SUNDERLAND — The infamous English pirate Blackbeard was killed in a bloody battle off the North Carolina coast in 1718.
Hundreds of miles north that same year, Sunderland was incorporated as a town and Warner Farm took shape. Now, the farm is also the home of Mike’s Maze, and the minds behind the crop-based adventure reached into a treasure trove of imagination to incorporate Blackbeard and his legacy into the maze’s design this year.
“We wanted to have a scene that was something that everyone could get excited about,” said Jess Wissemann, who with her husband, David, makes up the creative team at Mike’s Maze. “So we sailed Blackbeard up to Sunderland.”
The maze will be open at 23 South Main St. from Saturday to Nov. 4. General admission is $14, with reduced rates for students, senior citizens and children. Children under the age of 4 are free.
This year’s maze design, originally sketched by hand by Jess Wissemann, depicts Blackbeard sporting a pirate hat and a wild, flowing beard that turns into cresting waves carrying Queen Anne’s Revenge, Blackbeard’s ship. Above the ship, there is a scroll with an “X” marking a particular spot and, to lower right-hand side, a seashell. On the left side, there is a compass and “1718” carved in.
“It starts with a concept and sketch that I do. Instead of an elaborate maze, we like to make something that is very beautiful. We’re excited about the artistic side of it,” Jess Wissemann said. “We didn’t just want to throw ourselves a birthday party. We wanted to find a fun way to bring the history alive.”
She said she learned the 1718 death of Blackbeard (born Edward Teach or Edward Thatch) ushered in the end of what is known as the Golden Age of Piracy, which is often what is conjured up when people think of old-time criminals of the sea.
David Wissemann, who represents the 10th generation of his family to run farm since its founding, praised his wife’s artistic talent and vision.
“We could not do this without her and her natural ability (for) these things. It all starts out, usually, with her sketching something out by hand, scanning it into a computer and tweaking from there. She has a great design sense,” he said. “Pirates is one of those themes that we’ve never really tackled before.”
He said the design has already gotten positive feedback on social media.
Jess Wissemann said she worked on the Blackbeard concept for a couple of months, calling it a “creative struggle.” She said the design must be plowed when the corn is roughly hip height and “this year we were right up to the wire.”
There will also be an 18-question piracy-themed trivia game for adults and activities for children. Jess Wissemann said kids will be able to search for treasure scattered throughout the 8-acre maze, with riddles inside 11 treasure chests. She said any child who does well in the treasure search will earn a golden pumpkin from “Cap’n Mike’s chest.”
She said this area may have a tie to piracy, as she has heard uncorroborated stories about pirates being chased up the Connecticut River to Turners Falls before turning around and burying treasure on an island just past the Sunderland Bridge.
This will be the 19th annual corn maze at Warner Farm. Jess Wissemann said she took over design duties for artist Will Sillin, who crafted the first 15. She said the designs are carved into the cornfield by Rob Stouffer, of Precision Mazes in Lee’s Summit, Mo. She said Stouffer makes his living driving around the country creating corn mazes.
David Wissemann said Mike’s Maze can represent 30 to 40 percent of Warner Farm’s business each year.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 262.