The historic JQA Young House recently got a pressure-wash and a new coat of paint from THPRD. The Cider Festival will be held on the grounds of the house.

Cedar Mill Cider Festival

by Virginia Bruce

Plans are moving forward for this first-ever event to be held on the grounds of the John Quincy Adams Young House on Cornell near 119th. The date will be Sunday, October 14 from 1-4 pm. Activities will include the cider pressing, live music, a picnic lunch and an informational display on restoration plans for the grounds and house. Free parking will be available in the Cedar Mill Bible Church parking lot.

Sponsors include Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District, Polygon Northwest, and Cedar Mill Bible Church. Money raised at the event will go into the fund for the restoration of the historic house built in the 1860s by JQA Young, the second owner of the lumber mill that gave the community its name.

When Cedar Mill was a farming community, people planted apple trees to supply their families with fruit and also for the tasty hard cider they could make from the juice. Many of those trees are still producing apples in back yards and along roads in the community.

Everyone is invited to bring apples and containers. The apples should be picked from the trees, because apples that have been sitting on the ground can pick up e. coli or other harmful organisms. We will provide tubs for rinsing the apples and cutting boards and knives. (Apples need to be cut in half before going into the presses.) Clean gallon jugs (like milk cartons) are suggested for taking your cider home.

We’re hoping that we’ll have some volunteers to pick apples for people who don’t have access to trees. If you or your group are interested in doing that, let me know. In addition, there will be volunteer jobs to help people prepare their apples and run the presses.

We have a couple of cider presses already promised, but if anyone else would like to lend us another, it will mean that more people can participate. Contact Virginia Bruce, 503-629-5799 or vrb@teamweb.com

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