Out of the Dust

A major crop in central New York for many years has been apples. From the Lyons Republican during the month of May, 1924, we have these articles which relate to each other.

Apple Shippers Have a Banquet

Mr. R.G. Phillips, secretary of the International Apple Shippers Association, will be the principal speaker at the Wayne County fruit growers to discuss the present market situation. The meeting will be held at the Sodus Methodist Church Wednesday evening, May 28th, and will start with a banquet at 7:00 o’clock.

Chairman D. J. Chase, of the Fruit Committee, will preside. W. H. Martin, of the Aspegren Fruit Company, will also be present and talk on the prospects of the dried apple industry.

The meeting will be open to all. Reservations can be had by sending one dollar ($1.00) to the Farm Bureau Office by Saturday, May 24th.

There will be a meeting of the Wayne County Farm Bureau Fruit Committee following this meeting.

You note they will be discussing dried apples. In many ads looking to buy, they are also referred to as evaporated apples. The price of the dried apples can be determined by the following excerpt from the May Grand Jury report:

The People vs. Jacob Van Steen – Burglary, Grand Larceny and Criminally Receiving at Sodus N.Y. on January 15, 1924. Charged with breaking into the warehouse of Charles F. Burns at Alton and stealing 2322 pounds of dried apples of the value of $278.16.

The people vs. Jacob Van Steen – Burglary, Grand Larceny and Criminally Receiving at Sodus, N.Y. on March 28th 1924. Charged with breaking into the warehouse of Charles F. Burns and stealing 1248 pounds of dried apples of the value of $150. These apples were recovered by Deputy Sheriff Jerry Collins.

From the simple division, we determine dried apples are worth 12 cents a pound. When you make dried apples, what do you have left over; the peelings and the core. If you were a house-wife, these, along with other apples would be made into applesauce. The next article deals with the same leftovers.

Vinegar Decision: Apples Win in The Supreme Court

The National Vinegar Association won a signal victory this week in the United States Supreme Court in the celebrated vinegar case which has been in the courts for a long time, which case was against the Douglass Company of Fairport, manufacturers of pectin and vinegar.

The Douglass Company has for years been making vinegar out of skins, cores and chops and selling it as pure cider vinegar. In view of that fact that vinegar could be made much cheaper in this way than out of the whole apples, this firm was in a position to undersell regular manufacturers of vinegar and the consequence has been that many of regular vinegar manufacturers have been ruined as a result of this competition, which it is alleged by the National Vinegar Association was unfair to the manufacturers and unfair to the public.

It was the contention of the vinegar association that pure cider vinegar was understood to be made from whole apples and the public so understood it and that therefore vinegar made out of skins, cores and chops could not be sold under the mane of pure cider vinegar and if it was it was practicing a deception upon the public. No contention was made that the vinegar was of an inferior quality, but the point involved in the case was that the people had a right to know what kind of vinegar they were buying and from what the vinegar was made. This was the whole point in the case and the contention of the vinegar association was sustained by the decision of the Supreme Court which settles the matter.

The farmers of the country were greatly interested in this case also, because now they can sell their whole cider apples to the manufacturers and set a higher price for them, while heretofore they have been up against the proposition of competing with the manufacturers who use skins, cores and chops instead of whole apples.

Dried apples were a source of income for the farm house-wife along with her butter and egg money. The apple peeling machines that you see were used by her to make the dried apples. The apple came off the device as a spiral. This was dipped in a weak solution of lemon juice which prevented the apple from turning brown. The apple was then threaded on a string and cut in half. This way, with minimum labor, the apple slices were on the string ready to be dried.

Bob Betz is an independent historian who volunteers in the Madison County Clerk’s Office Archives. While working there, Betz has recaptured stories of Madison County’s past ‘out of the dust.’ His columns are taken from historic documents and written in the language of the era. He can be reached at history@m3pmedia.com.