September 27, 2017
PUBLISHER’S CORNER
By Eloise Graham
The Apple Orchard
When I was growing up, we had an apple tree in our yard. We shared this tree with the birds, bugs and worms so the apples were not the best for just picking and eating! However, my mother with her paring knife would cut away the bad parts and use what was good to make del
icious apple pies and cobblers. We had some relatives living on farms that might have one or two trees and they would bring us a peck of apples occasionally. Other than that, my youthful recollections of obtaining apples would have been from the produce department of the local grocery store. Beautiful displays of Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Jonathans, Macintosh and Granny Smiths abounded.
Fast forward 15 or 20 years to the mid 1970s – I am now married with three children and living in Michigan. It seemed there were apple orchards about every 2 miles. So on weekends, we would load up the children into my husband’s antique pick-up and go explore the orchards. The truck looked similar to this picture, but was in a little better condition. No seat belts, just the bench seat with Jim on one side two children in the middle and me on the other side holding the youngest. The kids called it The Bouncy Truck.
They loved the Sunday afternoon rides to the orchards. We could go in the fields and pick our own or just buy some at the press house. We would watch as apple cider was made. The apples were washed, pared and cored, all by big machi
nes. Then the apples were cut up and smashed in the presses until the liquid ran out the troughs. We could also see applesauce being made.
There were also barrels of floating apples and the children could bob for them.
We always went home with a sack or two of apples and a couple of gallons of cider. Our purchases were placed in the bed of the truck and we would pile in the cab for our bouncy ride back home. It was an afternoon well spent.
Now, the supermarkets teem with apples, more varieties than I can count, and from all parts of the world. Luckily, there is still the local apple orchard to enjoy. Make a trip to one this fall. You won’t regret it!
