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GTPulse: Halloween Themed Old Mission Farm Throws Community Party Every October

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Old Mission is full of beautiful farms and vineyards but one in particular always catches my eye. The Bewitched Farm sign is lettered in intentionally spooky looking text with sharp peaks, and has decorative spiderwebs nestled into its corners. I’ve been driving past the sign for a couple of months now and finally was able to see Halloween themed farm for myself this past Saturday.

Bewitched Farm is owned by Martha and Roger Myers. Although retired now, Roger spent his career as a dentist and is a proud University of Michigan alum. The couple have been married 53 years.

“We were high school sweethearts,” Martha said smiling.

The couple bought the property 15 years ago when it was being sold by the neighboring catholic church. 

“It took about a year and a half to re-do the house and the old barn” Roger said. The historical barn and home went up for auction and the couple won the bid by only $64.

“My mother said always make an odd bid” Martha said.

The couple had lived down the road on Old Mission previously but had wanted a farm, and when their son saw one for sale while driving on Old Mission, he told them he had found the perfect place. St. Joseph Catholic Church had a farm for sale.

“They owned this and used it for nuns living here, and religious ed” Martha said.

But this farm was meant for Martha and Roger. Martha’s birthday is on Halloween which inspired the Halloween theme of the farm. The cemetery on the same land owned by the church was dedicated in 1898 on Halloween, and the coincidences don’t stop there.

“When the guys were out there in the the barn they found a penny and it had my birthday on it,” Martha said. “This is meant to be.”

With Martha’s birthday being on Halloween, and all of the Halloween history that surrounds the property, it was only natural to name the farms Bewitched Farms and decorate it to match. The Myers home isn’t Halloween themed, however the renovated barn is.

Martha took me to the barn and it is broken up into two separate areas. Upon first walking in there is a long room that looks like a Halloween specialty store. Martha has arranged all of her decorations in an eye-catching and charming way. Past the decorated room is a set of stairs that leads up to the barn, and the barn is breathtaking. String lights wrap around the ceiling beams along with family last name Myers spelled between the upstairs barn lofts. Martha has a dining table and chairs as well as a cozy sitting area around a fireplace in the barn. Different sized mirrors decorate the walls and there’s even a stage.

“My grandchildren used to put on plays and they would perform on this stage and charge us money to come sit in here and watch them,” Martha said with a laugh.

The barn is welcoming and for good reason too. Not only does the Myers family enjoy the barn, the community does as well. Every year Martha and Roger throw a big birthday and Halloween party and invite the whole community. Trick or treaters stop by with their parents, friends, family and many other locals all come to enjoy the party.

The Myers open the barn doors to the community and have been doing so for a few years now.

“The first year no one really came,” Martha said. “Roger and I were just in there and he was reading. The second year we had about five people. It’s just been growing every year.”

They do the party up right. Martha and Roger’s daughter cooks a bunch of food and they also buy cider and doughnuts from a local cider mill. Right now there is even an ad for the birthday party.

“Actually the magazine Gather has an ad in it for the birthday party,” Martha said handing me a folded back magazine. “It’s like… oh my word. My daughter does all this cooking for it and she keeps saying ‘don’t worry about it mom.’ But, the whole peninsula has been invited, plus everyone that we see we tell to come!”

The party will serve homemade special recipe sloppy joes with as many different toppings to put on that you can imagine as well as chips and hot dogs.

Why invite an entire community to a birthday party?

“We like to share this place and what we’ve done here because we love it,” Roger said. “It makes us smile and we think it will make other people smile.”

If you find yourself taking little ones out on Old Mission on Halloween, or if you’re in the market for buying some squash or pumpkins, be charmed, beguiled and bewitched at Bewitched Farms this Halloween, and don’t forget to wish Martha a happy birthday.

 

 

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