat it!’”

But after more than half an hour in the pot, there was no change.

“It didn't soften at all,” Chad recalled, chuckling. “It was still hard as a rock, break your teeth on it.”

Pop (corn) guns

The pumpkin patch is set up on pallets near the maze entrance. You can buy as many as you like, or you can try to win some. But you’ve gotta know your way around a corn cannon to do it.

“It’s like a potato gun, but we shoot ears of corn,” Lindsey explained.

Reminiscent of anti-aircraft guns, the black long-barred corn cannons are mounted on swivels with handlebar-shaped PVC tubing for grips and simple push buttons for triggers.

“My father-in-law built those for us,” Lindsey said. “We engineered our own.”

You pick your projectile from a box of cobs and then the rangemaster stuffs the barrel with wadding — in this case, dried corn husks — then rams the cob down after it with a stick. Once he charges the barrel with compressed air, all you do is aim and push the button.

Cob and husk burst from the barrel with a distinctly high-pitched “Toot!” If you’re lucky, you’ll send it through one of the two tractor tires downrange. The closer tire wins a small pumpkin, and the farther and more difficult shot, a larger gourd.

It’s harder than it looks.

“It’s because every corn is different,” Lindsey explained.

Different shapes and sizes produce different trajectories. I was aiming for the big-pumpkin tire when my cob, in a cloud of husk leaves, flopped through the closer one. I took my winnings and counted myself lucky.

Rejuvenation

When the season ends, the Schaertls will plow the corn under. By then the corn is too mature for consumption, so they use it to rejuvenate the soil for next year’s season.

The rest of the time, Chad continues his 8-to-5 day job at an electrical supply company in San Angelo.

“That pays our bills and feeds us,” he said, then glanced at the garden, the slide and finally the maze. “This is something that helps with other things.”

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Corn-fed fun returns to Wall as Circle S Acres opens again