Over the past year many people have shared their stories with me. One of those was Millicent Hoffner, who told me about her life-changing experience as a result of depression. She said not only were prayers, hard work and wonderful doctors a part of her recovery, but also her job at Patterson Farm. She’s grateful to her friend, Michelle Patterson, for giving her the opportunity to work. Millicent has many different responsibilities at the farm, but one of her favorites is working with the school tours.
Millicent has the gift of making people laugh, and she also likes to sing. Those two attributes come in handy when entertaining large groups of children. She is quite the storyteller, and if any of you follow her on Facebook, you probably know about Frosty.
Frosty is a goat who makes his home at Patterson Farm. He was abandoned by his mother but now flourishes because of the special care and attention he gets from everyone. In other words, he’s spoiled rotten. He’s so famous he even had his own interview on Fox News Rising with Jon Wilson. Millicent faithfully updates Frosty’s adventures and often will finish with the line, “That Frosty.”
Recently Millicent, Julie Poteat and Ellen Simmons stopped by my house for a visit. Julie and Ellen live in the Mt. Ulla community and also work at Patterson Farm. They enjoy the school tours and are amazed at the questions they are asked. “Which cow gives more milk, the girl or the boy cow?” “Do brown cows give chocolate milk and white cows give white milk?” “Will you get more milk if you pull harder?”
Not only are they amused at the questions, but they’re amused at some of the answers as well.
One day Michelle Patterson asked, “What does the cow say?” A little boy promptly answered, “Eat more chicken.” At that point, Michelle knew there was a need for Discovery Farm.
Discovery Farm was developed two years ago to give children a hands-on experience through exploring different learning stations. An example of this hands-on learning came from a little boy walking through the barn who said, “ I can’t believe I’m smelling manure.”
The Discovery Farm helps children make connections with their food, such as understanding that french fries come from potatoes. Children even get to explore a honeybee colony to make the connection about honeybees and honey. Millicent couldn’t help but laugh one day when she was explaining about the queen, the workers and the drone bees. She innocently said, “The drone bees hang out with the queen.” At that point, a little boy politely asked, “Are you saying men are lazy?”
Another funny incident happened when Millicent was explaining to a group of children that the queen was often hard to spot. A little girl in that group insisted she saw her and squealed, “ I see her. She’s the one wearing a crown.”
Even senior groups and special needs children enjoy the hands-on experience. The seniors like to come and reminisce about the old days, eat ice cream and ride in the wagon. Although the special needs children enjoy eating the ice cream and riding in the wagon, their favorite thing to do is touch and interact with the animals.
If you’re ever feeling sad, take a trip down Highway 150 and stop at Patterson Farm. It’s for sure you won’t feel sad for long. The other day I heard a lady on television say, “You don’t go to the mall to restore your soul, you go outdoors.” I would say, “You don’t go to the mall to restore your soul, you go to a farm.”
Just ask Frosty. The farm gave him a second chance at life. Then again, ask Millicent. The farm also gave her another chance at life. Patterson Farm will reopen next spring, and by then you might find Frosty nosing around the fragrant flowers or eating leaves off some low-hanging tree. He’ll probably be so excited you came for a visit he’ll stop eating long enough to plant a big kiss on you. That Frosty!
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Dicy McCullough’s second book, “Tired of School,” is available on amazon.com, dicymcculloughbooks.com and at local bookstores. Contact her at 704-278-4377.