Apple Butter and Fruit Trees

Friday was a very busy day at the Old Six Mile Museum.  Not only did we make apple butter the old fashioned way (copper kettle, open flame, wooden paddle), we also had the 5th grade classes from Worthen Elementary over to plant some fruit trees.  These students are the same ones who came over in the spring while they were in 4th grade and planted tomato plants.  

I was pleasantly surprised as to how well these kids behaved.  Having 75+ students around a steaming hot kettle could make anybody nervous, but they caused no problems at all.  They were very interested in what we were doing and listened to Jim Engelke explain how apple butter is made.

After watching a demonstration around the copper kettle the kids followed Gary Ford, the master gardener with the park district, to the garden area where they planted 3 fruit trees.  

Gary did a wonderful job going over the details of planting a tree.  It is a lot more work than just digging a hole and sticking the tree in. Who knew.  The kids were so quiet when he was talking.  He let them help fill the holes back in with dirt and tie the trees to the ground.  

A big huge THANK YOU to Jim and Sharon Parker for donating the trees.  This would not have been possible without them.  We now have 2 Golden Delicious and 1 peach tree.

After the trees were planted the kids went back to the school for lunch.  In the afternoon each class came back one at a time to see how the apple butter was progressing.  We were in the stirring stage of the process and this allowed the kids to get a chance to taste it.  They all loved it and some of them kept coming back for more!

The best part of the day for me was when the kids went to the garden to try and find the plant they planted.  The kids that missed out in the spring were so upset that they didn't have a plant.  One girl told me "I sure wish I went to this school last year.".  The kids ran around the garden yelling at their friends when they found their plant and asking what the different vegetables were.  Most had know idea what an eggplant was so I cut one open and let them see what one looked like.  They all asked if they could take it home with them.  The teachers let them pick some veggies off the vine and so they were running around trying to see who could find the biggest pepper or tomato.   It was so fun watching them.

The last class of the day was Mrs. Kahn's class.  They by far picked the most food.  I had to go find grocery bags so they could take their finds home.  You would think they had chunks of gold in the bags the way the kids were acting.  I have a feeling many pots of chili were made this weekend from the peppers and tomatoes that were picked.  

Mrs. Kahn told me how one of the boys stood up in class a few weeks ago and explained to the class what it feels like to be hungry.  How you get sick, your body hurts, and everything that goes with it.  Needless to say, we loaded up his bag.   This is the best part of this project for me.  To see the excitement in the kids eyes and know that we are helping them help themselves.  By teaching them how to grow food from just a whole in the ground, they can ensure they won't go hungry again.

Give a child a tomato and he can eat for a day, teach him how to grow the tomato and he can eat for a lifetime.