Young’uns
and guests of all ages visit the Yee Haw Adventure Farm looking fer
vittles, gold, punkins and fun. And Ma and Billy Bob Walker don’t
disappoint.
The Walkers, also known as Florence and Todd, decided to open give
their entertainment farm a “hillbilly” theme – based
on one of Florence’s favorite shows, “The Beverly Hillbillies.”
“We made a crazy show involving eccentric characters,”
Florence said. “Both him (Todd) and I are pretty outgoing as
far as not being afraid of acting silly.”
It all started about five years ago when Todd received a phone call
from his uncle who wanted to sell his Cambridge, Ontario, farm to
a family member. So, Florence and Todd decided to go take a look at.
“It was a ramshackle old house,” Florence said. “It
(the farm) was beautiful, but the buildings were falling apart. They
didn’t give it any value. The barn – the back end was
falling down. It had a lot of old farming feel to it.”
So, they decided to buy it and see what they could do. As they were
cleaning out the barn, the kept coming across old wood and other old
farm items.
“I wanted to get rid of it, it was so unsightly, but Todd was
convinced it had historic significance,” Florence said. “The
things we were finding were just hysterical. The things we kept were
so fun and slanting toward a theme of hillbilly.”
They kept saying to themselves that if they ever fixed up the barn,
they could hang up those old items and people could look at them.
“It was just a matter of we should just do something with it,”
Florence said. “If we ever did this, we’d get really into
this and have a really hillbilly country moment. When did we look
at each other and say we should do this? We were just in the barn
one day.”
Today, five years later, their farm is decked out in all its hillbilly
glory and continues to grow. And the theme doesn’t just stop
at the farm – Florence, Todd and all their children have their
own parts to play, complete with costume and obligatory Southern accent.
“When the guests arrive, we try to make the guests feel like
we were expecting them – ‘Where ya been? Dinner’s
supposed to be at 4,’” Florence said.
But don’t expect to see a bubblin’ crude – oil that
is. The Walker’s haven’t struck oil, but they have struck
on another idea that works well: give the customers an experience
so unique that they can’t help but come back again and again.
In fact, Florence said she noticed one man who came back three times.
“He paid full admission three times because he just couldn’t
believe it,” she said. “It’s a great experience.”
But what exactly is it that the Walkers offer? Between cow patty bingo,
pig races, a corn maze, a Hillbilly Slider and a Barn Gone Bad, there
isn’t much that their guests can’t find.
Cow patty bingo has been a particularly interesting hit – something
that might not fly at all farms, but because their theme is one that
isn’t “sophisticated,” as Florence said, they can
get away with it. But their first time out, the cow wasn’t cooperating
so they started bringing out other animals to participate. Visitors
purchase a card and try to be the winner once the animal does its
business. But it isn’t all as easy as it might sound: “Do
you count just the solids, or the liquids,” Florence said.
“It was so funny – someone asked me, ‘when do you
think the cow patty game will be over?’ Well honey, you must
be from the city,” Florence said.
Their guests are mainly young families, but the variety of events
helps them hit a wide audience.
“Teenagers are leery of going to a family farm,” Florence
said. “We get lots of young families. The thing is, it’s
fun. It’s a day outside. You can watch the pig races. You can
go into a beautiful Ontario barn. You can go on the hayrides. There’s
lots to do.”
They keep adding on to the hillbilly experience as they go on. For
this year, guests can look forward to one more addition to the farm:
authentic outhouses. And they’ll also be adding one signature
food item to their concessions – which are currently handled
by an outside group. But, as far as what that item is, the Walkers
aren’t quite ready to share.
“We’re going to come up with a neat kiosk and neat name
for it that’s kind of funky,” Florence said. “I’m
really excited about this; it’s going to be fun.”
As far as what else the future holds for those at the Yee Haw Adventure
Farm, time may only tell.
“We’re excited about the future,” Florence said.
“We think agritourism is a wonderful way to show off our beautiful
farms and country life. It’s a safe place to be, and we definitely
want to create that coming home experience…it’s all here;
we’ve just got to decide where to stop.
“Y’all come back now, and make sure you can stay for supper,”
Florence said, as she does every time they close a show.
