The Burroughs Cider Mill
The Burroughs Cider Mill explains the birth and development of a long forgotten Trumbull landmark. Built in 1884 by Stephen Burroughs, the family run mill produced cider and other apple related products until 1972. Take a trip down one of Trumbull, Connecticut’s memory lanes and revisit a time of peaceful afternoon and lazy Sundays – who knows, you might find yourself sipping some of the beverage by the end of the book.
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The Burroughs Cider Mill
The Burroughs Cider Mill explains the birth and development of a long forgotten Trumbull landmark. Built in 1884 by Stephen Burroughs, the family run mill produced cider and other apple related products until 1972. Take a trip down one of Trumbull, Connecticut’s memory lanes and revisit a time of peaceful afternoon and lazy Sundays – who knows, you might find yourself sipping some of the beverage by the end of the book.
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The Burroughs Cider Mill

The Burroughs Cider Mill

by Serge G. Mihaly Jr
The Burroughs Cider Mill

The Burroughs Cider Mill

by Serge G. Mihaly Jr

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Overview

The Burroughs Cider Mill explains the birth and development of a long forgotten Trumbull landmark. Built in 1884 by Stephen Burroughs, the family run mill produced cider and other apple related products until 1972. Take a trip down one of Trumbull, Connecticut’s memory lanes and revisit a time of peaceful afternoon and lazy Sundays – who knows, you might find yourself sipping some of the beverage by the end of the book.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781467025782
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Publication date: 10/06/2011
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
File size: 4 MB

Read an Excerpt

The Burroughs Cider Mill


By Serge G. Mihaly, Jr

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2011 Serge G. Mihaly, Jr.
All right reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-4670-2576-8


Chapter One

A Brief History of Cider

Throughout world history, apples and apple cider have held an important place amongst numerous cultures. According to ancient Greek myth, Hercules went through great struggles to steal back Zeus's golden apples guarded by the Hesperidia and protected by a hundred headed dragon named Ladon. In the Old Testament, while in the Garden of Eden Adam took a bite out of the forbidden fruit, an apple, and George Washington's character, according to popular folklore, was tested by his admission to cutting down an apple tree. In earlier history too, scholars report that apples were planted along Egypt's Nile River where it is believed Egyptians fermented beer from grains. If true, it is not too difficult to imagine they may have also made cider from the populous apples. We also know that when the Romans arrived in England in 55 B.C., they enjoyed a cider-like beverage brewed by the local Kentish natives and, according to historical records, the famed Roman Julius Caesar enjoyed a glass or two of cider.

Ever since early American colonists arrived in the New World, apple cider became one of the most popular beverages. Since water sources were neither reliable nor readily available apple orchards were widely planted throughout the colonies to produce cider. Apples were plentiful and cider easily made at local mills. Consumed throughout the colonies, colonists drank the beverage throughout the day, including breakfast, lunch and supper. Hard cider, a more powerful alternative to its sweet sister, was frequently served in taverns alongside a slew of other more powerful drinks including wine, brandy, applejack, ale, sack, sangaree, punch, toddy, rum, whiskey, sherry, perry, mead and flip. Perry was a concoction made from pears, mead from honey, and flip, a mixture of strong ale, molasses, a – pint of New England rum, nutmeg, beaten eggs, sugar, ginger heated by the introduction of a red hot poker. Frequented by thirsty travelers, farmers, merchants and politicians, colonial taverns were not only a place to rest and relax from long and weary journeys, but also served as public meeting places for business, political discourse and passing town gossip.

Apple cider's increased consumption in eighteenth century America can also be attributed to legendary American hero, Johnny Appleseed, born in 1774 as John Chapman, a famed nurseryman and missionary. Chapman, a Massachusetts native, introduced apples to parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois and Indiana. Some stories trace him to the headwaters of Pennsylvania's Susquehanna River, others to Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania and still others to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. In north central Ohio, Chapman is reported to have planted nurseries building fences around them to keep out wandering and hungry livestock. As pioneers moved west they discovered Chapman's apple orchards and a great variety of apples which varied in size and taste increasing cider's diverse popularity.

