Signature Associates

Fourth generation to reopen historic pumpkin farm near Kalamazoo in 2026

Posted By: mlive on September 19, 2025.  For more information, please click here to read the source article.

Gene “The Pumpkin Man” Rhodes sold pumpkins at his family farm each year from 1957 to 2024, offering a fall tradition to many in the Greater Kalamazoo area. Rhodes died in December at age 88. And for the first time in decades, the Almena Township farm, at 22637 M-43, sits quiet.

It won’t sit quiet long, however. Rhodes’ great-nephew, Steele Evans, and his wife, Sadie Evans, have purchased the farm from the family trust. The couple plans to reopen it in 2026 as Evans Acres Family Farm. The announcement was made this week by both parties. The response overwhelmed Steele and Sadie Evans as thousands offered their support and excitement on social media.

“We toyed with the idea of trying to be open this fall,” Steele Evans said. “Realistically, I could throw some pumpkins in a trailer and put them out by the road this year, but that doesn’t seem like something Gene would do and doesn’t feel like something I want to do.”

You only get one chance at making a first impression, he said. When that happens next fall, visitors to the farm likely won’t find Steele Evans in an orange-clad suit like the one that became part of his great-uncle’s personality. What they will find, Steele Evans said, is an opportunity to carry on family traditions and make new, lasting memories. The couple plans to bring animals back to the land and will reintroduce chickens, pigs, cows and maybe goats, he said. They also plan to eventually introduce a full-service farm stand that sells animal products.

“We want people to be able to bring their families here, bring their children and have a good time,” said Sadie Evans, who like her husband is 26 and an Air Force veteran. “We want them to come, take pictures and pet the animals, to really feel like it’s a family farm.”

Having a petting zoo provides a way to teach future generations about where food comes from, Steele Evans said. It also presents the opportunity to impress upon them the importance of farming, something that matters greatly to the couple.

“My goal for all of this is to encourage young people to get into farming,” Steele Evans said. “If people can see a young farmer trying to make it happen, I’m just hoping we can encourage other people to start farming as well.”

The average age of an American farmer is 58, according to the Census of Agriculture. That’s something that isn’t sustainable, Steele Evans said. The Evanses are now the fourth generation of family to run the farm since Rhodes’ grandfather purchased it in 1885 and built the barn that still stands today. There will be some changes, such as the return of animals and the addition of other crops, possibly corn and hay. Certain things, such as the massive “Gene the Pumpkin Man” logo on the 140-year-old barn doors, will remain the same, as will selling pumpkins and squash each fall.

“There are things that we understand are staples and legacy and those are not going to be changed,” Steele Evans said. “The barn doors are going to stay there until that barn falls over.”

While much of the iconic orange will remain on the farm and in the farmhouse, Sadie Evans did say the orange carpet in the farmhouse has got to go. And just as the couple will make the farmhouse their own with their 3-year-old son Kai, they will put their own stamp on the farm as they look to expand seasonal offerings.

“It’s really important to us that this place continues to be a sanctuary for our community for years to come,” Sadie Evans said.

Like her husband, Sadie Evans grew up in Allegan. As a child, she came to the farm every fall with her family.

“It’s such a special place,” she said. “I can’t think of a single person that came here and didn’t have just a wonderful experience. We’re really excited to continue that and to continue creating a place where families can come each year.”

As a child himself, Steele Evans recalls the family reunions hosted by his great-uncle and the fun he would have with all the other kids. Someday, he will be the one hosting those reunions. And while Steele Evans doesn’t yet have his own orange Cadillac like the one his great-uncle drove, he hopes to convince his wife one day to let him purchase one. That Cadillac may be a few years off, but Steele Evans is ready now to steer the farm into the future.

“I sell a product and give away memories,” his great-uncle once told the Kalamazoo Gazette/MLive.

That’s exactly what these fourth-generation family farmers hope to do as well.

“We want to make sure that everything we put out, No. 1 honors God, and No. 2 honors Gene,” Sadie Evans said. “He poured his entire life into this place and generations before him have poured their lives into this place.

“We’re just so honored to be able to step up and make our mark on the farm but also continue to honor the family that has come before us.”