Home About Us How to get Here Stone Houses & Castle Hello High Falls Falling Water The Birds & Bees Who am I

Who Am I? Call me Philip Apple. My parents came to High Falls just after World War Two. They bought the farm with the help of a veteran's fund. My father was born in Patterson, New Jersey. His unpublished novel has been placed in a museum near Patterson. My mother was born in good old Charles City, Iowa. My grandfather was an engineer in the Oliver tractor plant in Charles City. The farm began with chickens. My parents were egged on to this occupation by agricultural" experts" (or maybe eggsperts). What a relief when the chicken era mercifully ended. It is said that I was born under an apple tree. Truthfully, I do not remember. Doctors did make house calls back then; But did they make tree calls? I do not recall much (nor perhaps do I wish to) of my early days, but apparently I grew up.

My mother worked as an elementary school music teacher. This income supplemented the years of agricultural scarcity. My father was a classical music collector and avid reader. At times he might neglect the orchard while listening to symphonies and concertos and operas, not to mention chamber music. It is a wonder that I was not named Toscanini!

R

S

A local engineer talked my father into building a futuristic chicken building. It was a solar house, with large double-paned windows on one long side. This warmed the building in the winter, but because of the sun's angle, not in the summer.

U

A

Underneath was a tunnel extending to the woods. A fan brought the air up from the tunnel, warming the building in the winter and providing cool air in the summer (the underground air temperature being constant all year). This system was really ahead of its time - - - way before the idea of Earth Day. In later years it would have gained a bit of local interest.

S

K

One April afternoon the whole thing burned up, along with tractors, sprayer, pickup truck orchard equipment and many smaller items. I had recently moved the orchard chemicals to a separate location. Just that morning, repairs had been done to the entrance. We had to pay the repair bill. There was almost no insurance. Arson was suspected, quite possibly by a fireman. There were several other suspicious fires around that time.

SOMEHOW THE YEARS PASSED. We had a few nice seasons and a bunch of difficult ones. 1969 was a year to remember: the Miracle Mets won the series and men walked on the moon. Later on I was close to being sent to Vietnam but I was saved by Tricky Dick (Nixon). Inspired by a Spaniard with one hand, I learned Spanish. In 1985, the year I got married (twice, to make it legal), the entire crop was frozen out. The great apple scare of 1989 marked the beginning of tough times for the apple industry.

Through the years I have downsized the orchard operation. Maybe some year the trees will be converted to houses-- hopefully not too many or too soon.

My children were born in 1989 and 1995. They continue to disobey me when I tell them not to grow up so fast.

The day my wife became a U.S. Citizen, we walked past the twin towers after the ceremony. We had a good view of the trade center when we went to Ellis Island.

One morning I was picking apples near my mother's house. Suddenly I heard the television suddenly get louder with what seemed to be a disaster movie. Then I began to hear real names. Soon my wife, who had been phoned by a friend, drove to the orchard to tell me the news. The date was September 11.

Life is cheap, isn't it? Is anything even real or is it all an illusion like the author Cid Hamet Benengeli, Dulcinea, and Pierre Menard's Don Quijote.

In 2002 the crop was again frozen out.

Thanks to a chance meeting at the apple stand, I had found a new job, in education. I helped migrant farm worker families and young migrant workers. The migrant office where I worked is at SUNY New Paltz, where a long time ago I did some time as a student.

In the position of Tutor/Advocate I successfully fulfilled several different roles (conducted in Spanish) with hispanic families and young workers. These included tutoring, surveys, gift deliveries, meetings, enrollments and ESL. During one assignment I even attended an agricultural meeting with Senator Hillory Clinton. For a short time I was also a recruiter. Nice memories all!

The following summer, one morning in the office I received an unexpected surprise. I was suddenly, and with absolutely no warning, let go.

In spring 2004 I began substitute teaching. Hopefully I can continue this on a part time basis, especially with language classes. I am open to any work involving Spanish or teaching English.