Cider Festival will continue!

Boy Scouts helped run Ken Findley's old cider press. (Photo by Cindy Hudson)

The Cedar Mill Cider Festival, held on October 14 on the grounds of the JQA Young House on Cornell, was a great success! Six hundred pounds of apples, donated by Bales Thriftway, were turned into delicious fresh cider by an enthusiastic group of Boy Scouts and their helpers. Everyone seemed to get into the act, turning the big handles of the grinders on the three presses, or rotating the screw that pressed out the juice.

Hazel Peterson and Blue Rain performed bluegrass music for the crowd of over 300 people who visited during the afternoon. Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District’s RecMobile showed up with activities for the many kids who came along,

The main purpose of the event, aside from having a great time, was to let the community know about the plans for the historic property. Conceptual drawings and maps of the Master Plan recently adopted by the THPRD Board were on display in front of the house. Several hundred dollars were raised for the Tualatin Hills Park Foundation special JQA Young Fund. The money will be used to renovate the house, once plans are finalized.

The Cedar Mill Bible Church donated funds to support the event and sent along volunteers to help serve food. Polygon Homes donated the banner in front of the house that advertised the event as well as a display ad in the Oregonian’s Washington County Weekly.

Apple presses were loaned to us by Ken Findley and Roger Finger. An additional press was rented from a local business. All three were kept busy turning out cider that was served by the glass. Thanks to Andre Farci and Curtis Lipski for organizing the Boy Scout volunteers.

The lunch of barbecued chicken, coleslaw and apple pie was enjoyed by some patient folks after a few glitches in the process. The grill, loaned by Bales, blew the single-circuit electrical system a couple of times, and by the time we figured out how to keep it going, we were too late to serve many of the Cedar Mill Bible Church folks who had come over after services. A few people turned in their tickets for refunds. We will probably use a different grill next year.

Lisa Novak and Lynda Myers of THPRD helped plan the event. THPRD grounds staff came in early Sunday morning and set up canopies, picnic tables and the stage, and even went back to pick up a generator in case we couldn’t get the electrical system to work. Their hard work made everything possible—thanks to Sam, Jason, Adrian and Lynda!

Thanks to volunteers John Ramey and Nancy Wells who helped at the ticket table, and Bruce Bartlett who also helped with cider pressing. Megan Bruce and Cooper helped grill chicken and serve lunch.

THPRD has agreed to co-sponsor the event again next year and will be adding it into their annual budget. The event was organized by the Cedar Mill Historical Society which looks forward to creating more history-related events in the community in coming months.

KEYS FOUND: a set of keys with a leather tag was found near the sidewalk after the event. If you are missing some keys, contact Virginia Bruce, 503-629-5799 or email me.

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