Having access to farm fresh apple cider is something I took for granted growing up around the corner from Weaver’s Orchard. As soon as the first cool snap of fall air would arrive, my mom would pick up some fresh apple cider from the…
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Archive | Agricultural History
The Forgotten Peach Orchard of Reading, PA
In the area of Reading, Pennsylvania that is now bordered by Oley, Douglass, Front and Weiser Streets, there used to be a magical place called “Paradise Peach Grove.” Today, this is very much an urban neighborhood with many homes, stores and even a gastropub. But…
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EDIBLE HISTORY: Amish Half-Moon Pies
Whoa?! Where did you get that? A museum? That’s the kind of reaction I get when I pull out my cell phone. It’s a heavy black Samsung flip phone, probably designed for people who are not in their 30s like I am. Such technological…
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EDIBLE HISTORY: Apples & Sweet Potatoes
It has often amazed me that Daniel Weaver started Weaver’s Orchard in 1932, during a worldwide economic depression. It seems like an incredibly plucky thing to do. But then again, the more I get to know farmers, the more I realize how much farming…
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A Brief History of Pennsylvania Orchards
In 1932, Daniel Weaver started Weaver’s Orchard on the same site where I now love to shop and pick fruit. But what was this part of Pennsylvania like before 1932? What is its agricultural history? Early History through 19th Century The indigenous people who…
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