NATIONAL APPLE MONTH

 October 1-31 is NATIONAL APPLE MONTH

Great-Grandpa Dallas Matheson owned 300 acres in the Matheson Cove in the early 1900s.  He grew an apple orchard above the frost line on Shewbird Mountain.

He and the boys would take a sled up the mountain in the fall and haul apples down to the log cabin and store them in the cellar.  They were some of the most delicious apples you could ever eat.

One was the black beauty.  It was such a deep red that it was almost black.  There was the "Ben Davis" that was a light color with small streaks and white inside.  

Many other apples came from the seeds of other trees and this gave a mixed flavor and all were very delicious.  Those included the horse apples, the hog sweet, red June, striped May, pumpkin apple, queen pippin, pound apple, and others with no names.

Grandpa made long trays with light weight lumber for drying the apples.  The family peeled and sliced the apples and spread them on the trays to dry in the sun.  At night they brought the trays in on the porch, then out on the racks the next day.  

Dried apples are delicious, especially when made into fried apple pies or a stack cake.  The stack cake is made with five or six thin layers made from a cookie recipe.  The fruit is cooked with a little sugar and cinnamon  then spread between the layers.  It is best if left to soak for a few days.

Finally, this month is National Apple Month.  Maybe the saying, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away," is true.  Enjoy October with the mountains putting on a colorful show as the leaves deck out in colorful garments and the little trick -or -treaters fill their bags with goodies on Halloween.