Tuesday, June 14, 2011

The Willow Creek Evaporator - 1904


As genealogists it is only natural to wonder how our ancestors met.  Until I read the following article from the Ithaca Daily News I suspected my great-grandparents, Enos Hardenbrook and Laura Wortman probably met at the Jacksonville (NY) Community Church or at one of the Grange suppers. I now understand they could have gotten to know each other working at “The Evaporator.”

Willow Creek, October 20, 1904 - Davis, Vann & Boit Employ Large Force – 180 Bushels of Apples Dried Daily

The firm of Davis, Vann & Boit opened its evaporator. One hundred and eighty bushels of apples are peeled and dried daily. They have employed Mr. and Mrs. Lee Cleveland, Elmer Kimpland, Miss Myrtle Brink and Mr. and Mrs. E.R. Boit of Wolcott, Frank Dell of Corning, George Manning, Enos Hardenbrook, Mrs. N. Simpson, the Misses Minerva Taylor and Laura Wortman of Jacksonville and Harry Onan of this place.

Enos and Laura were married June 8, 1905 at the Methodist Episcopal Church in Jacksonville, NY by the Reverend M. J. Owen.

Many thanks to the Old Fulton NY Post Cards website for continuing to add newspaper articles that help us learn about the day-to-day lives of our ancestors. 

2 comments:

  1. A couple of good eggs meeting over a bushel of apples? I never even heard of an evaporator till I read this. I bet you're right about Enos and Laura getting acquainted at work!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Marian: I had not heard of this either, and I grew up in that area! What an interesting article; it adds another "flavor" to my family history.

    ReplyDelete