What better way to celebrate Fall than getting together to make fresh apple cider?!

Last Friday night our church did just that. We  got together for a big evening of pressing apples. There were truckloads and many buckets filled with apples! The weather was crisp and clear, making it perfect for the event!

There isn’t a recipe or scientific method for making the cider. Each family simply makes it a point to gather up apples the week leading up to the event. Many of us scavenge our neighborhoods gleaning from old neglected apple trees. There does seem to be an abundance of them around here and most of the old homesteads will have upwards of 8 trees. Our next-door neighbor has over 10 trees that he graciously let us pick from! One of the locals told Jerald that this corner of Nebraska was widely known for its apple orchards in the early 1900s.

Norman and Kathryn Farmwald graciously allowed the use of their shop area for making cider. It’s an ideal place because they have a sloped concrete pad out front where all the excess water can run off. Then they have a sink and a bit of seating area in the shop too.

So back to the recipe (or lack of)- we all bring apples of all shapes, colors, and varieties and they inadvertently get mixed as they are quartered and ran through the chopper and press. The resulting cider can be summed up in one word- luscious!

There’s always a hubbub of working people all around. Even a bunch of the men were snagged into washing and cutting spots off the apples, because there were not enough men type of jobs for them all. Then there’s also the kind of people- (some little and some big!) who need to hold down chairs, sample hot drinks and exercise their vocal cords. (And we need them too!)

I started out filling jugs, but then actually spent the evening simply organizing everybody’s jugs, while two other ladies filled them. It kept me hopping for sure! I found out the amount each family wanted, unlidded (is that a word?!) their jugs, and kept their jugs separate from the next person’s. Also wiped down the jugs and capped them. As soon as one person’s were filled, I marked down their amount of gallons, and told that person their jugs were ready to be hauled out to their vehicle, so as not to get confused with the next person’s. Most everybody brings their own used jugs, so there is one grand conglomeration of jugs to be filled and kept straight. I absolutely love to organize, so I was in my element doing my job! 

Jerald and I got this idea that we’d like to make a vegetable stew over the fire for supper that night. It’s something he grew up with on the Schrock side of the family.  Every October, they’d get together to cook apple butter over the fire, then they’d cook this stew over the fire for lunch. He had been wanting to try it sometime and this was the prefect opportunity!

So Thursday I hauled off to town to fetch the vegetables and Jerald ordered in and picked up the stew meat and beef bones. Friday morning I spent about 3 hours peeling, and dicing vegetables and frying up the meat.  I must say I felt like I’d nearly done a day’s work by the time that was accomplished. After all my hustling with the cider jugs that night, I was completely exhausted. I didn’t actually feel that bad because I was running on adrenalin. It was midnight till we dropped into bed!

I feel blessed to be part of a good church family, where we are able to spend an enjoyable evening working together like this! In this day and age of independancy and loss of love for God and our brothers and sisters in Christ, this is a definite privilege!

Photo credits- Drusilla Halteman, Kathryn Farmwald, and Jerald Rhodes