When Leon Risenhoover,76, looks out the windows of his Dolores farmhouse, apple trees stretch out before him.
He sees the trees, he sees the fruit yet to be picked, and he sees the history of Montezuma County and a story that can told by the apples themselves.
You see, Risenhoover has trees on his property that were planted in 1906, during a time that trains still trundled into Montezuma County. The area was famous for apples and trains would haul them out to destinations abound.
“This was supposedly the first double red delicious in the valley,” Risenhoover said, recently as he gave a tour of his orchard, with towering trees sporting large gnarly trunks and sheep milling around in the background.
This year, there was a late frost, so very few bright red apples dot the trees, and recent rains mean that Risenhoover is late to pick them this year. This is the second late frost in a row. Risenhoover’s crop last year was small too.
Being an apple farmer in Montezuma County isn’t easy, he said. “You get about six years of good crops out of every 10 years.”
This could explain why apples aren’t as abundant as they were in the early 1900s.
“It is too much work for very little return,” Risenhoover said.
But still, Risenhoover was planning on going out in the field to pick and be ready to sell them for about $1 a pound.
He grows the double red delicious, winesaps, Romes and golden delicious.
When asked his favorite, he reached up into some branches.
“The red delicious, hands down,” he said.
With a rub on his shirt, the apple took on a shiny glow, and it tasted, well, delicious.
“You see,” he said. “Those red delicious types in the store. They don’t taste anything like that. They are probably a year old in the store.”
In fact, their thick skin and beauty is what earned the red delicious such popularity, but their longevity was ultimately their downfall and the reason they have a bad name today.
“You have to get them fresh from the orchard, my orchard,” he said, smiling.
To get some of Risenhoover’s apples, drive to 14856 CR 26, Dolores. Risenhoover said to be sure to honk to get his attention and be patient.
“I don’t move fast anymore,” he said.
Orchard restoration event coming up
Apples will be on everyone’s mind Saturday, Oct. 11 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project Orchard Social at Let It Grow, 90 N. Mildred Road, Cortez.
Jude Schunemeyer will give an update on the Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project at the event.
The event will feature music and even an apple press with apple and cider tastings.
There will be activities for children and if you have apples, you may enter them in the apple contest.
The Montezuma County Fair started over 100 years ago, primarily from the energy and passion of local fruit growers who wanted to show off their fruit, some of which went up to state and world fair levels. Over time, much of this passion faded, and for various reasons, the fair got moved up earlier in the season, a season too early to enter most fruit and local apple orchards started to disappear.
The Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project is hoping to put the area’s fruit back on display.
There will be awards for: biggest, most attractive, funniest-looking, wormiest, best spitter and best of show.
Schunemeyer hopes to make the apple social an annual event.
The recently formed orchard restoration group is still looking for some of the apples seen at the Montezuma County Fair that won top premiums between the years 1903 to 1911. Have you seen any of these Colorado varieties: Walbridge, Flora Bell, Kent’s Beauty, Colorado Favorite, Wyeth, Colorado Red, Ben Maupin, Shackleford, Baskett, Dwinnie, Bovuet, Lover’s or Lover’s II, Sweet Pear, Tennessee, Striped Sweet Pippin, Colorado Seedling, Cooper’s Colored Hedard’s Pippin syn. Harbord?
If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of these apples contact Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project. 970-565-3099 or letitgrow@q.com.
