Pumpkins are a fall-time favorite for decorating, carving and eating. Pumpkin patches offer a fun activity for families and often supplemental income for growers. 

A pumpkin patch near Yankton, S.D., has a different mission that directly benefits veterans and their families. The patch neighbors the Missouri River, bisecting the communities in and around southeast South Dakota and northeast Nebraska. 

“We started in 2015, when a friend and local farmer asked if we would like to raise pumpkins and use the money to help veterans,” says retired Staff Sgt. Shane Wieseler of rural Crofton, Neb. “At this time, I was still in the South Dakota National Guard, so I had asked some friends in the unit if they would like to help. They all said they could help out in some way.”

AN IDEA IS BORN: Veterans Shane Wiesler (left) and Craig Steffen stand in the pumpkin patch they work in to help raise funds for other South Dakota military families.

Wieseler served with the Bravo Battery, 1st Battalion, 147th Field Artillery. He retired in December 2020 after over 20 years of active service.

Getting started

“The first year was a little rough because we were trying to sell the pumpkins according to size,” Wieseler says. “So the following year, we decided to just do free-will donation, and that worked so much better. The first couple of years, our main volunteers were Jim and Stephanie Reinhardt, Les and Julie Kirchner, Steve Achen, Stacy Barta, Craig and Crystal Steffen, Jed and Ashley Burbach, and my wife, Wendy Wieseler, and me.”

Wiesler says a majority of the funds go to military families who have lost a spouse deployed in their unit. “The first year, we donated to a kid that I deployed with who was killed in a motorcycle crash,” he says.

“And so we gave the gift to his family, wife and four kids. She was like, ‘I didn’t know how I was going to buy Christmas presents.’ We kind of go by people we’ve been in the military with that are in need.”

The following year, donations went to Chris Kuehler’s family. “He was a heck of a guy,” Wiesler says.

Kuehler, a fellow Bravo in the 147th, died in 2017 from melanoma. Many of his unit members attended the funeral in Hill City, S.D., which included full military honors, the presentation of a U.S. flag and a detail of uniformed military personnel. 

“We’ve donated to the local VFW [Veterans of Foreign Wars], the American Legion and to members of our unit that have children with complications,” Wieseler says. “We’ve also donated to local police forces, and to the Norfolk Veterans Home, located in Norfolk, Nebraska.”

Family and volunteers help whenever possible in the patch. “The wives, children and girlfriends of our military members play an instrumental role in our success,” Wiesler says. “They do all of our advertising by making flyers to hang in local businesses, and announcing dates and hours on social media. While some of us were deployed in 2019 and away from home, they ran the entire patch themselves.” 

Farmer donates land

The patch consists of 2 irrigated acres, with 11 rows and 100 hills in each row for a total of 1,100 hills. Each hill produces at least 10 pumpkins, equating to roughly 10,000 pumpkins of different varieties each season.

FIELD OF DREAMS: The patch, located just outside of Yankton, S.D., was donated and is still cared for by a farmer in Cedar County, Neb., who wishes to remain anonymous.

The patch is meticulously tended and cared for by a Cedar County, Neb., farmer who donated the land, irrigation and seed for the cause, wanting no credit in return.   

“Thanks to the kindness of a local guy, we’re able to offer families a place to pick their own pumpkins and give a free-will donation, knowing their dollars will help someone that served their country,” Wieseler says. “But I’d also like to thank everyone who has purchased pumpkins through the years to make what we do a success.” 

During the first week of June, Yankton’s football team, the Bucks, along with coach Brady Muth and assistant coach Dan Cwach, assisted with pumpkin planting.

“The last couple of years, the Yankton football team has been a huge help,” Wieseler says. “They have been sending quite a few players to help us do the planting. They also come over on our last weekend and pick whatever pumpkins are left and then distribute them in the Yankton school district.”

“We make sure every kindergarten through third grade student gets a pumpkin,” Cwach says. “If any are left, we use them as a fundraiser. This benefits the team and community by making sure all the young students get a pumpkin for Halloween, and gives them a chance to meet and interact with the Buck football players they get to cheer for on Friday nights.”

Pick your pumpkin time

To visit the patch this fall, drive 1 mile south of Yankton, on Highway 81, just over the Discovery Bridge. Then travel 1.5 miles west on Nebraska Highway 121. A U.S. flag marks the entrance.

From the highway, the community watches the field go from green to orange as the season advances.

FAMILY AFFAIR: The patch serves as a place for local families to come together each fall, enjoy time together, and donate to a greater purpose in their home town.

“We start selling pumpkins the first three weekends of October,” Wieseler says. “Depending on the schedules of the volunteers, we will do half day on Friday and all day on Saturday and Sunday the first weekend. The second weekend is Saturday and Sunday all day. The last weekend for the public is Saturday and half day on Sunday.” 

“All us military guys have since retired out of the South Dakota National Guard,” Wieseler says. “Only a couple of us continue to work the patch. I still work when possible, so I am giving back to veterans or the public who have supported our unit throughout the multiple deployments that we have gone on.

“I know that there are thousands of veterans in need. I know I won’t be able to help everyone. But if I can help one a year, I feel it will be a success.”