Growing up on an abandoned farm I never gave the old apple trees there much thought. There were a few on the edge of our lawn, a couple along the driveway and several more in the pastures and along a road that led to a field. As kids we would eat the apples off the trees and sometimes we could get our mother to make us applesauce if we collected the apples for her. There was also the occasional apple fight, which usually ended in tears for somebody.
In 2005 when my wife and I bought our first house I began making plans to plant a small backyard orchard the next spring. A quick internet search revealed that there was much more in the world of apples than the red delicious and granny smith trees Walmart was offering. I read about the numerous varieties not found in the grocery stores and of the effort to save heirloom trees from extinction. My interest had been sparked and it led me back to the trees of my childhood.
One tree particularly holds special memories for me. A massive hollow tree that stood at the edge of our lawn, so large and hollow it served as a playhouse complete with door, window, and skylight.
This tree had once been part of a family farm in the middle of vast fields and pastures long before our house had been built. Certainly it is old enough to have witnessed all the comings and goings of the valley for at least the last century. In the beginning it must have seen a family it knew well working the land, planting crops, and raising animals. Inevitably, the day came that the person who planted it left and never returned. On another day it watched as the first automobile to grace the valley came clattering up the dusty dirt road. It saw the old farmhouse burn to the ground in the 1940’s, and then in the 1970’s it found itself on the edge of a lawn as a new house was built. Children began playing inside of it and all around it. There was even that time when a litter of kittens was born inside of its protective walls. As the years went by the farm animals disappeared and the pastures and fields became woods again. Vines grew up through its branches and nearly choked it off from sunlight.
Then one of the now grown children began visiting the tree again, on one trip he killed the vines, on another took wood for grafting and other times he took pictures.
This apple tree has been in my family for roughly 60 years and in that time it has barely changed. It has a circumference of 12-1/2 feet, how old could it be? 100 years old? 200? even older? Who planted it? What variety is it? Is it the last of its kind or one of many? Its exact age and history may never be known but hopefully in the future with a little help from others I will be able to identify its variety.
What I do know is that it is an early variety, ripening in August through September. The crisp white flesh has a near perfect sweet/tart balance. What really makes this apple special is the refreshing and distinct flavor lurking in the background. I consider it one of the best apples I've ever tasted.
In the spring of 2007 I grafted wood from this tree to a seedling rootstock. I plan on transplanting it close to my house where I will be able to see it every time I look out the kitchen window. I plan to label it along with the other apple trees in my backyard orchard ensuring that their history will be saved for future generations.
