This month, Newtown Edgmont Friends & Neighbors is pleased to introduce you to a couple who likely needs no introduction: Randy and Anne Bates, owners and operators of Arasapha Farms in Glen Mills. The farm has been in the Bates family for over 70 years and continues to be a gathering place for our community.
Randy grew up in Edgmont with his parents and two sisters. He said that his mother had always dreamed of owning a farm after graduating from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in Farming. Randy’s father was an engineer and heavily involved in serving Edgmont Township as an elected Supervisor and on various planning commissions. “My parents learned there was an opportunity to purchase the farm,” Randy said. “So, in 1952, my mother’s dream became a reality.” She named the farm Arasapha after her great-grandfather, Abraham Blakeley’s Arasapha Textile Mill in Chester, which produced cloth of all stripes, from denim to ticking from the mid-1800s until the 1940s.
Randy spent his youth working on the farm before going to York College. While there, he earned a degree in Criminal Justice and met his future wife, Anne, who was studying to be a nurse. “We met in September 1976, married in 1979 and rented a home in Delaware,” Anne explained. “We settled in and started our family, but our plans changed a few years later.”
Unfortunately, Randy’s father passed away in 1982, and his mother found herself needing help with the farm. “My mother asked us if we would be willing to relocate and move in with her,” Randy said. “Anne and I had two young children at that point, and my sisters were still living with my mom, so Anne and I built a home of our own on the farm.” Randy began managing the farm operations, and Anne stepped in to help and became a farm girl.
Like his father, Randy has also served his community, spending 25 years as a volunteer with the Edgmont Fire Company, four years as an elected township supervisor and 12 years on Edgmont Township’s Planning Commission. Randy and Anne’s daughter Angela owns a business of her own in Edgmont, and she credits her parents’ dedication to the community to her own success. “I learned from my incredible parents how to generously and selflessly give to the community whether it be time, donations, guidance, advertisement, promotions, hospitality, or just plain kindness.”
It’s been nearly 40 years, and Anne and Randy continue to manage and operate the 80-acre farm, but now they get to enjoy it with their six children and 19 grandkids! “Over the years, all of our kids have been helping on the farm in one way or another,” Randy said. “Anne and I are proud of the life we have built here and the legacy we are creating for our family.” Their son Ben said, “Growing up on the farm was such a great experience for me. I learned the value of hard work, dedication and the true meaning of family. I am so glad that my wife Nicole and I can raise our children the same way.”
Anne and Randy’s daughter Veronica echos Ben’s sentiment. “My parents are the most generous people that I know. Growing up on the farm came with chores and responsibility,” she said. “The values and work ethic instilled in me at a young age, I have carried through my life and passed them on to my own children.”
These days, you’ll find Randy and Anne working side by side. Randy oversees the operations, and Anne handles the back end of the business, from payroll for the staff of 330 employees to business accounting and group sales. Their son Drew oversees security and event staff, and their son Ben is the general manager who oversees construction and design. Randy and Anne’s daughter Veronica runs the concession stand and gift shop and recently began working closely with Anne to manage the financial end of the business. Their daughter-in-law Nicole operates Gram’s Donut Shop, which is known for the best warm apple cider donuts made fresh on the spot. Nicole also manages the Harvest Hayride along with the Bates Mobile Experience and other events on the farm. Veronica’s husband, Matt Brown, is a Willistown Township Detective overseeing the EMT staff on site. And their daughter Diana works as the general manager of the Bates Motel Escape Rooms and new Stryke Force Laser Tag facilities in West Chester.
Life for the Bates family is as busy as you can imagine. There is always something happening at Arasapha Farms. The family rarely takes a break, from their Christmas tree choose and cut business to their nationally recognized Halloween Haunted Hayride, Haunted Trail and Bates Motel. “We manage over 25,000 Christmas trees and start preparations for our haunted Halloween festivities months in advance,” Randy explained. “This year, we hosted the annual meeting of the America Haunts group: Owners of 15 of the largest haunted attractions in the country.” Randy said his crew had the entire Haunted Halloween experience up and running for that event that took place in May. “It was a lot of hard work, but everyone who attended got to see just how thrilling the Bates Motel and Haunted Hayride are.”
“Every year, we switch up scenes, add new twists and thrills, and make it bigger and better than the year before,” Randy said. “Everyone is invited to come out and get their scare on!” For the younger crowd, they offer an on-site seasonal Harvest Hayride every Saturday and Sunday through October. Featuring fun for the whole family, the non-spooky Harvest Hayride experience offers activities such as a straw bale maze, corn maze, and an opportunity for families to visit the pick-your-own pumpkin patch.
As soon as the Halloween adventures wrap up, the Bates family begins transforming the farm into the Christmas Tree choose-and-cut your own Christmas Tree, including a free hayride to the tree forest, fresh cut trees and apple cider donuts.
The Bates take great pride in their farm providing so much joy to our community. “When Randy and I moved to Arasapha Farms, Edgmont was a small, tight-knit farm community,” Anne said. “Although it has grown and prospered over the years, it still retains that small-town feeling.” Their daughter, Katie, agreed. “Due to the hard work and dedication of my parents, Randy and Anne Bates, the community has been provided with the hope that it will forever remain in the family as Arasapha Farm, the place which offers so many activities to the Tri-state community all year long.”
Giving back to the community is very important to Anne, Randy and their family. Randy said that from elected officials, the volunteer boards such as Planning and Zoning, to the Manager and his staff, everyone with Edgmont Township has the dedication to keeping Edgmont a great community in which to live and work. Last year when Edgmont Township announced that they wanted to bring back their annual Community Day, the Bates stepped in to offer to host the event on the farm. Randy said the decision was made without hesitation. “The folks with Edgmont Township work so well with our community to ensure that as we grow, we are still able to preserve plenty of open space and maintain that hometown feeling that makes it such a special place to live.”
The event was a huge success, with hundreds of families and friends gathering to enjoy a day full of fun activities for the kids, delicious food and beverages, local community vendors and first responders on hand to allow guests to ask questions and explore the fire trucks and emergency vehicles. Randy and Anne’s daughter-in-law, Nicole, is a Community Day Planning Committee member. “Community Day in 2022 was such a success that we knew we had to host again this fall,” Nicole said. “We hope to see many of our friends and neighbors back again and look forward to meeting many more this year!”
Anne reflected on how she feels about living and working in our community. “Generations of families have stayed in Edgmont, and the legends of their parents and grandparents live on through community service and comradeship.” Randy added that living in Edgmont has truly been a gift, and their daughter Diana said that her parents have taught her and her family so many valuable lessons about life and love. “To say it has been inspirational to watch my parents lead a life of success, happiness and love of family is an understatement. I couldn’t be prouder of their accomplishments and grateful for the opportunities they have given us.
Thank you, Randy and Anne, for sharing your story with our Newtown Edgmont Friends & Neighbors. We look forward to many more years of making memories with you and your family on the farm!
Do you know a Newtown Edgmont family, individual or nonprofit group who should become known by our community? Make your nominations for upcoming feature articles by emailing your ideas to Sheila Turner-Hilliard at STurnerHilliard@BestVersionMedia.com.