Visiting a Reindeer Farm is a Holiday Delight: The Last Word

Last year, I introduced a story and had some fake reindeer behind me. This year, I'm taking it a step further. Let's see some real reindeer!

I’m at Apthorp Reindeer Farm on Route 5 in Harborcreek Township. This is a special place. There's only two reindeer farms in Pennsylvania and this is one of them. Deb and Scott Apthorp have operated the farm for 14 years. It was Deb's longtime dream to have a reindeer farm. She loves these animals.

"They're like a big dog with antlers is really what they're like,” she says. “They're like a family member. Like a pet."

There's a lot of hard work that goes with operating a reindeer farm. Deb's diabetes has placed her in a wheelchair but that does not prevent her from helping her husband Scott with feeding the seven animals inside their newly constructed barn. Deb also does the extensive paper work that the government requires in order to own reindeer.

"We have rules and regs we have to follow from the Feds and the state, from the Game Commission, even the local,” says Scott. “So, you have to coordinate all that and she does all that paperwork,” says Scott.

The Apthorps like to share their love of reindeer, especially during the Christmas season. Every year, they take a couple of reindeer to a full slate of public appearances from Erie to Pittsburgh. People are delighted to to see these lovable animals that are so much associated with Christmas.

"You know it's kind of funny. It's not just the children but the adults too,” says Scott. “We've had 90-year old ladies cry because they're like, 'I've never seen a reindeer. In all my Christmases, 90 years of Christmas, never seen a reindeer."

Unfortunately, the recent winter storms forced the cancellation of some of those public appearances.

"The weather was a huge problem,” declares Deb.

The Anthorps are inviting people to come to the farm to see the reindeer and another special treat. The couple has acquired and restored the original Santa's Chair from the old Boston Store in downtown Erie. Wow!  A photo-op with seven reindeer and an opportunity to relive childhood memories on the Boston Store Santa Chair!  I'm having a holiday blast!

Visits to the farm are by appointment only. Call Apthorp Farms at 814-823-4321 to make arrangements. A cash donation is expected. Also, the final public appearance for the reindeer this season will be Saturday, December 21 at the Erie-Crawford Co-op in Union City from nine to eleven a.m.