June 25, 2013 - Shipshewana, Indiana
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It rained and it poured all the way to Shipshewana.
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"On The Road Again!!"
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Shipshewana Flea Market
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Dinner at Das Dutchman Essenhaus
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We ate until we could eat no more!!
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Sunfield Farmers Picnic - 2012
Making Apple Butter - October 2011
Bonnie Foltz peeling apples
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Doris Feasel peeling apples
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The crew at work
Cooking
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Larry Steward stirring the apple butter
Peeled apples ready to be cooked
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The smell of cooking apples whiffed through the air on Friday afternoon in Sunfield and all day Saturday. With the high winds those in neighboring towns should have been able to also smell the apples cooking. The Larry and Marilee Steward family along with the Sunfield Historical Society members began the Steward’s 59th year of preparation of the Dorothy Steward Family Sweet Apple Butter famous recipe. Friday noon Marilee and Ashley Steward, Bonnie Foltz, Marlene Trask, Doris Feasel, Karen Sipperley, Lexi and I, all showed up with apple peelers and paring knives in hand ready to tackle the 7 bushels of various kinds of apples that awaited us. Larry and Bill Steward prepared the fire and the long stirring pole tying corn husk through the holes in the wooden paddle so that they would help scrape the bottom and sides of the copper kettle. They then began boiling down 19 gallons of cider that would help cook the apples. Many hands made short work of the preparation of the apples and we were finished peeling about 5:30. The apples were placed in the hot apple cider a few at a time and the long hours of cooking and stirring began. One thing about the process of making apple butter is that you have to constantly stir the apples in the copper pot or they will scorch and burn quickly. You sure can’t sit and take a break. So everyone took their turn stirring the apples. I set and watched for awhile and then asked to take my turn, it looked so easy for the men to push that paddle around the copper pot, I figured I could do it too, but when I took hold of that long pole, I quickly realized that this was really going to be a challenge for me and I sure didn’t last long, sorry to say.
The fire was left to go out and the stirring stopped about 11:30 p.m. on Friday night when the danger of burning the apples had ceased, everyone went home for a quick night’s sleep except Wendel Peabody who stood watch over the cooking apples to keep them safe. The wind continued to blow with gusts up to 44 mph and the rain pelted the tenting, but all was safe when we returned at 7 a.m. the next morning to again build the fire and start the stirring process once more.
The sugar and spices from the secret recipe were added about 1 o’clock and preparation of the canning line and job descriptions were assigned for our final act, which begun at 2:20 p.m. It was well organized and when all was said and done 148 ½ pints of that delicious Sweet Apple Butter were sitting on the tables.
Many stopped by on Friday and Saturday to watch for awhile or take their turn with the stirring of the apples and they would always ask “what time will it be ready?” Larry would always say, “I can’t tell you a time, just when it’s ready”. It’s a real science to watch the process of raw apples being turned into delicious Sweet Apple Butter we all love, and with the love and commitment to their mother, Dorothy Steward, her children have continued to carry on this yearly tradition since their mother’s death in 2007.
We would like to thank Larry & Marilee Steward, Karen & Ronnie Raymond & Ashley, Bill Steward, Nancy & Warren Terry, for making this all possible and the donation of 109 jars of delicious Sweet Apple Butter. Don Mast, Dana Troub and Bernard McDiarmid for the donation of pint jars, Dave Thompson for spending his Saturday with us taking his turn stirring the apples for hours, the ladies who peeled the apples for hours without stopping, so many others who helped and Wendel for sitting there watching all night to keep everything safe for all of us. If I missed anyone, I do apologize and THANK YOU.
The fire was left to go out and the stirring stopped about 11:30 p.m. on Friday night when the danger of burning the apples had ceased, everyone went home for a quick night’s sleep except Wendel Peabody who stood watch over the cooking apples to keep them safe. The wind continued to blow with gusts up to 44 mph and the rain pelted the tenting, but all was safe when we returned at 7 a.m. the next morning to again build the fire and start the stirring process once more.
The sugar and spices from the secret recipe were added about 1 o’clock and preparation of the canning line and job descriptions were assigned for our final act, which begun at 2:20 p.m. It was well organized and when all was said and done 148 ½ pints of that delicious Sweet Apple Butter were sitting on the tables.
Many stopped by on Friday and Saturday to watch for awhile or take their turn with the stirring of the apples and they would always ask “what time will it be ready?” Larry would always say, “I can’t tell you a time, just when it’s ready”. It’s a real science to watch the process of raw apples being turned into delicious Sweet Apple Butter we all love, and with the love and commitment to their mother, Dorothy Steward, her children have continued to carry on this yearly tradition since their mother’s death in 2007.
We would like to thank Larry & Marilee Steward, Karen & Ronnie Raymond & Ashley, Bill Steward, Nancy & Warren Terry, for making this all possible and the donation of 109 jars of delicious Sweet Apple Butter. Don Mast, Dana Troub and Bernard McDiarmid for the donation of pint jars, Dave Thompson for spending his Saturday with us taking his turn stirring the apples for hours, the ladies who peeled the apples for hours without stopping, so many others who helped and Wendel for sitting there watching all night to keep everything safe for all of us. If I missed anyone, I do apologize and THANK YOU.