One example of cider's social impact on the nation was the presidential campaign of 1840 when presidential candidate, William Henry Harrison, attempted to persuade blue collar Americans to vote for him by handing out hard cider in bottles shaped like the log cabin in which Harrison reportedly had been born.

It was estimated that hard cider consumption in the 19th century was 32 gallons per person, a substantial amount by most standards. Cider's overall popularity, however, would soon begin to wane as large city breweries built by immigrating Germans began fermenting vast quantities of a new and increasingly popular beverage called beer. While cider mills were restricted to local and less populous farms, breweries were being built in the more populous cities finding thirsty captivated audiences. Still, an appetite for hard cider remained and the public continued to purchase and drink the hardy beverage. Over time though, hard cider continued to drop in popularity, especially after Prohibition when beer finally exceeded hard cider as the most popular of America's publicly consumed alcoholic beverage.

Today local cider mills still produce cider, but nowhere near previous levels. Modern commercial apple production in the United States is limited to about four areas: the northwestern states, the Shenandoah-Cumberland area, the northeastern United States and the north central United States. The northwestern region is known for its high returns, but uses irrigation expensively. Of the thousand varieties of apples, relatively few have a commercial value for cider. The McIntosh is the largest produced apple in the northeastern United States. Varieties that grow well in the northeast are McIntosh, Jonathan, Rome Beauty and Cortland. In the United States, Washington is a major producing state for apples with New York, Michigan, California, Pennsylvania and Virginia following not far behind. Apple production in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century was about 7 percent of the world's total. World production of apples was about 57 million tons per year at the beginning of the 21st led by China, the United States and Turkey.

Despite many changes over the years producing apple cider remains a very popular and thriving industry especially during the fall.

Chapter Two

The Early Mill

The Burrough's Cider Mill was built by Stephen J. Burroughs in 1884. Located on Main Street in Trumbull, Connecticut, the cider mill resides on land once filled with large chestnut, walnut, hazel and oaks trees and surrounded by twitch grass, cherries, currants, wild plums, grapes and berries. The area was considered wilderness being home to Indians, wild game and the ever present mystery of the wild unknown. If one were to imagine what this land was like, they would have to wipe out all familiar thoughts of buildings, paved roads, electric lights, high speed internet technology, cell phones or other modern amenities and replace it with the forgotten pristine peacefulness of nature that would inescapably include untouched rich green rolling hills, deep deciduous forests, fish filled lakes, sweeping valleys and roaring streams.

The original settlement named Cupheag, later known also as Stratford, was established in 1639 by courageous Puritan farmers from Wethersfield, Connecticut. Seeking to practice their religion undisturbed, they worked hard to establish their own separate farming community. Protected by a compound wall, the Puritans quickly built a meetinghouse in which to worship and conduct town business. From this early group of settlers Trumbull would soon grow in size to be incorporated in 1797 and gradually grow into its present population of over 35,000 people. In 1702, the town's first industrial business was built, a sawmill at Mischa Hill located in the Nichols section of town owned by James and Edmund Lewis and Ebenezer Curtis. In 1703, a gristmill owned by Benjamin Sherman, John Williams and John Seeley was built to grind locally grown grain into flour. Other mills tapping the powerful waters of the Pequannock River were also built including the Fairchild paper mill, which would later burn down, and the Tait paper mill owned and run by Andrew Tait, a native of Scotland. The elder Mr. Tait learned the paper making trade there and worked to pass his business on to his sons

Over time, Trumbull businesses flourished, meeting the changing needs of a competitive and growing American market. Saddle-makers, stirrup-makers, shoemakers, brick makers and chair-makers would all call Trumbull their home. In 1840, the Housatonic Railroad was organized offering a conveniently efficient mode of transporting goods to additional customers and markets.

