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Guest Column: Reflections on Leonard Shymoniak, the Citrus Heights Pumpkin Farmer

Leonard Roy Shymoniak, the founder of the Citrus Heights Pumpkin Farm, passed away on Nov. 13, 2017. // Image credit: PumpkinFarm.net

By Dr. Jayna Karpinski-Costa–
For those who never met or knew Leonard Shymoniak, the farmer who founded the Pumpkin Farm in Citrus Heights, let me relate a few memories and my thoughts about what a great person he was.

When my husband Ted and I first moved to Citrus Heights in 1991, we would see a lone, humble figure every Sunday in a pew at Holy Family Catholic Church on Old Auburn Road. Some months later, we met him at a church event and became casual friends.

Jayna Karpinski-Costa

When I served on the Citrus Heights City Council from 2004-2012, I judged for his annual scarecrow contest for several years, where entries received cash prizes for creativity and ingenuity which he felt should be rewarded.

He loved kids and animals. He drove his “farm train” in the annual parade and it was a familiar shuttle at Family Funday. He was proud of his Polish heritage and recruited me to join the Polish American Club in Roseville by paying my membership, unbeknownst to me (I’ve continued my membership every since!).

One year, there was a little black sheep in the kids’ petting area of the Pumpkin Farm and I mentioned my frail and ailing elderly neighbor who had a few white sheep and how I knew she would be cheered up with this cute little “nursery rhyme” black one when the season was done.

Related: Citrus Heights Pumpkin Farmer’s legacy lives on after his death

One day, there it was in the pasture! Leonard just drove down Bonita Way and put it there. That’s the kind of guy he was: humble, unpretentious, not needing fanfare, no chest thumping. A quiet, gentle giant, devout in all his beliefs and dedicated in all his commitments, who loved his community, children and animals.

To preserve the Pumpkin Farm is so like Leonard. He could have made tons of money subdividing the land into a hundred or more homes and rentals. Instead, his legacy is to serve his community! Rest in Peace, Leonard. I miss you.

Jayna Karpinski-Costa is a former Citrus Heights councilwoman and current president of the Sunrise Old Auburn Road neighborhood association.

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October 7, 2018
Citrus Heights Pumpkin Farmer’s legacy lives on after his death

File photo, farmer Leonard Shymoniak pulls visitors along for a hayride tour of the Pumpkin Farm in Citrus Heights on opening day in 2014.

Sentinel staff report–
The 14-acre Pumpkin Farm on Old Auburn Road opened for its 44th season on Tuesday, but for the first time without the memorable farmer who launched the local attraction in 1974. Leonard Shymoniak, the 76-year-old founder, passed away last November, but the farm he built will continue to be operated by his children and grandchildren.

“We’re obviously very sad that he’s not here,” said Yvonne Lowry, one of Shymoniak’s three children who continue to run the farm along with his 10 grandchildren. “We do miss him so much, so that part is hard.”

According to an obituary published in The Sacramento Bee, Shymoniak passed away on Nov. 13, 2017. He was born in Canada and moved to the Sacramento area in 1972, later buying the farm at 7736 Old Auburn Rd,. which soon opened to the public as The Pumpkin Farm.

“He saw a need to bring our community together, because there was nothing like a farm experience for kids,” his daughter told The Sentinel on Wednesday, noting her father’s strong religious background and desire to be a good citizen. “Each year he would see a new need and add a new attraction. He was very creative.”

The annual attraction has grown to draw more than 10,000 visitors each October for a month-long “farm experience,” annually featuring corn maze activities, farm animals, a 30-foot tower slide, haunted barn, hayrides and more.

“We are continuing the legacy because it’s important to him and the family, and it brings our family together because we all work together,” said Lowry, who indicated expansions of the farm in the future are a possibility.

Guest Column: Reflections on Leonard Shymoniak, the Citrus Heights Pumpkin Farmer

Asked whether the family’s recent purchase of an adjacent property with a run-down home at the corner of Old Auburn Road and Mariposa Avenue were part of a farm expansion, Lowry said that hasn’t been determined yet. She also said the family isn’t sure whether the home can be restored or will have to be demolished.

“It’d be a great haunted house,” she said with a smile. “But we’re not going to do that.”

