It was a day Ken and Ingrid Dieleman won’t soon forget.
The couple, of Thamesville, Ontario, were seen on television screens across Canada after inviting one of the country’s most famous television personalities to visit their corn maze.
The Dielemans, members of Grace Christian Reformed Church in Chatham, Ontario, have run a corn maze on their farm for years. And they have been fans of The Rick Mercer Report for just as long. Mercer is popular across Canada for his political satire.
So when they planned their design for the 2008 field, creating a maze in the shape of Rick Mercer’s head seemed like a good idea. The family then wrote to Mercer’s show and invited them to come out and shoot a segment.
Ingrid said the crew spent a full day, including two hours in a helicopter, shooting the field and Mercer’s trademark goofy remarks. Ingrid led him through the maze, left him there to find his way out, and played along with the jokes.
She says it was a thrill to have Mercer on the farm. “He was such a nice guy—very down to earth.”
For his part, Mercer said, “That was, in fact, the most difficult corn maze made out of my head that I’ve ever been in.”
You can see the segment by visiting www.cbc.ca/mercerreport/video.html. Click on the link to season 6, choose the date of October 21, then click on the clip for Thamesville, Ontario.
About the Author
Heather Wright is a freelance writer from Petrolia, Ontario.
