Hillcrest
Orchard
, located less than a mile from downtown Walnut Creek, has been
family-owned and operated since 1968. Merle and Lela
Hershberger take care
of 75 acres of orchard, which produce 22
varieties of apples and 12 varieties of peaches; add to
that, a plan to plant 3,400 dwarf trees for customers to
pick their own beginning in 2015. Because of
the harsh Ohio winter,
the peach crop was wiped
out and Merle will be
bringing in a wonderful peach
from Virginia. Hillcrest
is thrilled to welcome
customers to their beautiful
store, open August through
March. Packed with not just apples,
but cheeses, local produce, nuts, and
snacks. Hillcrest Orchard has 400 square
feet of retail space, an observation deck
overlooking the gorgeous Mud Valley and
beyond. The Cider house has large windows,
perfect for watching them make cider
every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from
September through March. In
fact, the cider pressed at Hillcrest is one
of the sweetest reasons to visit. The apples
are thoroughly washed and sanitized before
being pressed, bottled, and cooled.
Because their cider has no added ingredients
and is never pasteurized, its flavor
is like no other and can be used to make
vinegar or wine. By law, unpasteurized cider
can only be sold on-site, so people travel
from as far as 100 miles away to purchase
Hillcrest’s delicious drink, sometimes buying
it in bulk to freeze for later use.
During their busiest days, Hillcrest can
easily sell 1,800 gallons of sweet cider in
two days, or 35,000 gallons per
year.
For
those simply looking for
a good apple,
Hillcrest Orchard
has plenty to choose
from. During their most
productive times of the
year, you’ll find as many
as 300 bushels in their
grading room, from Melrose
to Fuji, Mutsu to the
popular Grimes Golden,
a hard-to-find choice
for sauces and pies. “But
the all time favorite,” Merle Hershberger says,
“is still Golden Delicious”, selling
twice as many as any other variety.
With
proper storage, in a ventilated plastic bag
in the refrigerator, the best-keeping apples
purchased now will last until June. As
Autumn rolls around, the store offers a
variety of pumpkins, squash, mums, nuts,
coating chocolate: milk, dark, and white.
Whiskey barrels for decoration, outdoor weddings,
wine and vinegar making, or
rain barrels. During the winter months, cases
of citrus fill the floor and the Hershbergers begin
creating beautiful custom made fruit
baskets.
Merle
and Lela Hershberger
have seven children:
Jon Adam, Mark, Lauri, Katie, Matthew,
Grace, and Josh work hard with every
aspect of the orchard, from tree care to
customer service. Even their beloved boxer,
Angel, is on hand to greet folks with a
wag of her tail. Just like Merle did as a young
boy, six-year old Josh entertains customers
and watches over the apple butter stirring
along with his Dad, uncle Duane,
and grandfather Jacob, who start the
kettle of cider early in the morning, adding
their homemade applesauce around noon.
The process continues 15-20 times producing
72 quarts each time, which lasts for
a year.
Merle
says he is blessed that his family is
part of the business. “It’s our goal to have
a good quality apple,” he says, “but I also
like the idea that it’s run by the family at
home. We’re raising a product people want,
and we meet a lot of great customers.”
Hillcrest
Orchard
is located at 2474 Township
Road 444 in Walnut Creek, OH.
For more information call,
(330) 893-9906
Written by www.ohacg.com