The Pumpkin Farm is located at 7736 Old Auburn Rd. in Citrus Heights and is open Tuesday-Sunday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., through Oct. 31. The farm is closed Monday’s. More information is available on the Farm’s web site: pumpkinfarm.net

October 4, 2018
Annual Pumpkin Farm attraction in Citrus Heights to open Oct. 1

The Pumpkin Farm, located off Old Auburn Road in Citrus Heights, is open annually each October. // CH Sentinel

The 12-acre Pumpkin Farm on Old Auburn Road will open again this October for its month-long “farm experience,” annually featuring corn maze activities, farm animals, a 30-foot tower slide, and more.

The Pumpkin Farm is located at 7736 Old Auburn Rd. in Citrus Heights and will be open Tuesday-Sunday from Oct. 1-31. The farm is closed Monday’s to give the Shymoniak-family operators a “sanity break.”

According to a news release, 2017 marks the 43rd year the farm has been in operation, making it one of California’s oldest family-run pumpkin farms. The attraction draws over 10,000 visitors each October, with youth groups and school field trips accounting for the majority of visits.

Farm activities include weaving through tall corn stalks, learning about farm operations, petting goats, or picking out a pumpkin. Annual hayrides are also offered which take small groups on meandering tours throughout the Farm — and also on a journey back in history.

In the late 1800’s the Farm was reportedly used for harvesting oak wood, before becoming an orchard, and then an area for bee-keeping, raising turkeys and dairy. In 1974 the Farm merged into its current use as a pumpkin farm.

Although only open for a month each year, family operators say it takes about six months of work each year to prepare for the annual busy season, with corn being planted in late July and other activities and plantings needing several months to get ready. The Farm is primarily operated by 76-year-old “Farmer Leonard” and three of his children.

Hours of operation during the October season are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. As mornings are typically filled with school groups, farm operators recommend the general public come after 12 o’clock to miss the rush and fully enjoy the activities and learning experiences.

More information is available on the Farm’s web site: pumpkinfarm.net

September 30, 2017
Local pumpkin farm kicks off season with hayrides, corn mazes

A tractor pulls visitors along for a hayride tour of the Pumpkin Farm in Citrus Heights. Photo from 2014, CHSentinel.

Updated Oct. 13, 3:46 p.m.–
The Pumpkin Farm in Citrus Heights opened its annual month-long “farm experience” on Oct. 2 this year, featuring corn maze activities, a farm zoo and a 30-foot tower slide.

Tucked away off Old Auburn Road near Sunrise Boulevard, the Farm celebrated its 40th anniversary last year, making it one of California’s oldest family-run pumpkin farms. The attraction now draws over 10,000 visitors each October, according to Shymoniak-family operators, with youth groups and school field trips accounting for the majority of visits.

Farm operator Yvonne Shymoniak previously told The Sentinel she sees the seasonal attraction as “more of a farm experience than a Halloween experience,” highlighting several activities offered, like weaving through tall corn stalks, learning about farm operations, petting goats, or picking out a pumpkin from one of the 100 tons of pumpkins grown on the 16-acre property.

Hopping on a hayride takes small groups on a meandering tour throughout the Farm — and also on a journey back in history — as 73-year-old Leonard Shymoniak presents an overview of the Farm’s past 120 years, beginning with its use for harvesting oak wood in the late 1800’s, before becoming an orchard, and then an area for bee-keeping, raising turkeys and dairy. In 1974 the Farm merged into its current use as a pumpkin farm.

Although only open for a month each year, family operators say it takes about six months of work each year to prepare for the annual busy season, with corn being planted in late July and other events and plantings needing several months to get ready. The Farm is primarily operated by “Farmer Leonard” and three of his children.

Opening at 9 a.m. each day — except when closed on Mondays for a “sanity break” — Yvonne said mornings are typically filled with school groups, and recommends the general public come after 12 o’clock to miss the rush and fully enjoy the activities and learning experiences. Although mostly known by visitors in the greater-Sacramento area, the Farm gained extended recognition when it won first place at the 2010 Half Moon Bay Giant Pumpkin Festival contest for growing a 1,535-pound pumpkin.

Open through Oct. 31, the Pumpkin Farm is located at 7736 Old Auburn Road in Citrus Heights and is open Tuesday-Sunday in October. More information is available on the Farm’s web site: pumpkinfarm.net
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October 1, 2015