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with his grandaughter,
Stephanie.
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In 1965, my father, Harold
Askelson, decided to plant a few apple trees as a hobby. Dad had
retired from farming, but still had a strong desire to be involved in
agriculture at some level. He decided that planting a few apple
trees to provide fruit for
our family would be a great idea. I think my mother, Edna, agreed
just
because she thought it would keep him busy. Dad got a little
carried away and planted more trees than we had family. Within a few years, the trees that Dad had planted were producing more apples than our family could possibly use. Not being ones to let anything go to waste, Mom and Dad decided to set up shop in their garage and sell apples in grocery sacks to friends and neighbors. That was all the incentive that Dad needed to turn his hobby into a business. He planted more trees and by 1977 was growing enough apples to buy a cider press and officially opened up for business. That year, my husband, Steve, and I joined my parents in the business. Dad retired from the orchard in 1992 and Steve and I took over the full time operation of the orchard. Dad passed away in 2000, but Mom continues to help out in the bakery during the week. Over the years, the orchard and our family have continued to grow. Steve and I have three daughters, Lindsay, Stephanie and Brittany. Lindsay and her husband, Berk Boehne, live in nearby Shabbona where Berk farms, raises hogs, and has a trucking business. Lindsay and Berk blessed us with our second granddaughter, Madison Christine, in January. Madison joins sister Avery as one of the "apples" of our eyes. Lindsay organizes our school tours and helps at the orchard on weekends. Stephanie will be getting married in June. Her fiance`, Nate Lamoreux, lives in Lanark, IL where he farms and raises cattle. Stephanie teaches 8th grade English and is currently working towards her master's degree. Brittany is a student at Kishwaukee College and is currently in the radiology program. She spends summers working for us at the orchard and also manages the Feeding Trough on weekends and makes all of our homemade candy. I’m sure you’ll agree, we’ve come a long way since we sold our first grocery sack of apples out of the garage! Kathy Askelson Bock |
 Harold Askelson in the orchard picking apples. |