From Their Family To Yours

Everett’s apples.

Ten minutes outside of Fredericton, a hidden gem sits on a hillside overlooking the Saint John River.

A long gravel driveway leads up to a farmhouse that has been resting on the edge of the hill for over 200 years.

For eight generations, the sweeping slopes and picturesque landscape above the Saint John River Valley have been home to the Everett family.

“My greatest grandfather settled here on this farm in 1792,” said Chuck Everett, owner of the family estate.

He and his brother lost the war to George Washington in Long Island, so they jumped ship to come up here,” he said.

Since Everett’s Loyalist ancestors settled in New Brunswick, there has been a farming tradition in the family.

But the family doesn’t farm potatoes or corn. They don’t have chickens, cows or pigs.

Everett’s orchard has a large variety of apples.

The Everetts are apple farmers.

Wanda Dunphy loves visiting the family orchard.

“Every year I come probably two or three times during the season,” she said.

Dunphy says she would rather buy her apples at a local orchard than imported apples from a supermarket.

“We know the quality is really good,” she said. “The pricing is good too.”

The orchard runs up the hill behind their house in tidy rows. While the garden just off their driveway is busy with bumblebees, the

Everett says the orchard is popular with children.

orchard is likewise filled with apple-lovers of all ages.

Weekends tend to be the busiest, but that doesn’t mean Chuck has the week off.

“During the week we have a number of bus loads of children come, either preschool or elementary,” he said. “So that keeps us busy.”

But that doesn’t bother Chuck.

If he’s not buzzing through the orchard on his golf cart pruning trees along the way, he’s chatting with customers.

He likes the friendly faces.

Chuck Everett owns the family orchard with his Father.

At one time the farm was commercial. The Everett’s hired pickers and sold their apples to Atlantic Wholesalers.

But according to Chuck, their orchard wasn’t big enough to be competitive in the commercial market, so they switched to U-Pick.

“This has worked very nice,” he said. “It provides something for families and children.”

When they made the switch, the orchard transformed completely.

Wagons once used to transport apples to storage were pushed aside. The Everetts found another use for them.

They built benches along the sides and mounted a staircase on the back. Chuck hooked the wagon up to the tractor. Now he shares the history of his family farm with customers on guided tours.

For the Everett family, it’s not all about selling apples.

With five apple orchards in the Fredericton area and two farmer’s markets in the city, there are plenty of apples to go around.

But for customers like Dunphy, Everett’s Family Orchard will always hold a special spot in her heart.

“We eat a lot of apples,” she said. “I like knowing that I’m getting fresh fruit and supporting a local business.”

For a list of apple orchards in the Fredericton area, visit the Fredericton Tourism website: http://blog.tourismfredericton.ca/update-2013-take-your-pick-orchards-around-fredericton-getting-ready-for-apple-picking/.