From Haydenville to the Catskills

Jim's home is really lovely.  On the shoulder of Horse Mountain, with a lovely view to the west.

My car and camper parked in Jim's driveway.

Then on to the Catskills to visit my friend Ginny and her son Jose.  Ginny, among her many interests, is deeply involved in Catskills Folk Art and history.  She took me to see what may be the oldest still working cider mill in the US, at Hubbell Brothers Farm.  Built in the 1800's with a wood burning single cylinder engine, it is entirely run on pulleys from the one power source.  Housed in a giant barn with all wood construction, and a sawmill in another area.  For over a hundred years, families have brought apples from their farms to be pressed into cider, which they take home for their own use.  

Tubs of apples are poured into the apple washer, and then go up the chute to be dumped into the apple cutter.

The finely chopped apples are packed into a box, lined in cloth.   When the box is full, the cloths are wrapped over it, and another layer of apples is added on top.  

Here four layers of apples are being pressed at once and the filtered cider is pouring out.  It was delicious!

Hubbells bottling the cider.

The Hubbells also make hard cider and cider vinegar from their own apples.   The hard cider was  really good, too!

After seeing this wonderful old mill, Ginny took me to Hanford Mills in East Merrill, NY, which is a large mill complex, also from the 1800's, but solely for the purpose of milling lumber and other wood products.  There we saw demonstrations of water power, wood-burning steam engine power, and new state of the art gasoline engine powered wood working.  Fascinating to see these different technologies.  Wonderful that this mill is preserved and still functions, with a whole team of people from several generations who are passionate about keeping it running.  We are likely to need some of these sustainable technologies in the future!

And then on to the Roxbury Arts Group 40th birthday celebration.  Aside from the 40 beautiful birthday cakes they were auctioning off, the delicious cupcakes and spiked cider, my favorite part was the artist who was making wonderful whimsical hats.

What a wonderful day!  Thank you, Ginny, for your hospitality and for taking me to these events!