The Brandt Family-- James and Kathy, along with
daughters Julia, Jayne and Jordan-- all take part in the
family business. "What we really relish about the
pumpkins is that everyone seems to be really happy in
a pumpkin patch," says Kathy.
They purposefully
keep the price of
their carvers low—
only $3-- so as many
local kids can experience the fun of the
pumpkin patch. "We
enjoy it and we love
seeing people enjoy
it as well," says
Kathy, who organizes tours for
preschools and a
few elementary
schools throughout
the month. She
teaches about the
life-cycle of the
pumpkin in addition
to letting kids pick
the perfect form for
a jack-o'-lantern.
The patch offers
more than carvers,
however, and the
selection comes with
names as fun as the
shapes: squat
Cinderella's are a
deep orange and
great for cooking;
Speckled Swans are
a green gourd that look like birds; Polar Bears and
New Moons are big and white while Long Island
Cheese, also good for cooking, looks like a block of
cheese.
October, 2013, Tehama - the Magazine
19
