Helgoth's Pumpkin Patch, Courtesy
SAINT LIBORY — Three generations of farmers have been growing produce and farming near St. Libory. That down-home, family-run tradition continues through Helgoth’s Pumpkin Patch every October.
The pumpkin patch southwest of St. Libory and north of Grand Island has its roots in Helgoth Produce.
The Helgoth family has been growing watermelons for 70 years and branched out to include vegetables, sweet corn, etc.
The family has run a stand on Highway 281 by St. Libory for generations, been a presence at the Grand Island Farmers Market for nearly 40 years and operate stands in Lincoln, Hastings and David City.
“I guess its in my blood,” Chuck Helgoth said, “I love to raise the stuff…I couldn’t wait till spring came around to start raising stuff. I guess that is the way I am.”
As summer gives way to fall, the Helgoths have another commodity available at their stands – pumpkins.
It was Chuck’s mother who began having busloads of children taken out to the pumpkin patch in the late 1970s.
Shelly Helgoth married into the family in 1987 and has helped to continue the tradition.
Since pumpkins had been grown at the farm for years, the fact they were sold to locations in eastern Nebraska and that kids had been picking their own pumpkins at the farm, it all lead to one conclusion.
In 2000, Shelly decided to open Helgoth’s Pumpkin Patch.
“I always wanted to do it,” Shelly said, “So people would have something to do with their families, to make memories, to have fun, to bring the kids out, bring them out to the country.”
She said the patch is a great way to show kids where their food comes from, that it must be grown from the dirt before it winds up on the shelf at the grocery store.
When asked about how the pumpkin patch has changed from 2000 to 2023, Shelly laughed and said, “It’s grown a lot.”
From one bounce house, the entire patch has transformed into “a whole show,” Shelly said.
Activities now include balloon bounces, a petting zoo, a trike track, a tractor-train ride where kids can ride in barrels, zip lines, a haunted town, concession stands, corn maze, 150-foot mega slide, pony rides, etc.
The staple of the entire experience is still the hayrack ride out to the pumpkin patch, said Shelly.
Helgoth’s features 35 acres of pumpkins, 30 acres of entertainment and a five-acre corn maze. Shelly said the patch has grown from a small area to what it is today.
In addition, the property is still a working farm and they harvest 320 acres of row crops.
Shelly said there are people who visited the pumpkin patch in the early 2000s who are now grown and bring their own children.
When asked why the family has continued to operate the pumpkin patch over two decades, Shelly said “Its what we do…Its what we are known for.”
And at the end of the day, “pumpkins make people smile,” said Shelly.
Helgoth’s Pumpkin Patch is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 29 and closed on Oct. 31.
It is located at 121 Eagle Road St. Libory, Nebraska 68872
The patch is open Fridays from 10 a.m. – 7 p.m., admission is $8; Saturdays 10 a.m. – 7 p.m., admission is $11 and Sundays 11 a.m. – 7 p.m., admission is $11. Children two and under enter for free.
