Entertainment

October 11, 2009

he “child-size” maze is made

By Mary Therese Biebel mbiebel@timesleader.com
Features Writer
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he “child-size” maze is made of haybales and just the right height for parents to see the top of a preschooler’s head as she zooms down a lane, turns right, turns left and emerges triumphant.

“You did it! Fantastic!” Joanne Mortimer of Pittston said, scooping her 3-year-old daughter, Alexandria, into her arms for a hug.

“I want to do it again,” Alexandria said, scampering back into the children’s maze, which is just one of the attractions you’ll find at Miller’s Orchards near Clarks Summit this fall.

“It’s better here for the little ones,” said Carol Mariotti of Old Forge, one of the many moms and dads who recently accompanied children from St. Mary of the Assumption School in Pittston on a haywagon-riding, pumpkin-picking field trip to the orchards.

For older and taller folks, the main attraction at Miller’s is the big maze – seven acres of corn as high as an elephant’s eye that have been cut into an “Office” theme.

That’s right, if you were to view the cornfield from the sky, you would see the faces of the two main rivals on the popular television show – Dwight Schrute and Jim Halpert – have been carved into the corn.

“We asked ourselves, what is Scranton known for on a national

level?” maze manager Jamie Stuenzi said. “The answer was, ‘The Office.’ ”

If you’re a fan of the show, that can help you navigate the maze. As you come to crucial intersections, you can answer trivia questions – Does a certain character work as a salesman? In accounting? Human resources? Shipping? Choose the correct answer, and you’ll know which direction to turn.

But what if you’re not a fan of the show? Don’t worry.

Before you enter the maze, you can pick a printed card with your choice of questions.

Some of the themes include sports, Scripture and health & fitness. There’s bound to be one that calls to you.

Some cards might require knowledge of the lyrics to “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” or the ability to multiply and divide, or even a familiarity with the names of all 50 United States.

In any case, if you know the right answer, you’ll know which way to turn.

“It takes the average person 20 minutes to go through,” Stuenzi said.

“Some take longer. We keep track of how many people are out there, and if somebody takes a really long time, we send staff out to find them.”

So, fear not. You won’t be wandering the maze forever.

But, if you would actually LIKE to feel a little fear, there’s a haunted maze you can visit after dark at Miller’s Orchards.

Other attractions at the 160-acre farm include goats and pigs, pony rides on weekends and an underground sliding board you enter through an “outhouse.”

There are plenty of interactive displays, including a cardboard display of an apple tree with holes through which children can peek and be identified as “Mac ‘N’ Tosh,” “Crab Apple,” “Ginger Gold,” “Ida Red” or “Chris Pin.”

The aroma of pies and doughnuts wafts from the gift house, there are apples and even organic meats for sale, and just in time for Halloween, there are fields loaded with pumpkins.

“They’re beautiful,” Jennifer Vogel of West Pittston said as her 3-year-old daughter wrapped her little pink mittens around a bright orange specimen.

“What will we do with ours?” Nicole Golden playfully asked her 3-year-old son, Patrick. “Put it on the porch to scare people?”

IF YOU GO

What: Miller’s Orchards

Where: 1515 Fairview Road, Clarks Summit

When: Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays through Nov. 1

Admission: $8.50 benefits in part the Ronald McDonald House

More info: 780-1019

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