2010's Best Kids' Spot: The Farm

The Farm’s Popularity Passed on from Generation to Generation

Story by Heather Steinberger

Like many other Door County transplants, I’m a former summer kid who now makes the peninsula my year-round home. The memories I made and the experiences I had during long-ago family vacations forged such a powerful connection, that when I decided to leave a corporate magazine job eight years ago, I knew there was only one place I wanted to live, work, and raise my family.

I remember learning to ride at the old stable behind the Alpine Resort in Egg Harbor. I remember screaming my way out the door at Thumb Fun’s Haunted Mansion. And I remember milking a goat, cuddling the kittens and feeding corn to the cows at The Farm.

The Alpine horseback-riding stable has been used for storage for years, and condos now occupy the amusement park’s hallowed ground. But The Farm remains.

And it’s more popular than ever. That explains why The Farm was selected the “Best Kids’ Spot” in the 2010 Door County Magazine Best of Door County balloting.

Located along Highway 57 in the town of Sevastopol, The Farm once was part of the first commercial orchard in Wisconsin. Swiss immigrant Joseph Zettel arrived in Door County in 1856 and planted fruit trees in 1862. A century later, a 40-acre piece of that land came to the attention of a distinctive group of friends: Carl and Ruth Scholz, Orv and Sal Schopf, George and Margaret Evenson and Ralph and Arbutus Roth.

“It was still part of the Zettel estate, and it was a beautiful 40,” Carl Scholz remembers. “18 acres were clear, and 22 were wooded. It was critical to our success.”

The friends had a vision. With their newly purchased property, they planned to create a living museum.

“I had written up quite a few pages with everything that should be included,” Scholz explained. “It was always my dream to have something here in Door County dedicated to preserving and showcasing agriculture and rural America. Our agricultural heritage is the fiber and fabric of this country.”

The owners built the barn and stable in 1966, and The Farm opened that summer. Two of the couples didn’t stay involved for long; eventually, Carl and Ruth Scholz bought out the Schopfs and continued as The Farm’s sole owners.

Scholz, who grew up near the hamlet of Waubeka in rural Ozaukee County, has dedicated much of his life to conservation.

“I was a vocational agriculture teacher, and my heart was always in rural America,” he said.

He discovered his calling early in life, manning the Conservation Department — now the Department of Natural Resources — booth at the Wisconsin State Fair when he was just 12 years old. After moving to Door County in 1951, he became involved in conservation at many levels. Scholz served on The Ridges board for 35 years, 15 as president. He was president of the Natural Beauty Council, which later became the Door County Environmental Council; and he served as a board member for the offshoot, Door County Land Trust. Recently, the Lakeshore Natural Resources Partnership named him the 2010 Champion of Champions award winner for water resources protection.

But his name will be forever linked with The Farm, which has become perhaps his greatest legacy. And that legacy is of utmost concern to David Tanck. Together with his brother, Jeff, he purchased The Farm from Carl and Ruth Scholz in 2002.

“It’s a high thing to aspire to, that legacy,” Tanck says thoughtfully. “Carl is such a conservationist and ecologist, a real champion of causes. Plus, The Farm really was a labor of love… we value that here.”

Tanck comes from a Door County family. His father, Elmer, is from Jacksonport. His mother, Shirley, and her many siblings grew up on a Carlsville dairy farm.

“While I was in school, I milked for other farmers,” he said. “My junior year, I started working at The Farm as a farmyard worker — milking, feeding, cleaning pens. I did that for six summers.”

Tanck eventually left the peninsula, going on to pursue a career in nursing home administration. After working in Michigan for 10 years, he returned to Wisconsin, got married and took a position with Wisconsin Lutheran Child & Family Services.

“I had just gotten married, I had a new job, and right after my honeymoon, Carl called,” Tanck remembers. “He said, ‘Dave, it’s time. I want you to have The Farm.’”

“There’s not another family in the world that could operate The Farm,” Scholz declared. “They’re hard workers. They have rural America in their heart.”

And The Farm is indeed a family operation. Tanck travels from his Cedarburg home on in-season weekends. His parents and brother help out, as do members of their large extended family.

“My mom worked for the hospital for many years; now she enjoys helping my wife (Jenny) with the people, with the gift shop,” Tanck said. “My dad was a plumber and shipyard pipefitter; he fixes what I break, like most dads can! My brother cares for the herd and manages our herd health program.”

“Even today, my Uncle Steve was here loading animals at 5 a.m.,” he added. “My Aunt Mary’s in the gift shop. We have a lot of helping hands, which is such a blessing! It’s as a family farm should be; it allows us to stay together, and as a family, we make it work.”

Visitors may even spot Carl Scholz as he tends the garden or assists with other odd jobs. He’s still very much a part of The Farm.

“I help with the gardening, signage, whatever else they need,” he said. With a chuckle, he added, “That was part of the deal — I’ve got to help out for at least 20 years!”

Other than a new horse stable and an extended season that lasts until Fall Fest weekend, The Farm hasn’t changed much since Scholz and his friends brought their original vision to life more than 44 years ago. Families still enjoy interacting with the animals, which include goats, sheep, pigs, cattle, ducks, geese, chickens, rabbits, a miniature draft horse, a donkey and of course, the ubiquitous cats. Kids can sit on an antique tractor and try milking a goat. Trails wind through the woods and into a restored postage-stamp prairie.

Machine sheds showcase antique farm equipment, the 1854 nature cabin highlights the area’s unique geography, geology, flora and fauna, and chicks hatch in an incubator. Visitors marvel at a lime kiln, a maple sugar shack and a variety of additional historic buildings — including the 1856 Bassford House, the first European-built structure in Sevastopol.

“We could do more, but we’re careful not too change too much too quickly,” Tanck stressed. “We have to fully embrace what we have and protect our identity, because this is a pretty special place.”

These days, The Farm welcomes more than 50,000 people each year. Even the recession hasn’t dampened attendance.

“The Farm is an institution, a place where people come back year after year, generation after generation,” Tanck said.

There does seem to be something extraordinary about the place. In the interest of full disclosure, I’m one of The Farm’s newer season-pass holders, and my first trip with my daughter was an oddly emotional experience. It also was an educational one, as I found myself marveling at the exhibits, while she — as I and my sister once did — reveled in her new animal companions and unfettered farmyard freedom. Since then, we’ve returned many times.

The Farm’s timeless appeal makes sense to both Scholz and Tanck.

“In life, we overcomplicate things, but The Farm is relatively simple,” Tanck reflects. “If we lose sight of our past, it’s hard to move forward. People reconnect with the past here.”

“There was a day when everyone was close to the land,” Scholz said. “It’s part of who we are.”