Orange City, Iowa — A fun place for kids, a place to get fall decor, and a place to try out an annual corn maze looks like it will not be open this fall, and has quite possibly been open for the final season.
Dave and Helen Huitink run Pumpkinland for 28 years. Dave Huitink passed away last year and with the help of family and many others, Helen was at the helm for the last time this past fall, for a total of 29 years.
In the interest of keeping people up-to-date with what’s going on, Helen Huitink is advising people that they will not be running Pumpkinland this fall.
Huitink says many thanks go out to everyone who made last year possible.
She says, “It breaks my heart to make this announcement, but Pumpkinland will not be re-opening this fall.” She says she feels it would be extremely difficult to go on another year running the facility without her husband, who she calls, “my life partner and best friend.”
Huitink goes on to suggest that last fall may have been their final year anyway, as she says it was her husband’s desire to retire from Pumpkinland by the time he reached 70, and this summer he would have turned 70.
Huitink says, “I have spent endless hours in prayer and struggled greatly, as this decision was not easy to make or made lightly in any way.”
We talked to Huitink, and she says no decisions have been made regarding the future or selling the property at this time — only that Pumpkinland will not be open this fall.
