20 YEARS of Hay Throwing … and Going Strong!

Rosenberg Advertising celebrated its 20th hay wagon voyage at Patterson Farms in Chesterland Ohio on Oct 23rd. This has become a much-anticipated tradition that begins with enticing treats in Patterson’s sugarhouse. This stone building provides a nice, warm space for eating and socializing — best loved for its roaring fire place.

Although all is civil at the beginning, once the hay wagon full of straw arrives, the inner child in most of the Rosenberg Advertising team seems to surface. And once the hay-throwing starts, it doesn’t end until the last fragment of straw has left the wagon. Onlookers may consider this a bit unusual, aggressive even, but it’s all in good fun. One may wonder how all that pouncing on fellow co-workers with fists full of hay may not cause injury, yet somehow no one has ever left with a broken nose. A missing wallet once, sure — oh yeah, and a missing wedding ring once too — but no broken bones! Some years, the air has been filled with old TV theme songs as the wagon rides along into the night.

Once the hay ride is over, and everyone has safely returned to the sugarhouse, we shake the hay from our hair and clothes and move onto round two. Some years this involves s’mores around the outdoor bonfire. Other years, it turns into card games or board games around the fire.

Whatever each new year brings, the annual Rosenberg hay ride is a tradition that’s well loved … enough to last another twenty years!

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