Fall is a perfect time for apples and to remember Johnny Appleseed
Apples and October seem to go together. Most old farmsteads had an apple orchard.
Our home farm had two orchards. One was near the house and had summer apple trees, a Wealthy apple tree and a white peach tree. The other orchard was on the hill and, as I remember, it had Jonathan apple trees.
When I moved to the Eppley farm there was a row of apple trees near the house. I was sad when they cut them down to build a machine shed. They were so beautiful when they bloomed in the spring. There was also an orchard back on the hill. Many people who had these orchards claimed they came from Johnny Appleseed.
Johnny Appleseed wasn't just a figure in folklore, but was a real person. He was born John Chapman in 1774 in Leonminster, Massachusetts. When he was 18, he left home with his 11-year-old brother and headed west. His father and family came to Ohio in 1805 and his brother stayed with his father to be a farmer. John went on to live his unique lifestyle.
Johnny began an apprenticeship with an orchardist who grew apples. This inspired Johnny's calling to plant apple trees among the settlers. He had collected apple seeds and carried them in a leather pouch. He did not just scatter the seeds willy-nilly, but planted them in nurseries within fences and had someone tend them.
He returned to his nurseries every year or so to see about his trees. It was these apple tree saplings that were planted around the country side. He had nurseries in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, West Virginia and many in north central Ohio. His first orchard was on the farm of Isaac Stadden in Licking County.
Johnny was also a missionary for the New Church of the Swedenborgian religion. He was kind and generous and lived a pacifist and pauper lifestyle. He wore raggedy hand-me-down clothes and went barefoot. At one time he owned 1,200 acres so he wasn't exactly a pauper. He also shared his trees with the American Indians and the hostile tribes left him alone. His apples were not of the quality we know, but were the kind that were made into hard cider. Johnny died in 1845 and was buried near Fort Wayne, Indiana.
A recent article in the Times Recorder said there are 2,500 varieties of apples in the United States. The different types are good for various uses, like eating, applesauce, pies and other baking. Some are sweet, some are tart, some cook up and some hold their shape when cooked. Cooks and bakers have their own favorites.
There are more Gala apples sold than any other kind in the U.S. Red Delicious are second. I have never used Gala and my opinion of Red Delicious is they are the prettiest. My all-purpose favorite is Jonathan.
Summer apples, ready in July, are not for eating, but cook up nicely in sauce and pies. Summer apple pie is my very favorite apple pie. Choosing apples, I think, just comes down to personal preference. A real treat this time of year is apple cider made with a variety of apples. Sweet cider − not the Johnny Appleseed kind.
Iris Eppley is a member of the Farm Bureau Council.
This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Fall and apple orchards bring Johnny Appleseed to mind
