He may be only 15 years old, but I guarantee Peter Parson’s career
path is cooler than yours. The sophomore at Central Catholic has been
farming berries for most of his life on his family’s farm, he recently
joined the Sauvie Island Fire Department, and on fall weekends, he
serves as a “Corn Cop” at the giant corn maze at the Pumpkin Patch.
Pete was raised on Sauvie Island, the youngest of the four
legendarily handsome Parson brothers. The eldest, David, started
working at the maze when he was 15, and John, Paul, and Peter followed
suit. This year’s maze, designed by Pumpkin Patch owner Craig Easterly,
is in the shape of a giant old-fashioned bicycle that covers six acres
of cornfield—a detail that will be lost on most maze-goers unless
they get a chance to fly over it. Pete spent August constructing
throughways and dead-ends, and from Labor Day through Halloween, he’ll
help herd the crowds through the cornstalks. While some intrepid folks
master the maze in 20 minutes, others take hours. People have been
known to get thoroughly lost in the complicated labyrinth, but that’s
nothing to worry about as long as you’ve got warm clothes, good
conversation, and Corn Cop Peter Parson to the rescue.
How long have you been building corn mazes?
Maybe five years? My brother Paul and I started very young, nine or
10. They called us “the children of the corn.”
How is a corn maze built?
My boss Craig designs the maze and marks everything off with blue
dye and flags. We cut down all the corn in early August. By late August
we’re raking out the path so it’s smooth and putting up netting so
people can’t charge through the corn and ruin it.
What do you use to hack down the corn?
A machete.
How many hours a day are you out there, swashbuckling
corn?
I worked about 8 am to 11 am in August. Now on the weekends, I work
at the Pumpkin Patch from 10 am ’til 4 pm. I run a balloon slide, work
at the corn maze, and closer to Halloween I’m a haunter.
What does haunting involve?
Basically I just put on the scariest mask I can find and jump out of
the corner at you.
Do you ever get lost in there?
No. I have it memorized.