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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 23, 2019)
B5 THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2019 Apple detectives comb Northwest for ‘lost’ varieties By GILLIAN FLACCUS Associated Press PULLMAN, Wash. — The apple tree stands alone near the top of a steep hill, wind whipping through its branches as a perfect sun- set paints its leaves a vibrant gold. It has been there for more than a century, and there is no hint that the tree or its apples are anything out of the ordi- nary. But this scraggly spec- imen produces the Arkansas Beauty, a so-called heritage fruit long believed to be extinct until amateur bota- nists in the Pacifi c Northwest tracked it down three years ago. It’s one of 13 long-lost apple varieties rediscovered by a pair of retirees in the remote canyons, wind-swept fi elds and hidden ravines of what was once the Oregon Territory. E.J. Brandt and David Benscoter, who together form the nonprofi t Lost Apple Proj- ect, log countless hours and hundreds of miles in trucks, on all-terrain vehicles and on foot to fi nd orchards planted by settlers as they pushed west more than a century ago. The two are racing against time to preserve a slice of homesteader his- tory: The apple trees are old, and many are dying. Oth- ers are being ripped out for more wheat fi elds or housing developments for a growing population. “To me, this area is a gold- mine,” said Brandt, who has found two lost varieties in the Idaho panhandle. “I don’t want it lost in time. I want to give back to the people so that they can enjoy what our forefathers did.” Brandt and Benscoter Ted S. Warren/AP Photo Amateur botanist David Benscoter, of The Lost Apple Project, picks an apple that may be of the Clarke variety in an orchard near Pullman. scour old county fair records, newspaper clippings and nursery sales ledgers to fi gure out which varieties existed in the area. Then they hunt them down, matching writ- ten records with old prop- erty maps, land deeds and sometimes the memories of the pioneers’ great-grand- children. They also get leads from people who live near old orchards. The task is huge. North America once had 17,000 named varieties of domesti- cated apples, but only about 4,000 remain. The Lost Apple Project believes set- tlers planted a few hundred varieties in their corner of the Pacifi c Northwest alone. The Homestead Act of 1862 gave 160 acres to fam- ilies who would improve the land and pay a small fee, and these newcomers planted orchards with enough variety to get them through the long winter, with apples that rip- ened from early spring until the fi rst frosts. Then, as now, trees planted for eating apples were not raised from seeds; cuttings taken from exist- ing trees were grafted onto a generic root stock and raised to maturity. These cloned trees remove the genetic vari- ation that often makes “wild” apples inedible — so-called “spitters.” Benscoter, who retired in 2006 after a career as an FBI agent and an IRS criminal investigator, pursues leads on lost apples with the same zeal he applied to his crimi- nal cases. In one instance, he found county fair records that listed winners for every apple vari- ety growing in Whitman County, Washington, from 1900 to 1910 — an invalu- able treasure map. In another, he located a descendant of a homesteader with a gigantic orchard by fi nding a family history she posted online. Once he discovers a for- gotten orchard, Benscoter spends hours mapping it. He has pages of diagrams with a tiny circle denoting each tree, with GPS coordinates along- side each dot. A lengthy com- puter database lists apples including the Shackleford, the Flushing Spitzenburg and the Dickinson— all varieties rediscovered by the project. Good Luck Loggers Photo courtesy of Krissy Barendse-Goodman GO LOGGERS! Good Luck WAY TO GO LOGGERS! LOGGERS! VBC Information provided courtesy of North Co. South Co. 503-458-5588 503-338-6402 Vinson Brothers Construction 620 OLNEY AVE., ASTORIA 503-325-2855 OPEN DAILY 11 AM -11 PM G O Tony Bogh Owner 503.325.5000 CCB#188326 LOGGERS! Serving Clatsop County Since 1962 www.vinsonbros.com Good Luck Knappa Go Loggers! Loggers in the Football Semi-Finals! Knappa Office (503) 458-6671 42894 Old Hwy. 30 Knappa, OR 97103 Rainier Office (503) 556-0410 29191 Dike Road Rainier, OR 97048 www.teevinbros.com • CCB #133907 STEVE KINNEY H. 503-458-5458 C. 503-791-3481 CCB#186315 91569 GEORGE HILL RD ASTORIA, OR 97103 NATE KINNEY C. 503-468-2582 (503) 458-6886 42929 Old Hwy 30 • Astoria Congrats on making it to the Semi Finals! DEL’S O.K. TIRE Have a Great Game Del Thompson Loggers! Klyde Thompson Mike Barnett M , Owner anager Proud supporters of the Knappa Loggers! KNAPPA & KNAPPA izza MARKET Hours: Mon-Fri 8-6 • Sat- 8-4 503-325-2861 35359 BUS 101 ASTORIA, OR
