Hempfield family celebrates Apple Fest with friends

When Pete and Linda Hillis built an apple press at least 25 years ago, it became a drawing point for their family.

Now it’s the main attraction at the Hempfield couple’s home every October.

“Everybody’s so busy, but they take time to come to the Apple Fest,” said daughter Timi Hillis Fowler of Armbrust. “It’s memories.”

Family and friends gathered Sunday for the annual event, some taking up jobs turning more than 40 bushes of apples from a Bedford County orchard into 100 gallons of cider while others enjoy downtime and plenty of food together. The Hillis’ home on Trouttown Road turns into a cider factory — one person shovels the apples from the bed of a pickup truck into a bin filled with water.

Two others inspect each apple and cut off bad parts before putting them into buckets to await the press. The apples are fed into the grinder operated by a pulley system and electricity. The pieces drop down into a oak bucket lined with netting.

Once the bucket is full, the apple chunks are pressed down by a metal knob and the juice is strained into half-gallon plastic jugs that are sealed and ready to take home. Fowler, who has the shoveling job every year, said the end result is a nice reminder of the time spent with family.

Pete and Linda Hillis have done a lot of woodworking together over the 42 years since they built their home and several items inside were handcrafted, including a grandfather clock and record player stand. He ran a saw mill as a side business for years. The press came about “just for the heck of it,” he said.

“Just for what we’re doing right now,” he said.

The Apple Fest has grown over the years, with the apple pressing starting in the morning with fresh doughnuts and cinnamon rolls made by Linda Hillis. It continues throughout the day as more family and friends show up with covered dishes, ready to sample that year’s featured beverage. Linda Hillis said she made 32 apple dumplings this year.

“It’s a lot of work, but I enjoy doing it,” she said.

The couple has three children, five grandsons and one great-grandson. A few of the grandsons — Dale Hillis and Mitchell Hillis, both of Derry, and Jason Stout of York — were manning the press, doing the heavy lifting and turning.

“Hey, Dale, no worms,” Pete Hillis joked.

It’s fun to watch the younger generation grow up with Apple Fest, Fowler said. Her great-nephew Landon Hillis, 2, of Blairsville, even got in on the action from the bed of the pickup truck helping move apples to the water.

“It means a lot,” she said.