A-maze-ing adventure in Somerset

By Drew Jackson
MEDIA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE

It's easy to get lost in the cornfields at Liberty Mills Farm, but that's the point. Twenty acres of the more than 100-acre Woods family farm in Somerset is dedicated to a maze of enormously patriotic proportions. Etched in the nearly full grown cornfield are the Statue of Liberty, Liberty Bell, the first three words of the U.S. Constitution, and the head of a bald eagle. To emphasize the theme, the Woods family will open the maze on Sept. 11, Patriot Day.
Kent and Evie Woods moved their family of four from Wisconsin to Orange County a little over a month ago. Waiting on them when they got here was the largest corn maze in Central Virginia. Since May, Kent logged half a dozen round trips from Wisconsin to Virginia in preparation for the maze, which he says he was able to plant before closing on the property due to the friendly previous owner.
"We were getting tired of the cold Wisconsin winters," said Kent Woods. "We were looking to make a change."
It's possible that the Somerset maze, which hopes to confound and delight visitors this fall, was born out of the eastern Iowa cornfields where Kent grew up. Now, because of a late planting, he has one of the few green fields in the county, not to mention the most unique.
"We went with a patriotic theme because of where our farm is," said Evie Woods. "The Liberty Bell and Statue of Liberty, because we're on Liberty Mills Road, and the 'We the people,' because of how close we are to Montpelier."
David, 15, and Shannon Woods, 12, run ahead through the rows of corn, leading their parents on an unfathomably direct route to the top of Lady Liberty. The lady is the medium difficulty maze at the farm, and according to Kent, is over six and a half times the size of the actual 150 foot statue, sprawling 1,000 feet in length across the field. Kent wouldn't reveal exactly how the patterns were made in the field, but said that it was all done by hand, not GPS.
Kent was initially a mechanical engineer, but both he and his wife eventually found careers in marketing and public relations in the Milwaukee area. Now the farm is truly a family endeavor as David is said to handle the creative aspects of the maze, such as helping with the design of the crop patterns, and Shannon helps construct the Liberty Mills Farm website. Both Woods children, though, seem to have an expert knowledge of all the nooks, crannies and dead ends in the maze from hours spent navigating the stalks.
"It's interesting," said David and Shannon in unison about having a corn maze as their back yard. "It's kind of cool," said David.
After a three and a half year search, the Woods picked Virginia as the new place for their family. The move is actually a return to the area for the Woods clan, as one of Kent's ancestors was one of the signers of the original incorporation of the town of Orange in 1872.
"We just think it's a perfect world down here in Virginia," said Evie. "It's beautiful here, and Virginia has a great reputation for schools."
A red clay road runs next to the cornfield, and next to that is another smaller filled littered with pumpkins and squashes. Later in the fall the farm will also offer a pumpkin patch for those looking for an orange canvas for their jack-o-lantern masterpiece. As all pumpkins are not created equal, Kent points out a few overachieving ones bulging above the rest, that he says weigh over 100 pounds.
On Sept. 11 when the maze officially opens, active service men and women will get in at half price. For more information on events at the farm, visit libertymillsfarm.com.