Picking memories

HERMAN — Orange, pink, green, yellow, white. Colors of all sorts can be seen emerging among the vines as summer turns to fall in the gardens of Perry’s Pumpkin Patch. Surrounded by the rural grid of cropland, grain bins, livestock, silos, barns and farmhouses outside of town, the Perrys — Dan, Tracy, Taryn, Taylor and Jordyn — started growing pumpkins in 2015 as a fun hobby and a way to engage with their community.

The Perrys and their sons-in-law, Tony Volker and Jonah Hennen, started the effort as a fall celebration on their family farm. Today, Perry’s Pumpkin Patch Day is a tradition held every year on the last weekend in September. The family offers concessions, free hayrides and yard games and sells gourds and pumpkins for fall decorating or jack-o’-lanterns for carving.

“We have a crew of great helpers,” Perry said. “We could never pull this day off without them. We have friends who come to drive the hayride; our daughter brings her college friends home and they run the games, and our family members come every year to help us put this event on.”

The Perrys open the farmstead to those far and near, estimating attendance at 150-250 people in recent years.

Tracy is the office business manager at Herman-Norcross School, where the couple’s daughters attend school as well. Over the years, Tracy has watched many families, including her own, grow up together and celebrate town parades, fairs and festivals.

Now, each year at the community parade, the Perrys have a float and hand out promotional cards sharing details about the family’s annual festival. They also hang flyers in and around local businesses and advertise the event on their Facebook page.

The Perrys do not charge admission or parking fees, with the hope that families can enjoy the day and perhaps purchase a few fall treasures.

Taryn and Taylor’s job is to operate the pay booth. The pumpkins and gourds are priced using a sticker system that makes it easy for guests. Small vendors add to the atmosphere by selling fall flowers and other homemade goods. Local musicians bring guitars and sing songs for others’ enjoyment.

The farm’s resident Nigerian Dwarf goats, named for the Golden Girls, add another bit of enjoyment for guests.

“When our pumpkin patch day continued to grow, it only made sense that we added a few goats on the farm,” Perry said. “They’re known as the Golden Goats … we have Sophia, Blanch, Dorothy and Rose … and they love attention. The children have so much fun feeding them and watching them run around.”

The Perrys have a grain-cart basketball hoop, a football toss game, Rody animal inflatables, a giant parachute, tic-tac-toe and Jenga tables. They also run a scavenger hunt and sell mini donuts, homemade caramel apple slices, homemade apple cider, popcorn and cotton candy.

“The pumpkin patch idea all started with our youngest daughter, Jordyn,” Perry said. “She decided one day that she wanted to grow pumpkins and sell them. She got the rest of us on board; our first year, we barely had enough to fill a hayrack.”

Today, the Perrys plant two large patches in hopes of meeting community demand. They sell pumpkins and gourds in downtown Herman and the Eastside Market in Wheaton.

“The whole family helps with pumpkin planting,” Perry said. “We planted over 500 hills of pumpkin seeds this year. We plant four to five seeds per hill, … flag them all so we can weed around them and keep them watered until they are good and established.”

With this year’s bumper crop, Perry said the family will donate pumpkins to the local community education program as well as FFA’s annual fall festival.

“Waiting is the nerve-wracking part,” Perry said. “We planted 20 varieties this year, and we keep track of it all on our map. Some years have been better than others, but we have learned what not to do over the years.”

Tracy also grows vegetables in the raised garden beds her husband made so she can make salsas, chili bases and pasta sauces. Taylor enjoys gardening, while Taryn and Jordyn enjoy baking, Perry said. Together, they became cottage food producers and now sell canned goods, loaves of sourdough bread, buns, bagels and cinnamon rolls at the annual event.

In 2025, Perry said they partnered with Grant County Changemakers, which fosters community-focused initiatives and leadership activities.

“They try to offer something in every community of our county,” Perry said. “It’s been a great partnership (with them). We have been able to reach families we probably wouldn’t have otherwise, and we hope they tell their friends so that we reach more families each year.”

Perry said that, between her daughters, their husbands and her husband, they can plan and stay ahead of the work in the offseason. Days leading up to the annual event can be daunting, Perry said, but with two grandchildren and another on the way, the family hopes to keep the tradition of Perry’s Pumpkin Patch Day alive for years to come.

“I always think about the next generation when we talk about how long we will keep the event going,” Perry said. “The boys (grandsons) run around here like they own the place, because they do; … they love helping in the patch, with the event, the goats … you name it.”

Perry said she also has ideas for what to add to the festival.

“I am working on Dan to let us bring a miniature donkey to the farm, one, because I just love animals and, two, because the Golden Goats need a Stanley,” Perry said.