Simmering autumn goodness

Stanley Vickers stirs apple butter with a cherry wood paddle. Every year, the Vickers family makes an event out of apple butter makin' time, sharing the warm fall experience with family and friends.

On the first weekend in October, with just a bit of color showing on nearby oak trees, the descendants of the late Gaylord and Nadine (Elders) Vickers family and friends gather to carry on the tradition of making apple butter at the farm home of Gary and Shirley Vickers near Harwood.

Nadine Vickers purchased the copper kettle in 1972, and those of the family that can, have gathered at the home place each year since to make apple butter.

Preparations for the apple butter festival began long before the October weekend, with the purchase of about 14 bushels of Jonathan apples. Shirley Vickers made plans for food for the family which included taco soup, vegetable soup, apple dumplings, and biscuits to clean out the kettle when the apple butter was finished.

When it's time to make the apple butter, everyone who attends gets a chance to participate in making the butter -- especially with peeling the apples. The Vickerses have a White Mountain apple corer which peels and slices the apples, but it is hand-operated.

Then the cooking process begins. The copper kettle holds about six bushels of the prepared apples. They start with apple cider which is home-made for them, and add the apples. For about five hours, a slow-burning wood fire is maintained under the kettle stand, while the cooks stir the apples constantly to keep it from scorching before the butter is ready to can. The men of the family take turns stirring the mixture with a wooden paddle, made by Brad Vickers and crafted from cherry wood. A full kettle of apple butter was made on Saturday and another on Sunday.

The weekend weather brought bright, sunny days with a tinge of coolness in the breeze bringing a foretaste of the winter ahead when the flavorful apple butter will be used and memories recalled.

Scents of wood smoke drifted in the air as the apple butter was stirred. When the mixture reached the desired consistency, about 25 pounds of sugar was added a bit at a time while the apple butter was stirred constantly until the sugar was dissolved. A big bottle of cinnamon was added and a bit of cloves. The next step was the serious business of tasting. A bit of the hot mixture was spooned onto a saucer and was passed around the fire for each person to sample and give their opinion as to how much more spices or sugar was needed.

When the words "It's ready," rang out, things began to speed up. Boxes of sterilized jars and lids were brought out, Gary Vickers dipped the apple butter with a copper dipper and put it into jars placed by Andy Vickers, Shirley Vickers wiped the jars, and passed them on down the line to other willing helpers who put on and tightened the lids, put the jars upside-down back into the jar carton boxes, and took the filled boxes away. Others pulled wood from the fire to reduce the flame as the contents were removed from the kettle.

A guest tops a biscuit from apple butter in the dipper at the annual Vickers family apple butter making event. Those present for the occasion were Gerrard and Roberta Vickers, Brittany, Austin, Sierra, Garett and Kadie, of Richards; Jason and Wren Vickers, and Clayton, Sydney, and Gabe, of Carthage; Adam Rodgers, of Dederick; Justin and Karri Vickers; Andy, Ben and Kyle Vickers; Julie, Kellan, and Kaden Scott, and Mike, Alicia, Taten, and Briley Janes, of El Dorado Springs; Mike and Chris Buser, of Wichita, Kan.; Earl and Glenna Spiva, of Galena, Kan.; Stan Vickers, of Baldwin City, Kan.; Sharon Leggott, of Lawrence, Kan.; Mike Erdelen and Lauren Vickers, of St. Louis; Kevin and Alyssa Meisenheimer, Tristen Shepard, and Joyce Wallace, and Kendall, Susan and David Vickers, all of Nevada; Brad Vickers and Sherry Cathey, St. Peters, Rozella Gammon and Stanton and Cass Gammon, of Harwood; Christine and Corey Graham, and Neoma and Charles Foreman, of Walker.

When most of the apple butter had been put into the jars, hot, buttery biscuits were brought out, and the workers sopped the kettle clean.