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Cory Holman's Pumpkin Patch | Jane Boursaw Photo
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There’s something really fun about a pumpkin patch. Maybe because it sparks memories of Linus patiently waiting all night for The Great Pumpkin. Maybe it harks back to our own childhood of carving pumpkins and trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. Or maybe it’s just because pumpkins are so colorful and vibrant.

Whatever the reason, we’re proud to have Cory Holman’s Pumpkin Patch as an advertising partner on Old Mission Gazette.

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Colorful Gourds at Cory Holman’s Pumpkin Patch | Jane Boursaw Photo

Located at 12926 Center Road, about a half-mile north of Island View Road, Cory has pumpkins of all shapes and sizes, as well as decorative corn, corn stalks, colorful gourds and heirloom pie pumpkins.

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Decorative Corn at Cory Holman’s Pumpkin Patch | Jane Boursaw Photo

What you might not know, however, is that the Holman family has a long and rich history on the Old Mission Peninsula – dating back 160 years as of 2021.

You’ve no doubt heard the name Curtis Fowler in connection with the history of the Old Mission Peninsula. But the Curtis and Holman family were connected reaching far back into the 1800s. If I’ve got my “greats” correct, I believe Curtis Fowler, Sr. would be Cory Holman’s great-great-great-great grandfather. Cory’s parents are Tim and Laurie Holman, and his grandparents are Jack and Georgia Holman.

Curtis Fowler, Sr. originally hailed from Vermont, and first settled in Jackson, Michigan. In 1855, he and his sons, Curtis Fowler, Jr. and Francis (Frank) Zebina Fowler, followed the Indian Trail (now M37) from Grand Rapids to the Old Mission Peninsula, where they each bought 160 acres of land. Many of us who currently live on the Peninsula – including my husband and me – own land once owned by one of the Fowlers.

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Curtis Fowler, Sr. and wife Louisa Seldon Fowler, Old Mission Peninsula Settlers and Holman Ancestors

Curtis Fowler, Jr.’s daughter Ethelwyn Fowler – Cory’s great-great-great grandmother, I believe – married Alexander Holman, who had come to the Old Mission Peninsula from Canada to visit his Aunt Jane Eliza (Holman) Carroll, the wife of Edward Carroll, according to Evelyn Johnson’s book, “Barns of Old Mission Peninsula.” Alexander and Ethelwyn took 40 acres on Center Road, which was part of her father’s 160-acre farm and is now home to Cory’s Pumpkin Patch.

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Ethelwyn Fowler Holman and Alexander Holman

According to Evelyn’s book, the Buchans, Carrolls and Holmans all came from Canada to the Old Mission Peninsula around the same time, as they lived near each other in Canada.

So, you see, when you buy a pumpkin at Cory Holman’s Pumpkin Patch, you’re not just buying a pumpkin. You’re participating in the rich history of the Holman family on the Old Mission Peninsula. Happy October!

Pictured below is Alexander Holman’s Peach Tree Nursery in 1906. The photo below that is the same view now, of Cory Holman’s Pumpkin Patch.

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Alexander Holman Peach Tree Nursery, 1906; Left to Right, Mathew Zoulek, Harry Christopher, Tom Valley, Bernard Holman, Ed Hastey, Alexander Holman
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Cory Holman’s Pumpkin Patch | Jane Boursaw Photo
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Tim Boursaw sizes up the pumpkins at Cory Holman’s Pumpkin Patch | Jane Boursaw Photo
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Heirloom Pie Pumpkins at Cory Holman’s Pumpkin Patch | Jane Boursaw Photo

A NOTE FROM JANE: I started Old Mission Gazette in 2015 because I felt a calling to provide the Old Mission Peninsula community with local news. After decades of writing for newspapers and magazines like the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Family Circle and Ladies' Home Journal, I really just wanted to write about my own community where I grew up on a cherry farm and raised my own family. So I started my own newspaper. Because the Gazette is mainly reader-supported, I hope you'll consider tossing a few bucks my way if I mention your event, your business, your organization or your news item, or if you simply love reading about what's happening on the OMP. Check out the donation page here. Thank you so much for your support. -jb

Bay View Insurance of Traverse City Michigan

19 COMMENTS

  1. Jane : am sitting here sipping my Friday glass of OMP wine and I must say I have thoroughly enjoyed today’s news on the Gazette. From the upcoming hearing on the 81 to the new shop Invoke to the Holman pumpkin patch that we just discovered today…. you always deliver the best news! Great job as always. YOU are an OMP treasure!

  2. […] Cory Holman’s Pumpkin Patch is open. Cory and Elise Holman are still cutting and hauling pumpkins in, but they opened up the patch this past weekend. They have lots of pumpkins, gourds, squash, hay bales, and other fall produce of every size and variety. Read more about the Holman’s long history on the Old Mission Peninsula here. […]

  3. […] Tim Carroll once again resumes his local history talks at Peninsula Community Library (“Tea With Tim at 2 on Tuesday”). This talk will feature special guests Georgia Holman and Laurie Holman, who will chat about the Holman Farm, its long history on the Peninsula, and the seven generations who’ve farmed the land. You may have picked up a pumpkin or two there in the fall. Read more about the farm here. […]

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