Each October my brother hosts our family cider making party at his home in Chehalis. He is a teacher and he uses the three day "teacher workshop" weekend to go to Yakima, on the other side of the Cascade Mts, to purchase a thousand pounds of apples and haul them back for cider making. My sister Laurie lives nearby, as do her children and grandchildren, who account for most of the little ones running around. Our Mother enjoys sitting in the middle of the action, taking it all in.
The apples are collected from the bin, washed and cut in half in preparation for crushing.
The cider press we use belonged to my great grandfather, George Washington Hofstetter, my Mother's grandfather, and is a family treasure.
This event is important enough to our son, Jake, here enjoying a coffee break, that he made sure he was back in time to make this the last stop on his two week vacation into the southwest. We were glad to see him, safe and sound, after his solo trip in his old 1977 VW camper bus!
The juice is collected from the press and strained into jugs. The result was about 50 gallons of cider to be shared.
A lot of fun is shared as well. And of course, there is the eating! Arn manned the grills and the corn pot.
There were lots of giggles at this table!
And lots of eating and talking was enjoyed by all. While the state of the economy did come up, we decided not to worry about it, at least not today. Politics was mostly avoided, since even in such a happy family as this, there are strong differences of opinion, and arguing didn't fit into our agenda.
What a brilliant blog!! Now that's what I call a family gathering! Wow! Thanks for sharing. - Dave
ReplyDeletelooks like a fun family time. what a fun tradition to get together and make cider. looks like everyone is enjoying themselves...
ReplyDeleteI'm trying really, REALLY hard not to covet, here. A: So much of your life is idyllic. B. THAT CIDER PRESS! Wayne and I would love to have something so great to press our apples with, and to share a day as glorious as this with our family.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for inviting us to share in a small part of it with yours. If only you could send a glass of that freshly made cider through cyber space, this would be the PERFECT blog.
Oh my..what a tradition. That cider press is so neat and to have you all there to enjoy the fall season. That is super..and it is cider time here too. Yummy..should have added it to my shopping list...
ReplyDeleteYou have so many wonderful family gatherings. I enjoy seeing these photos, and yum, I can taste the cider and hamburgers..
ReplyDeleteLinda this is what is so important. The traditions that you pass on to your family members all the while enjoying each other. So important. I love this.
ReplyDeleteOkay...when you and the family went to the red cottage by the water, I began my campaign to be adopted into the family. And after this apple cider post, I would like to renew my pleas to be adopted into such a great group of folks!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the fun. It was very entertaining.
What a wonderful tradition, Linda. Thank you so much for sharing your family gathering. Now if we could just get in on some of that cider........
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