Careful Preparation Marks This Year’s Search
After the debacle a year ago when they became lost, the Warren Street Evangelical Church Sunday school is taking no chances when they return to a giant corn maze next week to search for the devil.
“By golly, we’re ready this time. I guarantee you we won’t get lost,” said Harold Covington, lead teacher for the church’s Crusaders Sunday school class. “And this year, we’ll find the devil and confront him. We know he’s in there.”
The church group’s search last year came to an ignominious halt when the adult leaders and more than 40 children became lost in the corn maze at Lundgren’s Farm and Petting Zoo outside Turnersville. Rescuers summoned a police helicopter to locate the group and direct firemen, who had to chop their way across the corn field to free the stranded devil searchers.
The Lundgren’s corn maze covers more than 20 acres. The family claims it is the world’s largest maze with more than ten miles of twists, turns, loops and dead ends.
“I’m doing my part. I’m giving them a map. First time we ever done that,” said Abner Lundgren, the family patriarch. “Last thing we need is the fire department coming in again and cutting down the whole field of corn.”
Lundgren said he urged church elders not to bring small children to the corn maze and expose them to the possible dangers of a devil encounter. “They’re determined and won’t listen to reason,” he said. “So all I can do is try to get them in there so they can look around and then get them out in one piece as quickly as possible.”
Two Eagle scouts from Troop 38 who are experts in navigating their way through forests will join the corn maze expedition and bring along their GPS units.
“Mr. Lundgren is giving us a map and we will have our GPS coordinates, so I don’t think we will get lost, unless someone or something jams the GPS signals from the satellite,” said Lance Robertson, who earned his GPS merit badge last spring. “We’re taking along extra batteries for the GPS units, just in case.”
“And the instruction books, we’re taking the instruction books, too,” said Bobby Robertson, an Eagle scout who earned his GPS merit badge in August.
The scouts will also carry hand held shortwave radios and be able to communicate with the Turnersville Hams, a local amateur radio group that plans to man a base station at the edge of the corn field.
Turnersville police chief Gander Josephs said he doesn’t expect any problems with the devil search this year.
“The mayor asked me to get involved in the safety planning, and I think we have all the bases covered, unless the devil really is somewhere in there and springs some kind of surprise on us,” Josephs said. “But we always have the helicopter to fall back on if some kind of surprise pops up. And fire power, of course. Lots of fire power.”