Apple Day

Minnesota Apples - John Chapman Remembered

Excelsior celebrated “Apple Days” in September, and the photos I took at the event were of many things,mostly antiques, but not apples.
At the Apple Days Festival there is a taste testing by the Minnesota Arboretum to continue their study and development of new ways to dethrone the Honey Crisp, Minnesota’s and the Nation’s #1 apple. Most of you still remember and enjoy the Haralson, which was #1 until 1991when the Honey Crisp ( a national variety) made cider out of it (I think the ending of “Cheers, and Woody Haralson’s feature role, played a part).
Minnesotans cheer! A new, and apple contender is on its way - Snow Sweet. It will be introduced in Fall of 1996. It has very bright white interior (they call it flesh...), and is very sweet. Sadly lost in the fray is the Zesta apple. Just couldn’t make the cut.

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“Johnny Appleseed” - John Chapman was born in Leominister, Mass. On September 26, 1774. Nothing is known about his childhood. From 1797 until his death, he traveled alone from western Pennsylvania through Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, planting orchards as the settlers moved westward. He eventually owned about 1,200 acres of orchards

The most famous story about Chapman tells of his giving apple seeds and saplings to everyone he met. He supposedly traveled hundreds of miles to tend one of his orchards. Some people said he wore a tin pot as a hat, a coffee sack as a shirt, and no shoes. Various tales describe him as a medicine man to the Indians.”
From the Pennsylvania Environmental Web Page

Comment: I like the hat, mine is made of Reynolds Aluminum, some prefer tinfoil.