ALLAMAKEE TO HOST 2001 ANNUAL MAIZE MAZE

Around Allamakee, residents don’t have the fairy tale green, medieval mazes of English legend. But we do have corn. And the summer of 2001 will see Iowa’s four-year-old Country Heritage Community Maize Maze grown in Allamakee County, at the Scenic Ridge View Farm of George and Belva Ashbacher, located just off Hwy. 76 near Harpers Ferry.
Receiving the corn maize, says George Ashbacher, didn't come overnight. Ashbacher initially applied to host the maze, assured his ranch would offer a variety of activities for the visitor.
Taken into account was the site’s ease of assessibility and ability to host tourists. A large dance barn will offer visitors a site for beverages as well as shelter in the event of inclement weather. In addition, Ashbacher houses a variety of antiques, literal relics of early Allamakee County days, including the original bar belonging to Waterville’s Rainbow Gardens and the Old Rossville Barber Shop.
Upon interview with the Country Heritage Community, chaired by Decorah resident Peter Jorgensen, Ashbacher was offered next summer’s maze. Jorgensen reports Ashbacher’s rare-breed animals to be a visitor asset, as well as nearby Effigy Mounds Yellow River State Forest and other hike/bike facilities throughout the area. “We’re gambling,” he says, “on George’s location and good weather.”
Four counties are currently involved in the project, namely Allamakee, Clayton, Fayette and Winneshiek. To maintain a wider unity among the counties, themes portrayed are not specific to the county hosting the maze. For instance, the 2000 maze, constructed in Elkader, notes Fort Atkinson, a particular of Winneshiek County.
Upon finalization of the maze site, Luther College Math Club students, guided by Professor Reg Laursen, task themselves with the maze design. In creating the Fort Atkinson project, this year’s students connected such elements as the Fort itself, a tepee, peace pipe and flag. Specifics of Native American and European civilization have been woven together with clouds, in an effort to historically represent cultural differences in ideology. The first maze depicted the Froelich tractor and the second, Effigy Mounds.
Once in place, Ashbacher says the maze will require only routine maintenance, such as weeding and clearing stray growths of corn with a corn knife. The maze itself, reports Jorgensen, “really doesn't take more than an hour, unless of course,” he jokes, “you don’t take a map with you.”
Funding for the undertaking has been supplied through a grant given the Country Heritage Community through the R.J. McElroy Trust. Pending the closure of the July through October season, profits are appropriately divided between the Heritage group and the current maze host.
According to Jorgensen, Country Heritage Community, sponsoring the maze, aims to build attraction within the four-county area and simultaneously bear testament to the story of Iowa’s cultural heritage. “Iowa,” quotes Jorgensen, “has one of only 18 nation-wide heritage units.” He terms the organization a facilitator, “connecting the dots” so to speak, between individual entrepreneurs. The Heritage group, he adds, may be viewed as a “wedding of economic development and cultural preservation.”
Jorgensen reports the Heritage group to offer a “gentle kind of tourism.” Upon questioning, area residents report being largely undisturbed by the influx of visitors, and surprised that a total of 40,000 folks have gathered at the corn mazes during the prior two seasons.
The Country Heritage Community, cites Jorgensen, strives to avoid disrupting the natural traffic of area lives. “What we have to share,” he says, “is our way of life. We’re mindful to not destroy what we’re trying to share.” In addition, building the maze remains a grassroots affair, dependent on community labor and sponsorships.
Ashbacher plans to construct his maze north of the dance barn, on the large hill running parallel to Hwy. 76. “I’m going to have a display of corn planting, from Indians using a stick to 12-row planters,” said Ashbacher. He also cites receiving the maze as ample push to complete other ranch projects, such as finishing his 1870's farm house into a dude ranch and cleaning up his ever-increasing collection of farm and business relics for exhibit.
In correlation with the 2001 maze, Ashbacher will host a variety of events next summer which are certain to draw a crowd. Current plans include an old time dance band during the summer and a three-day bluegrass festival when the corn hits high next fall.
Your’re apt to find George out there, dancing with Belva, family members lending a hand, or the guests. “Barn dance music,” says George, “has fascinated me since I was a kid.” Just don’t forget that along with all those swaying bodies will be a chorus of corn, carved into an as of yet undisclosed design, singing along under an Allamakee summer sky.