Saturday, October 7, 2023 | Country Acres South • Page 1 PRSRT STD ECR U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT #278 Madelia, MN 522 Sinclair Lewis Ave Sauk Centre MN 56378
SOUTH Saturday, October 7, 2023
Focusing on Today’s Rural Environment
Volume 2, Edition 9
Preserved by commun i t y
Historic apple press continues to bring people together
Rain water drips off apples Sept. 23 at Tom Endrizzi’s orchard near Rochester. Besides picking and processing apples, attendees of the applepressing day also have a potluck lunch complete with a variety of wines.
BY AMY KYLLO STAFF WRITER
ROCHESTER — On a damp but pleasant September afternoon, a small crowd of people bustled around an apple press. The press, originally owned by the Mayo family, has seen many renovations, yet what holds it together more than any part old or new is the community of people connected to it. The apple press comes out about once a year for the Purple Foot Winemakers Club of SE Minnesota apple pressing day held at what once was the Wydra Orchard on the edge of Rochester. “It’s fun to know that the Mayo brothers used it,” club member David Welsh said. “It’s fun that it’s been around and it’s been a part of the community for a while. Being able to say, ‘Hey, it’s still chugging along making apples and making juice just
PHOTOS BY AMY KYLLO
Apple juice pours out of the apple press Sept. 23 at Tom Endrizzi’s orchard near Rochester. The apple press was originally owned by Charles William Mayo. (Below) Apples lie in a trailer Sept. 23 at Tom Endrizzi’s orchard near Rochester. Attendees of the apple-pressing day fill the trailer as well as IKEA bags and pails with apples.
like it did.’” The history of the press goes back to the original owners of the orchard, Wally Wydra and his wife, Alene. Not
only were the Wydras farmers, they also were foster parents to dozens of children. One of these children
was Joe Endrizzi. In the early 1960s, 15-year-old Joe and his little sister arrived at their new foster home. There, the orphans met their new foster parents, and though the pair was half grown up already, the place
made an impact. “This has always been my home,” Joe said. According to Joe, the tale of how Wydra, or Pa as he calls him, got the apple press began one night at supper when Wydra called Charles William Mayo in 1961. “He said, ‘Charlie, — he didn’t know Charlie Mayo from no-
body — I hear you got an apple press,’” Joe said. “‘I got ... a lot of apples that need pressing.’” According to Joe, after some conversation, Mayo agreed to give Wydra the press in return for apple juice each year. By the early 1970s, Wydra had invited his friends from the wine club to come to the orchard for apple pressing, and the tradition has continued for 50 years. “The rest is almost history,” Joe said. “We’ve been squeezing apples and squeezing apples ever since then.” The apple press, though having historic roots, contains little of the original. A motor-powered hammer mill chops the apples, a motor-powered hydraulic press squeezes them, safety shields protect operators, steel steps make it easy to drop apples in, and a stainless-steel bed catches and drains the juice. To this day, a small manufacturer’s metal tag on the side of the press identifies the history of the press as older than its compilation of parts.
Apple press page 2
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Publications bli ti The newspaper of today is the history of tomorrow.
This month in the
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COUNTRY:
Thrifted memories Amy Kyllo column
5
Weaving through a new crop Zumbrota
Watch for the next edition of Country Acres on October 21, 2023
7
A winning attitude Dodge Center
8
National Pork Month
11 Called to help others Mantorville 13 A farm to call your own Lanesboro