The Way it Was…
…at the Cider Mill
by Al Eicher

I have always enjoyed going to a cider mill, and it wasn’t just to buy cider and donuts. It was a curiosity I had for seeing how they pressed the apples to get the sweet juice we know as cider. About 65 years ago at Pigeon, the Rotary Club always sponsored a Halloween Party for the children of the Village, which was held in the High School auditorium. I was eight years old at the time, and some of us whose father was a Rotarian were invited to get on a couple of flatbed farm wagons, pulled by horses, to gather apples for the party.

There were a number of old apple orchards within a two-mile radius of the town, and that is where we picked up apples. I write “picked up” because we picked the apples laying on the ground. We picked up those juicy ripe apples that had fallen, a little bruised but not rotten. We picked up every variety of apple the orchard offered…some of the Rotarians picked apples from the trees, which they could reach while standing on the wagons. In a period of four hours, traveling from one abandoned orchard to another, we filled many bushel baskets until we had two wagonloads of apples.

We then rode the wagons to the Cider Mill at Berne, which was north of town on Berne Road near the railroad tracks. This mill was probably 50 years old at the time. It looked like a small barn, with a large sliding door on one side where we unloaded the apples. The building was not painted. Some of the apples were dumped down a chute where they were washed down with water and then placed in layers on the big press. I don’t know what power source was used to work the press. I do know we got a lot of cider from those very ripe apples. As I look back on the situation there had to be a lot of worms in those apples. I went to those Halloween parties for at least four years, and the cider was always the best.

As some of you may know, my son and I have produced 19 Michigan Town Histories on video. The most recent was Mayville in Tuscola County. In our research over the years, we found many of these towns had cider and jelly factories in the 1880s and some had evaporator operations. Mayville had a large Evaporator Plant, beginning in the early 1900s, for the drying of apples and other fruits. They sometimes employed as many as 150 people, depending on the season.

You might be interested to know that in the early days of our country, cider was a popular drink for the New England settlers. For some, hard cider was the brew of choice. England, France and Spain have had a tradition of making cider, fermenting in barrels and placing in bottles just like the packaging of beer. In France, today, the traditional cider is light and sparkling and is often times poured from a large champagne-type bottle. If you go to England, you can get cider on tap just like beer.

In the Sebewaing area, I contacted my friend, Walt Rummel, who told me his grandfather, Henry Kahlmann, had a cider mill. He and his partner, Mr. Rievert, operated a mill on Lange Road in the late 1890s. It was called the Sebewaing Cider and Jelly Factory. In the 1920s, the Bach Family Cider Mill was owned and operated by Ferdinand and Carl Bach, which was also located on Lange Road.

In 1876, at Oxford, Michigan, the Oxford Vinegar Factory was making wine vinegar and cider. The establishment was in a two-story building. The apple press was described as three-tiered and capable of producing 10,000 barrels annually. We don’t know how much was delivered in cider or vinegar. There was also an apple drying plant in Oxford owned by John Gardner, who also had a cider mill. At Vassar, in 1928, the Wellemeyer Orchards were established and, eventually, 100 acres were planted in apples, cherries and plums. Johnny Wellmeyer and family operated a cider mill and managed the business until 1971.

If you really want to see an old mill, the Franklin Cider Mill is still in operation and dates back to 1837. The Yates Cider Mill in the Rochester area dates back to 1863. If you are in the Fenton area you could go to the Historic Parshallville Grist Mill. This cider mill is 136 years old and is water powered just like the Franklin Cider Mill.

The old Berne Cider mill has not operated for 55 years or more. Today, the Leipprandt Orchards and Cider Mill on Filion Road is operational and has been since 1992. They have developed a fine orchard of 1,200 apple trees offering 35 varieties. I won’t list all the brands but Jonathan, McIntosh, Red and Golden Delicious plus Ida Reds and Northern Spy are some of my favorites. If you want a real treat try an apple called the Honey Crisp. The cider you get from the Leipprandt Orchards will be made from a blend of apples harvested at the right time to make that special cider taste unique to the Leipprandt Orchards. They use an “antique” rack and cloth press, maybe that’s their secret to making some mighty fine cider….and that’s the Way It Was… At The Cider Mills in the Thumb of Michigan.

Al and Dave Eicher provide television production services to corporations, ad agencies and nonprofit organizations.  They also create Michigan town histories and offer lecture services on a variety of Michigan History Events. You may contact them at  248-333-2010;  E-mail: info@program-source.com; Web site:  www.program-source.com;  Address: PSI, P.O. Box 444, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48303.