Apples are good food any time of year, but fall harvest season is the best time of year to start an apple-a-day health plan.
There isn't a sense that does not come alive with a trip to any of the great cider mills of the region. Treat yourself to a cider mill trip to learn, have fun and taste the fruit at its finest time of year.
The sight of trees decorated with red, yellow and green globe ornaments and bins filled with abundant harvest are a feast for the eyes.
About 150 years ago Hosea Williams saw the need for a mechanical cider mill that could service the entire region. His machine was a water-powered hydraulic press and grinder that was an awesome sight then and it remains a marvel to visitors and employees alike at Williams' mill, which is now called Fly Creek Cider Mill. Owners Bill and Brenda Michaels are the second generation of the Michaels family to keep the mill thriving after it had shut down in the 1950s, before Bill's parents, Charlie and Barbara, revived it in the early 1960s. Fly Creek Mill is the last of eight that were once in the area.
The Dutch name for marsh was "vlie" and since the creek feeds into a marsh, "vlie" creek became Fly Creek.
In this welcomed era of paying closer attention to where our food comes from and how it is processed, cider mills are enjoying a huge wave of new customers, as well as returning fans who are interested in seeing orchards, picking fruit, witnessing preservation processes and meeting the farmers.
Agri-tourism and value-added products are two avenues that farms are able to maximize profits to stay afloat in these economic times. Apple orchards and cider mills strive to make their businesses attractive to visitors with activities that are fun and educational so that they can walk away with experiences and memories. This is what keeps people coming back year after year.
The aroma of ripe apples is automatically associated with the fall season as it blends with the smell of leaves turning bright colors. Cider mills are enveloped with the smell of crisp cider, and most mills now add value to the apples themselves with products beyond the apples and cider. The apple-cinnamon steam while making sauce, sugary donuts and bread freshly baked, candied apples, apple wines, salsas, butters, jelly, marinades, syrups and chips add to the sweet smells of satisfaction for visitors and mill owners alike.
Along with the sound of apples tumbling from bins, voices in an orchard while harvesting and hearing the snap of a first big bite, Fly Creek Cider Mill has another magnificent sound, the 1924 Waterloo Boy two-cylinder engine. Seeing this is a must for John Deere or any tractor fans because this machine marks the beginning of the corporation's tractor-making enterprise.
In the mid-to-late-1800s cider mills flourished but typically were not a mill owner's sole income source. Most mills diversified and Fly Creek Cider Mill was no exception, using the same machinery to run a saw mill that made wooded tools for the hops industry. Today's orchard and mill owners tackle the same need to diversify to keep afloat. For the Michaelses, diversification made the mill a year-round destination point, with a mail order business as well.
Apples are transportable in pockets and purses, backpacks, lunch bags and right in your hand. They store well, they ship easily and they can be cooked, dried, fermented, coated, dipped and canned.
What makes it all worth while is the taste of apples with their juicy, refreshing and sweet with a slightly tart flavor. More than a century ago, cider mills preferred the original, hardy "Johnny Appleseed" stock for pressing, as they were a hardy tree and heavy producer. Cider of the 1800s most likely was enjoyed fresh, but the real motivation for efforts was to produce hard cider that kept for much longer periods of time as refrigeration did not exist.
Mills today grow numerous varieties and the blending of apple varieties make a sweet drink. Varieties also help the apple-grower handle annual climate changes that can cause certain trees to produce less or more in given years.
The nutrition of apples could fill a page so just remember the old saying that "an apple a day keeps the doctor away!" The sweetness helps curb processed sugar cravings, the roughage is helpful for digestion, and they are natural with no added sugars, unhealthy oils, over-treated grains or harmful preservatives. They have vitamins galore and help keep teeth clean. And one more thing not to be forgotten: Apples taste great!
Part of cider mill history is that they were a gathering place for the rural communities to share news and good company while apples were being pressed. One hundred fifty years later, cider mills still provide the setting for people to gather together and enjoy a season that fills the senses.
Print this story
E-mail this story
