Son Jurgin is a big part of Animal-Grams, and is often seen spreading joy during the Christmas season with his reindeer, along with working a full-time job in the ag industry.He represents the fifth generation of Cripe farmers and appreciates being part of an entrepreneurial family business. “My siblings and I had a very different childhood than most, as growing up we spent our weekends piling into the van with animals,” he recalls. He smiles at the memory of giving pony rides, often to kids older than he was.“We were building character at a young age, and my siblings and I can all agree we are better off for the hard work we partook in at a young age.”
The reindeer were added to the farm in 2004 and take unique management. “Reindeer are an animal not necessarily built for our climate so we make adaptations to help them thrive,” Jurgin says. The family has gained great expertise over the last 20 years and continues to learn, like with a trip to visit the country’s largest reindeer farm in Alaska. A little known fact about reindeer is that they were domesticated before the horse and are not technically considered livestock. The family is required to have double fencing and eight-feet fence as part of their reindeer management.
With their leadership in animal entertainment, the family has numerous repeat customers, such as doing special visits to nursing homes several times a year. “We have animal entertainment for any season and any reason,” Joni says, adding she loves the frequent occurrence of meeting customers who recall her bringing animals to a child’s first birthday party decades ago.
The family farms row crops plus raises hay for the animals, and as one might guess, the chores are non-stop.“We will be at an event all day, then have to get home to feed and take care of the animals,” Jurgin points out, sharing that animal health and care is a top priority.
Along with excellent animal husbandry skills, people skills are essential in the animal entertainment business. “While people say they would love animals and this kind of work, in this business you must be able to get along with people,” Joni says. “You must answer questions, have conversations and be sure people are interacting with the animals in a safe manner.”
Other siblings Melissa, Josi, Jentri, Janzin and Jirni are involved in various ways, especially when there are multiple events in one day. In addition, their entrepreneurial spirit flourishes in other ways.Josi, Jentri and Jirni run two very successful floral/boutique shops named ‘Rhinestones and Roses’ located in North Manchester and Fort Wayne.Janzin ventured off in the ice cream business and currently runs a very successful and TikTok famous shop called ‘Chillz’ in North Manchester and another location opening in Fort Wayne very soon. All siblings have degrees from Purdue University and Jirni’s degree in marketing has been particularly useful for marketing and social media for all the family businesses.
The family is active in their community in Wabash County as well as in industry organizations such as the National Reindeer Farmers Association. Their farm has won the “River Friendly Farmer” award and were heavily involved in 4-H growing up. “It is important to always be learning,” Phil says. Phil farms with sustainability in mind thanks to the love of the land he inherited from his parents Keith and Margaret, using no till practices and cover crops, plus utilizing the manure strategically. He points out that “earthworms are our friends.”
Phil and Joni feel blessed that their operation has allowed them to raise their children fully engaged in a life of entrepreneurship and hard work, and are now seeing young grandchildren grow up in a similar way. There’s no doubt this spirit will continue to grow along with the family as they consider other aspects of agritourism. “We’ll keep expanding and being creative, built on our love of family, animals and people,” Joni concludes.