Village Squire, 1978-10, Page 5Apples don't
just grow
on trees
Owning an orchard is a 12 month job
as the Lassaline family proves
"Buck" Lassaline and part of his delicious crop.
Autumn, and apples. Somehow one seems to need the other.
One of the compensations for the end of summer for
Canadians has always been the knowledge that apple season is
just around the corner. The season begins in late August when
the early varieties begin to ripen and when the first snows are
flying the last varieties can still be picked from the trees.
For early Canadian pioneers before the age of modern
processing and freezing, one of the rare treats of the winter was
opening the pit holding a special store of late apples like spys or
russets and getting a whiff of summer all over again.
Nearly every farm used to grow its own supply of apples and in
the days when the majority of Canadians lived on the farm apple
picking was nothing special, just part of the endless chores of
getting ready for winter. Today, however, with a large part of our
population living in towns and cities a favourite pastime of many
families is an excursion to the country to a "pick your own"
operation. They abound around the countryside, particularly
near larger urban centres. One such operation is Lassaline
Orchards near Goderich. There the Lassaline family welcomes
visitors each year to pick their own apples or to buy at the fruit
stand.
The Lassaline family of Lawrence Armand (Buck), his wife
Margaret, son Lawrence and his wife Lesley and Philip and
Roland operate an orchard with close to 60 acres of apple and
peach trees.
The farm has been in the Lassaline family since 1932 when
Buck's father bought the place. It had an orchard of about 12
acres at the time. That orchard is still producing and is the
portion devoted to pick your own operations. After serving in the
second World War and living out west for a while Buck took over
the farm in 1952. For a while, he says, he was interested in any
kind of farming but orchards but now he's come to like the
orchards and wouldn't have it any other way. The Lassaline
family's commitment to orchards is pointed out by the new
orchard set out just this spring that covers 12 to 13 acres of neat
rows.
That new plantation shows something of the changes that have
been taking place in the apple business over the years. The
oldest orchard has varieties such as the old favourites, Northern
Spy, Macintosh, Delicious, and Snow apples. The latest trees
represent such varieties as Empire, Tydeman Red, Vista Bella,
Paula Red, Jerseymac, Spartan and Ida Red. Even the
Macintosh and Delicious varieties planted represent new strains
of the old favourites.
There are three generations of trees in the Lassaline orchards.
VILLAGE SQUIRE/OCTOBER 1978. PG.3.