Gamehaven is home to 15 varieties of cooking and carving pumpkins, gourds and squash. Photo by Anne Laughlin The Two Brothers Pumpkin Patch at Gamehaven Farm is located off Carnation Farm Road across the river from Camp Gilead. A farm that has been in the Schmoll family since 1950, this family-run operation is home to 15 varieties of pumpkins and gourds - everything you need for cooking and carving.

“You don’t see stems on pumpkins like this except straight from the farm,” said owner Susan Schmoll, pointing to an extra long stem on top of a pumpkin.

Her parents purchased the farm which had been a dairy since the late 1800’s. The family operated the dairy until the mid 1960’s when it became a multi-use farm with cattle raised for beef and nursery stock for sale.

The original wooden sign (see front page photo) still stands guard at the entrance to the giant pumpkin patch. A few years ago, the Schmolls lifted one of the posts and found a letter wrapped in a newspaper dated 1930. “It’s like a time capsule,” said Susan. The letter was written in ink and was smudged but the family intends to find someone who might be able to recover the text.

The scarecrow in this picture landed with feet in the air while searching for the perfect gourd. Photo by Anne Laughlin Susan enjoys sharing the history of the farm with people who come out to the farm for pumpkins or to see the barn and livestock. Open seven days a week, 9am to 6pm, people have the option of coming on a quiet day or on the weekend when the 4-acre patch is filled with people. Susan also gives scheduled tours during the week for groups, often preschoolers, who come for a pumpkin and to watch her feed the calves.

For Susan, husband J.J., and her family, the long hours and hard work are worthwhile. “A lot of people come up to us and say, ‘I was a little kid coming here before and now I’m bringing my own little child - thank you!’”

“The fact that people think to express their appreciation to us for what we do, providing the pumpkin patch and the experience, that’s amazing to me,” she said.

The family planted the pumpkin patch early this year but the cold weather was not easy. “The hot temperatures in fall helped ripen the pumpkins,” said Susan, explaining that the farm has had what they call “oh, no years” in the past. “There have been years when we’ve thought, ‘oh, no!’ The crop won’t be ready in time. This is not one of those years,” she smiled.

The Schmoll family not only takes the weather in stride, it has a sense of humor. The pumpkin patch is home to a variety of scarecrows, each with their own personality. In the center of one field is a scarecrow who has obviously tripped over a gourd and landed, feet in the air. It makes us all smile as we survey the farm.

Kristina Schmoll, Susan’s daughter-in-law, lives on the farm with her husband and two daughters, Chloe and Kenzie. The girls are eager to share what life on the farm is like. “It’s fun! And it can be messy!” they say, adding that they like to fish on the Snoqualmie River that runs along the edge of the farm.

“It’s also a lot of work,” added Kenzie.

“Kenzie peeled and prepared the entire Indian corn display this year,” said proud grandmother, Susan.

When the family is not harvesting pumpkins, it grows produce for markets and restaurants. It takes plenty of energy to grow, harvest and sell to the public. In summer, Susan often tends a produce stand off Highway 203 at the entrance to Carnation Farm Road.

In winter, they have a little more time on their hands but recent years of record floods have kept them busy.

“We just finished our farm pad,” said Susan, noting that the County had been helpful. “Our equipment is parked there and we can take livestock there.”

In 2009, during one of the most severe floods on record, the Schmoll’s cows were standing in water. Half of the calf crop was aborted due to stress.

“You look at it now and it’s beautiful,” said Susan looking up at the sky that was beginning to clear. “But we had three floods that wend just under the house last year. These floods are high all the time now and they didn’t use to be.”

Then Susan summed life on the farm: “This is a lot of hard work and it is also a lot of reward. The reward is when people come out to the farm, you have a beautiful day like today, and you have a great conversation with visitors.”

Gamehaven is located at 7110 310th Avenue NE or call 425-333-4313.