Shelly Lehner is the Queen of Pumpkins. You get to wear the crown when you raise thousands of pumpkins each year for more than three decades.
She’s also the Queen of Understatements.
While overlooking her 40-acre pumpkin patch, a 10-acre corn maize, and preparing for the annual extravaganza at her Radnor farm that will host more than 75,000 pumpkin hunters, she says, “It’s a lot of work.”
Ya think?
Shelly recently opened Lehner’s Pumpkin Farm for its 34th season of fun. Think of Disneyland with a Cucurbita theme. Shelly likes to call it, “agri-tainment.”
Unlike some pumpkin patches, which import pumpkins, all the Lehner’s pumpkins are grown right in their Delaware County soil. Also, in case you’re wondering, there are no combines to harvest pumpkins. They all have to be picked by hand. Of those 40 acres of pumpkins, 18 are set aside for guests to hand-select their special gourd.
You have to respect farmers. I’m exhausted just thinking about it. Plus, I have flashbacks of taking my own kids to the pumpkin patch.
Child: I want this one. No, wait, this one. Oh, this one is better. I definitely want this one. No, It’s flat on one side. Look at this one over here. I want . . .
Me: For the love of God, just pick a pumpkin!
And don’t even get me started on going to the Christmas tree farm.
Sorry. What was I writing about? Oh yeah, Lehner’s Pumpkin Farm.
Shelly said there are more than 40 activities for kids, which are “guaranteed to wear them out.” The activities include barrel rides, jump pillows, tire climb, a paintball shooting range, a pedal track for tractors and trikes, and a play barn.
Shelly does it all with a smile.
“I so look forward to seeing all the people who come out to the farm,” said Shelly, who heads Lehner’s Pumpkin Farm with her daughter-in-law, Christy. “Honestly, it’s like a big family. We have people who come back year after year. They started out bringing their own kids, and now they bring their grandchildren. I’m grateful that we have such a loyal following.”
Shelly said that she tries to add something new to Lehner’s Pumpkin Farm each year. A couple of years ago, for example, they added an old-time school house. This year, they enhanced the experience by including a cute, but very stern schoolmarm. I’ve met her. Trust me, don’t cross her if you venture into the school house. And don’t get caught chewing gum.
The new attraction for this year is a 200-foot tubing hill, which needs no snow, which is good, because it’s October in Central Ohio.
Shelly’s daughter, Sheryl, and her husband Matt Williams, smoke all the beef and pork at the on-site restaurant. Try Aunt Piggy’s Nachos, but not if you’re on a diet. There also are lemon shake-ups, kettle corn, Woo Doggy’s hot dog stand, fries, and a bunch of other stuff. Just look around, you’ll find something you like. You won’t go hungry, I promise.
Shelly also operates an expansive gift shop at Lehner’s with lots of fall and farm gifts.
If you want a private setting amid the fun, you can reserve a fire pit and a picnic table. There are several packages available for birthday parties. Along with her other duties, Christy hosts the farm’s birthday parties, which can be reserved on the website. The birthday parties can be held outside or at the Homestead of Radnor banquet facility next to the farm. After the ice cream and cake, the kids can continue the party at the pumpkin farm.
The banquet facility is available year-round for banquets, wedding receptions, graduation partiesand, you know, anything else you might want a banquet facility for.
“It’s a lot of work, but as soon as we close for one season, I start looking forward to the next,” Shelly said. “It’s exhausting, but so rewarding. It’s so much fun to see old friends and watch everyone have a good time.”
Group events and school tours also are available.
Lehner’s Pumpkin Farm is located at 2920 Ohio Rt. 203 in Radnor. The farm is open through Oct. 31. For hours, reservations, tickets, or information on the birthday parties, visit www.lehnerpumpkins.com.
