After a hot and wet summer it was a welcome moment to turn the calendar to September. Though the temperature in New York continues to be in the 90s, there are the beginning tell-tale signs of the approaching autumn. Children have gone back to school, leaves are beginning to fall, and you can start spending your weekends at local farms and orchards wandering your way through fields ripe for the picking. After a weekend spent with family picking apples at a local farm, it got me thinking of the farm here at Maryknoll and the bountiful fruit and vegetables it has produced over the years.
Maryknoll’s apple orchard has been a presence since its founding and we have evidence of this from the early diaries. An entry from September 1913 notes, “Apples all picked – cider barrels secured. Many barrels of apples sent to convents and institutions.”
Apples weren’t the only food harvested. We have a record from September 22, 1921 that reads, “Students forego their regular Wednesday afternoon walk and pick potatoes instead.”
In those early years of Maryknoll they tried to be as self-sustaining as they could, farming all sorts of fruits and vegetables and raising animals as well. Though there are no longer cows grazing on the property, the apple orchard remains and it is a reminder of Maryknoll’s past and the ripe apples hanging off the branches are a welcome indicator that fall is just around the corner.
Below please enjoy some early photos of the harvest season at Maryknoll.
Seminarians Francis Ford and Bernard Meyer helping with the apple harvest, 1915
Seminarian Leo Conners picking grapes, 1939
A strong crop of potatoes at Maryknoll, photo undated
Br. Frederick Steinbach in the apple orchard.
