Ken Weston shares the history of every tree in his orchard.

Sweet Reminders of the Past

By Lynn Peemoeller

In his 1862 essay “Wild Apples,” a love letter that savors the uncultivated fruit through the seasons of New England, Henry David Thoreau called the apple “the noblest of fruits.”

Ever the extremist, Thoreau saw the cultivation of the apple parallel the cultivation of humankind and eloquently mourned where they were both going. Of some 6,000 plus varieties of apples catalogued by the USDA from 1804-1904, only a mere handful makes its way into the hands of consumers today. The difference within a time span of 100 years tells the story of modern agriculture, population growth, urbanization — everything that Thoreau saw coming.

In early America, apple seedlings were an extension of the pioneers, following the trails of exploration through the forests and waterways, over the plains and through the mountains. Apples were an essential part of homesteading used in every season for sugar content and hard cider.

True heritage apple varieties rooted in folkways are often forgotten and many are on the verge of extinction. There are, however, dedicated orchardists and hobby growers who consider it their mission to preserve the past for future generations.

Weston’s Antique Apple Orchard, a few miles over the Illinois border in New Berlin,Wisconsin, is home to several historic varieties. Ken Weston, a retired mathematics professor, maintains the legacy of his family farm.He raises more than 100 old-timey apple varieties,many of which are American breeds dating back more than one hundred years, like the Esopus Spitzenberg, a favorite of Thomas Jefferson, originating in themid-1700’s. Weston’s bounty includes the golden Russet, known as an excellent eating and cider apple stemming from the Great Lakes region, and the legendary Wolf River an extremely large apple weighing up to a pound at times, that originated in Wisconsin in the late 19th century.

Weston has 15 apple varieties that are completely unique to the farm.One favorite that looks as interesting as it tastes is the Old Church, which has purple skin with white polka dots and a lemony flavor.

Another is the Autumn Harvest, a little crab apple that tastes like pineapple, produced from a tree that has beautiful silvery bark. Weston is committed to sharing the history and taste of his unusual apple collection through hands-on grafting workshops at the farm, apple festivals, and attending farmers markets regularly.

Because unique heritage apples are not always easy to grow or predictable in their yield,many have been cast aside in favor of varieties that will produce a larger crop. It takes a lot of work to seek out and conserve antique apple varieties, but in Chicago, a group of fruit enthusiasts is committed to its cause. They are starting an urban orchard called the Chicago Rarities Orchard Project, or CROP.

Dave Snyder, the literary young man who heads the group, had been working at Ginko Gardens for five years and got to talking with fellow gardeners. “I was reading an article about the importance of preserving heritage apple varieties and we were discussing different models of community gardens.We had the idea of starting an urban community orchard to preserve fruit diversity,” he explained.

Today CROP has 60 trees representing 35 different varieties chosen for their appeal in flavor as well as history. “We tried to focus on apples that are endangered, but there are so many on the list so we chose

those with historic ties that appealed to us.” Some of the favorites include the Hawkeye, a stripy progenitor of the Delicious apple that originated in Peru, Iowa, and the High Top Sweet, a good dessert apple with yellow skin with tiny green dots, which originated in Illinois.

The apple trees do not have a permanent home yet and are temporarily living in pots in Brighton Park while the organization seeks a site through the aid of Neighbor Space, a not-for-profit that connects growers with urban land in Chicago. “We’re not really going to experience these apples until a lot later down the line,” Snyder acknowledges. It takes up to six years for some apple trees to bear fruit.

The goal of CROP is designed not only to reclaim empty urban spaces, but also to help preserve the trees that are not commonly grown. The fruit produced from the trees will be sold within their respective communities, which will in part help fund the project.

For those who want to branch out to raise their own heritage varieties there are several local resources. The Midwest Fruit Explorers organization brings urban and suburban fruit enthusiasts together to locate, graft, propagate, test, grow and swap fruiting plants. The Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah, Iowa is a non-profit collaboration of gardeners dedicated to saving and sharing heirloomvarieties.Over time they have cultivated an inventory of more than 700 heritage varieties, which are available by mail order.

You can still experience heritage apples throughout the fall and winter from local orchards at farmers markets. Seedling Orchard of South Haven, Michigan, and Nichols Farm and Orchard of Marengo, Illinois, both attend a number of city markets and raise numerous heritage varieties. Tree-Mendus Fruit Farm in Eau Claire,Michigan, is less than a two hour drive from Chicago and has more than 200 varieties to choose from, many of them heritage varieties in all shapes and sizes.

Inquire with farmers you know about what varieties they raise.Many local orchardists have old apple trees on their farm but don’t necessarily bring the fruit to market. Additionally there are a number of mail order catalogues that open up a world of choices. Apple source in Chapin, Illinois, ships more than 75 varieties.

The beauty of apples is that they last long aer the harvest season has fully conceded to winter. With each bite of heritage apples are reminders of the past, a time when life was a little bit wilder, yet timely reminders today when diversity and local flavors are celebrated.As they say, you have to eat it to save it.

Lynn Peemoeller is an urban food systems planner, gardener and recent Board Chair of Slow Food Chicago who also knows her way around an apple orchard. With a special interest in community gardening and organizations that preserve food traditions, she makes the connection between past and present.