Yellow Springs Historical Society

This section covers his childhood memories of cider making.

The meaning of term “pomace cheese” may have been lost over the years.

A cider mill, erected by my father in the year 1835, stood in the orchard about one-hundred yards from the house. (Brother Samuel gave a brief description of this mill in his printed pamphlet on “Early Settlers and Early Times”, page 11.) Being of a primitive type its use was abandoned in the late 50’s, but the frame work stood as a relic of the old style mill until the farm was sold to its present owner (1869).

The accompanying cut (pg. ) shows the crude machine for mashing the apples by means of wooden-fluted rollers turned by horse power. The press with its heavy beam is more difficult to reproduce from memory, but the method of working it is still clear to my mind. I was too young to be of service in the heavy work of cider making but not too young to watch the others do it and to enjoy drinking the cider as it came fresh from the press. A tincup was ready at hand to catch a drink as it ran from the press-board through a gutter surrounding the four sides of the immense pomace cheese under the heavy press-beam. The inclination of the gutter carried the cider from all sides of the pomace cheese to the center of the lowest side where it met a V shaped spout. Under this spout was placed a large wooden tub holding one or two barrels. From this tub the cider was conveyed to barrels by hand, using a large dipper and a two-gallon wooden funnel. The latter was made by a cooper, using oak for staves, the bottom ends of which were cut to fit the curvature of the barrel when placed over the bunghole.

The boy who stood near the press when the men were filling the barrels was always welcome to a drink of cider if he could get his tincup under the spout, but when the beam pressure was accelerated by the man at the sword-lever he was liable to get splashed by the overflow as the result of the sudden squeeze. I well remember that with my eagerness to satisfy my thirst for a drink I would get a shower bath instead, much to the amusements of the by-stander.

Our cider mill accommodated the Bethel neighborhood from the year 1835 until the new cylinder grinder and screw press came into general use. Father’s account book mentions sale of cider by the barrel commencing October 1835, at $1.00 to $1.85 per barrel. The last sales mentioned were in the year 1850, which indicates that from that time on the neighbors were taking their apples to the new mills of improved machinery which would produce more cider from a given amount of apples with far less labor. After a few more years of private use of the old mill we, too, abandoned its use and became patrons of the new.

Two or three wagons with large box-beds, holding from 25 to 40 bushels each, were drawn into the orchard to be filled with cider apples the day before starting to the mill. It was necessary to start early in the morning to insure an early turn at the mill. First come, first served was the rule. At nine or ten years of age I was delighted to be permitted to go with this outfit. Of course it took stalwart men like my father and older brothers to do the heavy work, but there was so much to be seen that a boy could enjoy that to him the occasion was one of great expectation. The early rising was invigorating; the jolty ride seated on top of the loaded wagon was said to aid digestion; the meeting of neighbor boys at the mill, who came with their parents in a similar manner, gave opportunity to improve our social qualities and enlarge our circle of boyhood acquaintances. In boyish manner and language we could discuss the wonderful improvement of the rapid whirling cylinder for grinding apples over the slow motion of the fluted nut-masher now discarded; also the merit of the screw press over the dangerous beam in hastening the pressing process. Give boys a chance to talk unhampered by conventualities and they will find plenty to say.

The cider made, the barrels filled and rolled into the wagon bed over skids placed at the rear end, we were ready to start home. If successful in getting an early turn at the mill, we might get home in time to get a good start at boiling down the cider for apple-butter in the afternoon. The apple-butter boiling was done outdoors in a large copper kettle suspended to a pole, the two ends of which rested on forked limbs set firmly in the ground (See cut, pg. ).

By boiling the cider was decreased in quantity and increased in strength until the proper consistency was obtained for thickening with apples. For thickening the largest copper kettle was selected and the choicest fruit prepared; then another long process of boiling and stirring until a practiced tester pronounced the mixture to be real cider apple-butter, done to a finish – sweet or sour according to the quality of the apples and the amount of sugar used. The latter, being expensive, was used very sparingly, if used at all.

Before canning in hermetically sealed jars became prevalent all fruit butters were boiled down to a consistency sufficient to preserve them in open top jars or crocks. When filled these were covered with wooden lids over heavy cotton cloth tied down to the top rim with wrapping twine. No parafin was used as a top-covering as is done today.

• I wish to note that the large copper kettle that did service at our old home at Bethel during the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s of the last century was purchased by brother Harrison at the sale of personal property after father’s death. He took this kettle with him to Illinois when he moved to that state. It is now (1927) in the possession of his grandson Roy W. Miller, who lives on a farm in Tazewell Co., Illinois, near the village of Armington. Roy is preserving this kettle as a relic of “Ye olden times”.