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Michael and Maria Gallagher walk though their pumpkin patch Tuesday with children Aaron, 3, and Kaida, 4, at Holly View Acres north of Holly Springs, Iowa. The Gallaghers opened Holly View this fall, and it includes pumpkins, a 9-acre corn maze and other farm-themed fun.

Aaron Gallagher 3, carries a pumpkin as he and sister, Kaida, 4, and parents Michael and Maria Gallagher pick pumpkins Tuesday at Holly View Acres north of Holly Springs, Iowa. The Gallaghers opened Holly View Acres this fall, featuring a 9-acre corn maze and pumpkins for sale. It's open on Fridays and Saturdays.

HOLLY SPRINGS, Iowa — Few reminders of Holly Springs remain along Old Highway 141, and many younger motorists who pass by probably don't even realize there once was a small town here.

Owners Michael and Maria Gallagher talks about their corn maze and pumpkin patch during an interview Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022. The family opened Holly View to the public this season after previously creating corn mazes for themselves and friends. They added a pumpkin patch and other activities and are open on Friday and Saturdays until Oct. 29.

Michael and Maria Gallagher aren't ready for all memories of Holly Springs to fade away just yet.

On a hilltop less than a mile away, the couple launched Holly View Acres, a pumpkin patch and corn maze providing families with fall fun.

"We said we wanted to put Holly Springs back on the map," Michael said with a laugh. "I don't know if a pumpkin patch and corn maze will do that."

As word of mouth and social media spread news of the area's largest corn maze, visitors are pulling up maps, or consulting Holly View Acres' website or Facebook page, to find their way to the farm, located just north of the intersection of Old Highway 141 (Woodbury County Road D25) and Woodbury County Road K64, known to many as the Moville Blacktop. It's here the Gallaghers share with visitors their love of farm life, autumn -- and corn mazes.

"We love fall. It's our favorite," Maria said.

Michael and Maria Gallagher show off pumpkins and gourds at Holly View Acres, a family attraction that includes a pumpkin patch and 9-acre corn maze just north of Holly Springs, Iowa. The Gallaghers opened the business this fall, sharing their love of fall, farm life and corn mazes with visitors.

A Sioux Center, Iowa, native, Maria grew up going to corn mazes with friends and family at Pumpkinland in Orange City and another in Harrisburg, South Dakota. She met Michael while the two attended Dordt College (now Dordt University) and hooked him on finding his way through the tall corn, especially after dark by the glow of their flashlights.

Not that Michael needed much of a push to appreciate it. A graduate of Westwood High School in Sloan, he grew up on a farm about a mile down the road from Holly Springs. After spending five years as a banker in Sioux Center, he returned to his roots in 2018, joining his father, Dennis, in farming 2,500 acres of corn and soybeans.

With farmland at their fingertips, Michael and Maria indulged their love of corn mazes, growing a test maze on 2 acres a couple years ago. Once they moved to their new acreage last September, their plans for a bigger corn maze were seeded, aiming to add another outdoor family attraction in the area.

"I thought a corn maze to this extent was something that was missing," Michael said. "There's a lot of people who have been here who have never done a corn maze before."

With his corn planter's technology enabling him to start and stop the flow of seed into the soil from his tractor seat, Michael planted the farm-scene pattern into the 9-acre field this spring. Once the corn was knee-high, he used a skid loader with a tiller attachment to straighten and smooth the paths inside the maze.

Neither he nor Maria had ever grown pumpkins before, but that didn't stop them from hand-planting an acre of pumpkins and gourds, fed by an irrigation system Michael set up this summer as rain continually refused to fall on the area. Though conditions remained dry much of the growing season, the rich river-bottom soil retained enough moisture to ensure visitors wouldn't be able to peek over corn tassels to navigate their way through the maze.

The farm scene Michael Gallagher planted into a 9-acre corn maze at Holly View Acres stands out in a drove photo Michael took in July. Visitors can explore the maze on Fridays and Saturdays at Holly View Acres near Holly Springs, Iowa.

"I'm just glad the corn got as tall as it did," Michael said.

Prior to opening on Sept. 16, the Gallaghers added a corn kernel beach (think of a large sandbox filled with corn instead of sand), cornhole game boards and a farmland playground with straw bales, antique tractors and tractor tires for children to climb on. Visitors can buy pumpkins and pay admission to walk through the maze.

The maze isn't for everyone, but Michael said it's been fun to watch children run around, enjoying the open spaces. Some families seem to prefer just enjoying a sunset while eating at one of the picnic tables.

"If that's all we've done is give people a space to enjoy themselves, that's great," Michael said.

Open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays through Oct. 29, the hours coincide with harvest time, when Michael spends hours a day in a combine. With the help of friends and a couple friendly farm cats, Maria tackles much of the task of greeting visitors and answering questions, all while keeping track of the couple's three children, who are all under age 5.

They're not letting the challenge of starting a new business while raising a young family slow plans for next year.

"We've got lots of ideas for things we'd like to add," Maria said. "We've got plenty of room to grow."

A bumper crop of ideas to attract people to farmland fun.

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Hytrek has been at the Journal since 1998, covering courts for much of that time. He is a Nebraska native and University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate.

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Michael and Maria Gallagher walk though their pumpkin patch Tuesday with children Aaron, 3, and Kaida, 4, at Holly View Acres north of Holly Springs, Iowa. The Gallaghers opened Holly View this fall, and it includes pumpkins, a 9-acre corn maze and other farm-themed fun.

Aaron Gallagher 3, carries a pumpkin as he and sister, Kaida, 4, and parents Michael and Maria Gallagher pick pumpkins Tuesday at Holly View Acres north of Holly Springs, Iowa. The Gallaghers opened Holly View Acres this fall, featuring a 9-acre corn maze and pumpkins for sale. It's open on Fridays and Saturdays.

The farm scene Michael Gallagher planted into a 9-acre corn maze at Holly View Acres stands out in a drove photo Michael took in July. Visitors can explore the maze on Fridays and Saturdays at Holly View Acres near Holly Springs, Iowa.

Michael and Maria Gallagher show off pumpkins and gourds at Holly View Acres, a family attraction that includes a pumpkin patch and 9-acre corn maze just north of Holly Springs, Iowa. The Gallaghers opened the business this fall, sharing their love of fall, farm life and corn mazes with visitors.

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