| Sources |
- [S113] Manes Funeral Home, (http://www.manesfuneralhome.com), 17 Mar 2006.
Robert "R. L." Greene obituary
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 25 Nov 2011.
Apples and holidays together like good food, good folks
Author: David Popiel
Warmer, damper air wafted across our mountains before Thanksgiving causing a flurry of outdoor activity in our hometown, as shoppers began the four-week buying binge before Christmas. Sunshine and 70s is a far cry from hog killing weather.
Carver's Orchard apple house has already seen colder days this season but workers for Danny Ray and Irene Carver welcome the weather change. Tourists and locals keep coming to taste and buy apples from the orchard that has been around for at least 60 years. Some of the workers have been with the family for more than 30 years. Two that Danny Ray Carver spoke of were Bill Lunsford and Ruby Messer. Bill was trimming limbs and suckers from trees and must handle 5,000 trees during his annual rounds. He starts in fall as soon as most leaves have fallen. Bruce Seibold, a Detroit suburbs native, worked with him and is glad to be in Cocke County.
Ruby joined Carver's about 35 years ago and lives at Chicken Hollow with her husband, Carson Messer, who also works at the apple house and orchards. I talked with her on Wednesday and found out she is a memjber of the Del Rio Hall family, a first cousin to my friend with the sheriff's dept., Parker Hall. Ruby and Carson have a daughter, Melissa. Ruby and Carson did farm work for the Carvers more than 30 years ago and that included a lot of apple picking. But during the past 26 years she's worked in the apple house. She and co-worker Debbie make the apple butter and pies and relish meeting and talking to the customers who make themselves at home at the unique orchard.
You saw a busy scene in a photo last week so let me tell you who the workers were: Candy Brown, Sandy Wilson, and Debbie Williams. I must confess to stopping in at the candy shop and chatting with Diana Phillips. While I tasted chocolate, she described the best sellers as dark chocolate cherries, and pecan claws. While most of us ate turkey and huge meals, others still had to work and only got a break for Thanksgiving. Danny Ray said the apple house continues to stay busy year around and only closes for Christmas and Easter. The orchard business like farming in general is highly seasonal so that peak employment at Carver's is about 30 in summer and early fall. By dead winter less than a dozen people are still at work there and most in the restaurant, thanks to Irene. "It takes a lot of kin folks," said Danny Ray thanking all his workers.
At anytime you enter the cool apple house, where local men and women are gracious and good to customers, hundreds of bushels and bags of yellow, red, and golden apples are everywhere. The most popular this year have been Pink Lady and Carousel, both crunchy and juicy. Pipins are always popular. There were half-a-dozen bushels of Gold Rush apples against the wall, and Danny Ray asked me to try one. It took some jaw power to bite into it but the result was sweet and juicy. Then you "chew and chew and chew," he chided. Early season apples by rule are tender and late season are hard and crisp. It's hard to beat the Stayman Winesap. "It's just a good apple." He mentioned his Dad's "Kyle Sweet" but we didn't take time to sample any, if any were still around. The best cooking apple; well that has to be Jonathans. There will be another year for apple picking. Carver's Improved Stayman arrived in September to buyers' applause. "It has an awful great flavor." One thing you will notice among buyers is they taste the apples. "You won't see this at the grocery store." But if you pay the highest price of $20 for a bushel, you need to taste one first. Apple prices are up from $1 to $2 per bushel this season. For $14 you can buy most any variety by the bushel. Demand is good even during recessions and post-recessions because a lot of apples are used in cider, pies, fritters, and butter.
The apple business in the 1970s when I first wrote about it has changed much in some ways, particularly marketing and sales. Before this, you could see a small stand along Cosby Highway with a few apples and this was headquarters. The business is year around thanks to cold storage and other things to sell such as Stacey's chocolates and sweets. So the Carvers don't get a long winter break but that's OK. "It's still a wonderful life and it is always something to see."
|
Search | Advanced Search
(Age 81 years)