Roloff Farms July Newsletter
matt July 8th, 2008
Happy belated Independence Day and summer greetings from Roloff Farms!
First and foremost, we would like to express our deep, heartfelt gratitude for the overwhelming response to the sudden passing of our dear friend, Mike Detjen. We received over 3,000 emails and letters of condolences. Messages of sympathy and support poured in from every corner of the globe.
Mike’s family would like to extend a personal thank you as well for your kind and comforting words.
While we all continue to grieve and deal with Mike’s palpable absence around the farm, please know what a large role your responses have played in helping us through the grieving process as we remember and relive the many fond memories we have of Mike. Roloff Farms will never be quite the same without his kind demeanor, dry sense of humor, and engineer’s approach to problem solving.
We have been out of town with limited phone and internet access, but thought often about the need to send out this update and let everyone know how much your support and condolences mean to the family.
The entire Roloff family recently had the opportunity to spend time together on some exciting summer travels. The LPA conference in Detroit was a huge success. Amy and I enjoyed reconnecting with old friends we have known for years and Zach got to catch up with some of his LP buds that he knows from past conferences. The entire family enjoyed making new friends and checking out all the activities offered at the conference.
After that, we were off to America’s heartland to steam our way up the Mississippi on The American Queen Riverboat. I have always been fascinated with Tom Sawyer, and it was incredible to be in the midst of Mark Twain’s homeland with the chance to have my own river adventure. History really came alive for the kids as they were able to visit many of the places they had previously only read about in US history classes. But if there was anyone who really took to the area, it’s Amy. She has always been fascinated by the American South-the food, the music, the rich cultural history-she loved it all, and is already planning a return trip! Both Amy and I have always been drawn to small-town America and really enjoyed connecting and talking to people from all walks of life.
Here on the farm, we’re already busy preparing for pumpkin season and managing the Roloff Farms Online Store. Shoproloff.com has really taken off–our t-shirts are just flying off the shelves. Thank you to everyone who has ordered! If you haven’t checked out our online store yet, we invite you to take a peek!
We’ll wrap things up with a few odds and ends:
- We’ve received many inquires about the dates and hours of pumpkin season this year. Pumpkin season will begin Saturday, September 27th, and then run Wednesdays-Sundays from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. through October 26th. We’re excited about being open additional days during the week this year! We’re hoping that these extra days will help alleviate some of the crowds on the weekends and provide more flexibility for our out-of-town guests. We will post directions to the farm on our website once it gets closer to the start of the season.
- It has come to our attention that a petition has been started with the hopes of getting the Roloff family on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The petition was started by Kim and Alessandra, two great, enthusiastic young women who are committed to increasing awareness about the LP community. Click here to help them out!
- Recently, we’ve also received many emails recently wondering about the status of the show. Don’t worry!-”Little People, Big World” will be back for another season with new episodes this fall.
Please accept a final note of thanks, and we hope your Independence Day was filled with fireworks and fun for you, your family and friends.
Safe summer wishes,
Matt, Amy, Zach, Jeremy, Molly, and Jacob
