On the weekend of Sept. 17 three of Eckert’s apple orchards hosted an event for people of all ages called Apple Fest. Every fall season, Eckert’s allows families to pick their own apples from its orchards. Eckert’s has three farms in Illinois, one in Grafton, one in Millstadt, and another in Belleville, IL .
There are activities for kids at the farm such as a bouncy house to play in and ponies to ride. This is the first year that Eckert’s has featured pens full of camels, turtles, oxen, and goats and a carnival ride called the “Cyclone.”
Though Eckert’s has added some new attractions this year, it has been and always will be a place for families to make memories.
The Boiles family have been coming to Eckert’s farm in Grafton, IL for as long they can remember. This year only Kristen Boiles, senior; her sister Jamie, sophomore; and their mom Michelle were able to go. They rode a wagon out to orchards and picked jonathon, golden delicious and red delicious apples.
“It was tough picking. A lot of the apples were rotten,” Kristen Boiles said.
Despite their bad luck, the Boiles still believe that Eckert’s is the best orchard around, and is the only one worth going to.
“Eckert’s has the best apples in the world,” Jamie Boiles said.
Michelle Boiles has been to other orchards in the past, but they haven’t met up to her standards.
“There’s one right off 94. Do we go there?” Michelle Boiles said, “No.”
The girls feel that Eckert’s is important, because it provides a unique opportunity for families to see and experience a farm for themselves. Not all suburban or city people understand what goes on at a farm on a day-to-day basis. Kristen Boiles is grateful that she is given the opportunity to visit Eckert’s every year.
“There are some places in America where people can’t pick apples because there’s not good weather or farming,” Kristen Boiles said
Retired school teacher Lucia Noris has been working at Eckert’s for the past six years. She provides basic information for those who go decide to pick their own apples from the orchards.
“Welcome,” Noris tells visitors, “Today you are picking jonathon, red delicious, golden delicious apples. You can put all three kind of apples in one bag. Each bag can hold up to 20 lbs. There is a wagon loading right behind me. Get on the wagon.When you’re done, the wagon will take you right back here where you can weigh your apples.” Noris exhausts this line as she repeats it to every family she encounters throughout the day.
The crowd this year at Eckert’s has been good according to Noris, but she said that the Fuji apples usually attract even more visitors. Fujis aren’t in season right now, but will be ready sometime in October.
Working to make an event, such as Apple Fest, happen is hard work. In the Eckert’s Country Store, the check-out lines were often continuously five to 15 customers long with only two cashiers working at a time. On Saturday, two wagons broke down. On the off-season, all the orchards still need to be cared for.
Jerry Hearn, the Eckert’s Grafton farm manager and the operations manager for all Eckert’s farms, says that owning a farm such as Eckert’s takes an initial five-year investment in the apple orchards. Then there must be barns and restrooms built for people to use.
However, Eckert’s is a seven generation family farm that began in 1837. Most of the groundwork has already been laid, and now the workers only have to maintain the foundation Eckert’s has been built on. Apple Fest itself took a gradual progression of about three weeks to organize and set up.
Hearn believes there are reasons that Eckert’s has thrived over the years while many other local farms have failed.
“We use wagons for the experience,” Hearn said. “We’re not in the business of selling apples.”
Hearn mentioned that the other apple farms just let people drive out into the middle of their orchards, pick their apples, and leave. In his opinion, that kind of method does not allow for memories to made. By using wagons, families get the feeling that they’re on a real farm, which can leave lasting memories.
By implementing other attractions on Eckerts such as camel rides, a carnival ride, and a bouncy house, Apple Fest is more than just picking apples. It’s a special day that can be remembered by families for years.
“Our company mission statement is to create family memories,” Hearn said.
Aurora Blanchard
