By Kris Leonhardt

WISCONSIN RAPIDS – A local farm continues a tradition of celebrating the fall harvest with its annual event, held Sept. 22 – Oct. 31.

Nat Reinke said that while it has grown into a vehicle to entertain and educate, the original idea behind her son, Greg’s purchase of the facilities was to maintain and preserve a working farm.

“Greg came back from college and was looking for a place that he could call his own, and he had hunted off the back of the property many, many years ago and knew all about the farm,” she said. “So, we found out that it was going to be sold for a cranberry marsh, so all of the neighbors got together and ran petitions, and we got it changed so Greg could put in a bid. He got the bid, and he bought the farm. This is his since 1992.

Greg Reinke holds one of the farm’s resident entertainers. Rapids City Times staff photo

“So, I told him, ‘I bought onions and tomatoes and eggs from there. I can show you how to make this place pay for itself.’ I think that I got him farther in debt all of the way along – with all of the things we’ve done to improve it and to save it.”

Reinke said that the farm once belonged to Gerald Dolajeck and had been known as the “Dolajeck Farm,” and was built in the early 1940s.

Today, the farm has grown into an educational center that hosts a yearly six-week event to celebrate the harvest season.

“We’ve started in little by little, and we’ve created this monster,” Nat laughed.

“It’s a celebration of the harvest, is basically what it is. Working on sand land is not easy, just as it isn’t on your heavy soil”

Nat and Greg, along with their team, have been working since April to bring this year’s event to fruition. It’s a labor of love that they have produced since 1992, with the exception of a few off years.

“We stopped a couple of years,” Greg explained. “Mom broke her arm one time – fell over some plastic tarps.”

Last year, Greg fell ill with Rocky Spotted Fever last year and the event was presented in a smaller scale.

This year, the event is back in full force with a complete schedule of activities and offerings.

The celebration will be held at Reinke’s Down on the Farm, 1011 48^th Street South, Wisconsin Rapids, beginning Sept. 22 and running through Halloween. For more information, visit www.reinkesdownonthe farm.com, find them on Facebook, or call 715-423-7663.