Couple picks David Letterman as design for this year's corn maze

McMaze helps raise money for Ronald McDonald House

Letterman wanted Hoosier support, but he might find this a little "corny."

McMaze Indiana 2003 at Dougherty Orchards in Cambridge City has transformed an 11-acre corn field into a 675-foot long picture maze of David Letterman.

"He wanted a street in Indianapolis," Priscilla Sherry, a worker at Dougherty Orchards, said. "We just gave him a cornfield instead."

McMaze is working with McDonald's and Harvest Land Co-Op to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House.

The cost is $4 for children 12 and under and $5 for adults. The maze is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.

In 1997, the first maze at Dougherty Orchards was "Crossroads of America" It was plowed in the shape of Indiana on the outside of the 7.5 acre maze.

"My wife and son do most of it," Sandy Dougherty, the orchards' owner, said.

In years past, the Doughertys have created mazes featuring a number of Hoosier-pride symbols, including an ear of corn, Larry Bird, Peyton Manning, the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument and the state quarter.

"A boy from nearby Centerville designed the state quarter, so my wife decided to do that," Dougherty said.

Unlike previous years, Tyler Dougherty, a junior from Hagarstown High School, designed the maze and helped set it up in the field.

Along with the corn maze, the Dougherty family also used to run a haunted maze.

"I went with my volleyball team as a bonding experience last volleyball season," freshman Megan Johnson said. "I really enjoyed it. The best part was the special effects and the thrill of not knowing what was around the next turn."

This year, they decided not to do the haunted maze because of other engagements.

"I think it's a loss for the community," Johnson said. "It was fun for everyone. People are going to miss it a lot."

Not only do the owners design the maze to represent the Hoosier state, but they also post inside the maze signs that have information about different parts of Indiana.

"This year we have different facts about people, like the guy who invented the rollerskate," Dougherty said.

Dougherty Orchards are also the oldest orchards in Indiana and are the only local orchards to have fruit sold in Marsh Supermarkets.


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