Iron Gears And Wooden Spindles Turn Apples Into A Fall Treat


There's something about the faithful clawing of iron gears and the clacking rhythm of wooden spindles and worn chains you find in a working mill that tickles the imagination of mechanical enthusiasts like me.

Maybe it's the evolution from wind-up toys to grownup gizmos that fascinates us, but then, the whys and whats of a subject aren't always important.

Sometimes, to free us from the modern world for an afternoon, it's enough just to watch fabric being spun to dishrags or grain turning to flour, or apples becoming that perfect combination of a sweet and sour juice called cider in a room full of noisy gadgets.

That's what I discovered recently while visiting my daughter and son-in-law Kelly and Kevin King at their family's farm outside Tiffin. They invited us to see a cider mill owned and operated by friends Janice and Willie Burnside.

The Burnsides have owned the mill since 1968, when it was more of a tool shed than a mill, and their first press was a Montgomery Ward model that had to be cranked by hand.

That first year, they coaxed 450 gallons of cider out of the machine and a love affair was born.

That same year they went shopping for an automated press. As fate would have it, the old Benner Press on St. Francis Avenue in Tiffin was looking for a new home and some TLC for its overworked parts. By 1969 the press was rebuilt and moved into a spotless building south of Tiffin that seeps with the aroma of crushed apples and moist country air.

Dodging the dive bombing of a few rogue bees that found their way in, Janice and Willie gave us a private demonstration of how cider is made. I was surprised to learn that the press was actually an elevator that forced trays of washed and collected fruit upwards against an immovable block. As a hydraulic ram forces the trays of soft produce against the block, the juice is released and cascades down and over a stainless tray and through a pipe to a similar tank in the cellar.

From there, a pump forces the fresh cider from your own apples or prepicked ones, on demand, to a "filling station" on the rear dock and into jugs that customers can supply, or buy for an additional 25 cents per gallon.

As I watched the operation unfold, a common denominator that mills had in their heyday occurred to me. They were a place to which communities were instinctively drawn for their common good. The local mill not only encouraged vendors and better roads and craftsmen, it cultivated a sense of community and belonging. And in their own way, small mills like J&W continue the tradition not only by rendering a service to the public, but in little deeds, like helping their church's youth group raise funds by providing free pressing and a space to sell their product. That kind of spirit and giving are what makes the community a better place for all of us. And sometimes, a jug of darn good cider on the back porch.

J&W Cider Mill is located at 5740 S. County Road 19, Tiffin. Call (419) 447-3053 for more information.

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