Making Apple Butter with the Lord
All in all it was a very fine day. Not only am I a little smarter but I got to
meet some very nice people and make some new friends. This is a
memory I shall hang on to for some time. And that is my story of the  
day that I made apple butter with the Lord.
Praise the Lord!
I was on my way home on a Saturday afternoon when I passed by the
Carr Memorial Methodist Church in Glenwood WV.  I noticed there
were several cars in the lot and a couple of tents set up. I thought
great, a hotdog sale. Me being one to have never met a hotdog I didn't
like, whipped it right in to the parking lot. As I was getting out of the car
I noticed several people looking to see who I was, but not being shy
and very hungry, I proceeded ahead.
After saying a few casual hello's, I started to ask a few questions about
the process of making apple butter. "How long does it take?" "How do
you know when it's done?" Along with about a hundred other
questions. I guess they figured, no need to give up all this information
for nothing, so they handed me one to the stirring sticks. They told me
that you didn't have to have much of an education to operate this
device. Just go around the pot twice and once through the middle and
don't stop. The main thing is not to let it burn. Apparently this can
happen very easily.
As I approached, I noticed they had three large pots, looked like
something a witch from a old horror movie would be standing over. As
I got closer, a sweet smell was in the air with a hint of cinnamon. Then
I noticed the bees! Lots of them! They were flying around everywhere.
Then it dawned on me, they are making apple butter
So there I stood, stirring the pot, asking questions and wondering if I
was going to get stung by one of the thousands of bees flying around.
Turns out they don't charge extra for a bee in the jars of apple butter.
They told me they always get a few yellow jackets anytime they're
brewing up a batch, but this year someone must be raising bees near
by, because most of these were honey bees. Well I never did get stung
but the bees did get a couple of people. I thought that wasn't to bad
considering there were that many bees and about sixty gallons of very
sweet smelling attractant.
Finally the pot I was stirring was ready, so a whole team started
preparing for the next step. They moved a table up close and got a
bunch of jars ready. Two ladies would dip a sauce pan in the pot and
then would fill a jar. Then two more would  add or subtract a little to
get the proper level. Then two more would put the lids on and wipe
them off. Next a pair would turn the jars upside down and place them
in a box. This was working like a well oiled machine. One could tell this
was not their first day on the job.
 
rushed home to get my camera before the next pot was ready. I
returned and started snapping photos of this whole process. I have
eaten apple butter my whole life but I had never seen it made. I guess
this process has gone on for many years, handed down from one
generation to the next. I was thrilled to have gained some insight and
knowledge from these fine people.