COOK – Those who know Lois Pajari have probably learned the hard way that it takes a little, and sometimes a lot, of arm twisting to agree to have someone help her with something.
Since the inception of Cook’s Country Connection, Pajari has been a determined do-it-yourselfer, building the unique petting zoo into one of the region’s top spring and summer attractions with unique animals, special events, classes, traveling shows, and more. Yes, she’s had some help here and there along the way, but Pajari has always been the driver of change and improvements.
So, when a land survey a number of months ago yielded a surprising result that her actual property line runs right down the middle of her quarter-mile driveway, Pajari set to work trying to find a solution, but one option suggested by a friend, Dani Spolarich, was well down the list at the start.
“When this came up, I said let’s just do a GoFundMe and raise the money to get it moved,” Spolarich said. “I said, ‘Lois, people love the farm, they love you, just let them help.’ She said no. Then after a few more months, it was maybe. Finally, she said yes the other night.”
Moving the drive, even if the solution is simply to widen it to the north, is an expensive proposition, in no small part because of what it will cost to have the electric power line moved, about half of the estimated $16,000 cost.
Finally given the green light, Spolarich put together the “Cook’s Country Connection Driveway Project” page on GoFundMe with a target of $16,000 and launched it last Friday on Facebook. As of Wednesday morning, the post had been shared over 220 times, and the response has been just as Spolarich expected.
“It’s doing great,” Spolarich said. “We raised $10,000 in about 24 hours.”
“It’s a great place to bring your family. It’s kept spotless and the animals are well cared for. One of the more innovative business ideas that’s ever come to Cook!” one donor wrote.
“My grandchildren love going to your farm,” wrote another.
As of Wednesday morning, 178 donors had contributed $12,477. As is generally the case with online fundraisers, the pace of giving slowed in days following the initial post, and social media shares don’t automatically generate donors, but Spolarich is hopeful there’s enough momentum there to reach the goal.
“We’re so close,” Spolarich said. “Worst case scenario would be that we have to do a fundraiser, but hopefully we can get real close with this over the next couple of weeks.”
Pajari was extremely grateful for the donations and support and is eager for the weather to improve so they can get started on the project.
“It would be super, super helpful if it would stop snowing,” she said. “It’s hard to even get a good bid on widening or moving it when everything is still hidden deep in snow.”
Widening the drive is the first option, provided that doing so doesn’t create a hazard, as the entry is near the crest of a hill. If that isn’t feasible, Pajari said, the alternative is to build a new driveway farther to the north to a place that St. Louis County would sign off on.
In either case, the longer it takes to get to work, the possibility grows that the construction will have an impact on Cook’s Country Connection operations.
“We will probably be working on construction into May,” Pajari said. “If the weather isn’t cooperating we could have to delay the opening or try to work around it.”
If you’d like to make a donation to the driveway project, the link to the GoFundMe donation page is https://gofund.me/b7e77ea5.