Last week, anchor Symone Woolridge spoke with Karen Pearce over the phone.
Pearce shared that she had been trying for years to get TMJ4 to Walworth County to check out Pearce’s Farm Stand, where she works.
So, we went to visit.
This year, there's a unique story. Pearce’s Farm Stand is one of about 75 farms across North America with a custom-designed corn maze, opening on Labor Day, participating in a 75th-anniversary tribute to Charles Schulz’s "Peanuts."
Schulz is the creator of the comic strip "Peanuts," featuring characters like Charlie Brown and Snoopy.
“Visitors will love interacting in a hands-on way they may have never experienced before! We’re honored to help celebrate the 75th-anniversary events commemorating Charles Schulz and "Peanuts",” Pearce’s Farm Stand owner Bob Pearce said.
The maze, which features Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin, covers 13 acres and will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. until Halloween. Its address is W5740 N Walworth Rd in Walworth, WI.
The corn maze is only a piece of Pearce’s Farm Stand. There are thousands of acres that owners Bob and Mary Ann Pearce have worked their entire lives to cultivate
The couple's story is inspiring.
Bob and Mary Ann’s Love Story
The two have been married for almost 70 years. Mary Ann, 87, grew up in Elkhorn. She was known as the “city girl” because the population was a couple thousand. Robert, also known as Bob, is 89. He was a farmer's kid.
“We were very poor. Very, very poor. I didn’t want to be like that,” Bob said.
Bob remembers milking cows day in and day out throughout his life, with a 5 a.m. wake-up call. They’re moments he’ll never forget.
He will also never forget the moment he laid eyes on the love of his life.
“I used to roller skate a lot, round and round,” Bob said. “It was fun. These three girls walked into the roller rink one time. There was a pretty girl over there getting a pop and a candy bar, and she had a ponytail. I thought, ‘What a nice-looking girl.’”
But by the time Bob rolled around again, she was gone.
“Oh my gosh, I didn’t see them,” he said.
About a month later, Bob noticed a car with Mary Ann in it.
“I said, ‘There she is.’ I asked, ‘Will you have a date with me tomorrow night?’ And she said yes.”
Watch: Pearce's Farm Stand has a beautiful corn maze and an even more beautiful love story:
The rest is history.
“Did you think he was cute?” Symone asked Mary Ann.
“He was. Not like Elvis, but he was really cute,” she joked.
“I looked like Elvis. Black sideburns,” Bob said with a smile.
“What’s the key to 70 years of marriage?” Symone asked.
“I guess we both think we’re the boss, and we’re both wrong,” Mary Ann said.
“Don’t give up. Just keep going,” Bob responded. “The kids nowadays have a problem and want to divorce. You figure it out and keep going.”
“We talked about divorce? Never, ever,” Mary Ann said. “Did I think it?” she paused, jokingly.
The Growth of Pearce’s Farm Stand
“One day, we had too much, so I put the trailer out by the road and said, ‘Free sweet corn,’ and nobody stopped,” Bob said.
Bob has been growing sweet corn since the 1960s. He remembers picking corn out of the field to sell.
Mary Ann didn’t know much about farming, so Bob taught her what he knew. He even taught her how to drive.
“I like to drive,” Bob said.
In 1966, the two put out a picnic table by the field.
“We sold three dozen for a dollar, wrapped in newspaper. We couldn’t afford a bag,” Bob said.
Fast forward years later, Mary Ann is now a corn expert.
So much so, her car license plate reads, “Corn 1.”
“The trouble is, everybody in the county knows where I am,” she said with a smile.
The couple grinned, knowing pretty much everything about corn. You don’t know Pearce’s Farm Stand unless you know about their sweet corn.
“The corn is planted every five days, so we always have new corn coming,” Mary Ann said. “It’s one corn stalk, one ear.”
Bob showed Symone the large table stacked with sweet corn. On weekends, he said the corn sells like hotcakes. Employees often have to restock throughout the day.
“The main thing here is sweet corn. Number two would be tomatoes.”
Mary Ann and Bob had been selling sweet corn from a stand for years until 2003. In September of that year, the two expanded.
“I always try to arrange the pepper table for color, but sometimes the kids come, and they put the yellow with the yellow with the yellow, and I get really mad,” Mary Ann laughed while showing Symone around.
From vegetables to desserts to drinks and bags, Pearce’s Farm Stand is much more than the small stand it once was.
“I still like to call it a stand. It’s a stand,” said Mary Ann.
Many of Pearce’s employees are family members—four generations to be exact.
Mary Ann and Bob’s grandson Bobby has taken over. While Symone was visiting, he was out working at the county’s state fair.
“What makes a stand is the people,” Bob said.
It’s something, from generation to generation, that hasn’t changed.
“I’ve been coming to Pearce’s Farm Stand for 45-plus years,” customer Sherri Jutz said.
Sherri got married across the street from the stand. The Pearces attended her wedding.
So many customers are loyal, ones who have been shopping with Pearce’s for decades.
“People are good,” Bob said. “People are all good.”
Neighbors' items have even become part of Pearce’s business.
“The neighbors had some honey to sell. The homemade jam—people just want to sell more things here,” Mary Ann said.
It’s truly a community effort.
With five children, six grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren, the Pearce legacy continues.
A legacy that began nearly 60 years ago.
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