By approximately 1861, the demands of the American Civil War brought a boom to many area businesses including the many gun manufacturers in the state led by such men as Samuel Colt, Horace Smith, Daniel Wesson, Elisha Root and Christian Spencer. All contributed significantly to the development of firearms during the 1850's, 1860's and beyond. Another product crucial to the war effort was the production of saddletrees that had been made in Trumbull for nearly a century before the Civil War started. With the widespread use of mounted cavalry by both the North and South during the American Civil War, it is not unreasonable to believe that at least a few of Trumbull's own saddletrees were used in some of the most pivotal battles in American military history.

Around the 1880's, Trumbull businesses included blacksmith August Weidner and a busy cigar making industry led by Peter Gabler, Daniel Mahoney, Lewis Wakeley, David Leavitt and Nicolas Rob. Cigar making was not the only thriving business in town, however, as cider production was also very popular and included several local mills specifically including the Burroughs Cider Mill. Others such mills in Trumbull included one owned by the Daniels family which operated both a mill and distillery. Both Herbert Walker and Wakeman's farm also produced cider in their own mills, further testifying to the popularity of the drink. While the other mills are long gone, the Burroughs Cider Mill is the only one remaining owing to the stubborn caretaking resolve and historic appreciation of this town landmark by Margie Burroughs Teller, a fourth generation Burroughs, Al Teller and Joe and Millie Krisak.

The Burroughs Cider Mill has been passed down over the years to family members who remained constant producers of various forms of the famous and popular beverage. At one time the mill employed up to 12 men operating three powerful presses to keep local area thirsts satisfied. Over the years numerous people, young and old, remember working there. Originally the large screw presses were run by hand, later converted to steam and then finally to electricity. According to Margie Burroughs Teller, many local farmers brought their own apples to be pressed and later made into hard cider at home. Others made vinegar. The mill produced a large amount of cider gathering more apples from local farmers and, if needed, reportedly as far away as West Virginia when the local supply was low. The cider was sold at a plain white roadside stand next to the mill. During the late 1970's, the stand was severely damaged by a runaway car and never reopened.

Stories of hard cider and bootlegging were not uncommon during Prohibition as it was almost impossible to get a drink of what only years before had been consumed with hearty and joyful regularity. Varieties of apples that made the best hard cider usually ripened in late October through early November and included Winslow, Baldwin, Northern Spy, Golden Russet and Yellow Delicious. It was also reported that it took, on average, 25 apples to make one gallon of hard cider.

As most communities enjoyed their share of mysterious prohibition lore, so does our area. According to local legend, hard cider was transported at night to the Stratford shore where local "businessmen" hid in the marshy coves near the mouth of the Housatonic River. There they waited anxiously to exchange cider for money with Long Island bootleggers who had arrived in motorboats. Once back on land, the bootleggers transferred their cargo into car trunks, hollowed out seats, and other 'secret' compartments to avoid being caught by federal treasury agents assigned to find and destroy the caches of the popular, but illegal, liquor.

While most regular cider is pasteurized with heat to kill bacteria, hard cider must be made with cider chemically untreated or pasteurized with ultraviolet light otherwise known as "cold pasteurized" cider as compared to regular pasteurization which requires high temperatures. Customers may drop off their own containers which may include 55 gallon barrels to be filled with the "cold" pasteurized cider.

Today, many cider mills do not produce their own hard cider as the alcohol content would require them to obtain a liquor license. To create the hard cider, one must add yeast to untreated cider free from preservatives or allow the natural yeast that exists on the apple skin to ferment with the sugar in the apples. Keeping air out of the fermenting container, only to occasionally release built up gases, turns the concoction into hard cider. Letting air in creates vinegar. Kept at or near 60 degrees the whole process can take up to 3 to 4 weeks. Of course, like wine, hard cider gets better with age so the process may take even longer depending on the cider maker's whim. Storing the hard cider at much colder temperatures and adding brown sugar or honey speeds up the fermentation process and increases the alcohol content creating something much more potent called applejack. According to Al Teller who most recently ran the mill, the mill did not make hard cider. It was strictly regular cider and his wife's, Margie Burrough's Teller's, many popular apple related recipes and occasional flower displays that were sold at the mill.

Chapter Three

The Process

While doing the research for this book I had the pleasure of speaking with several other local cider mill owners who were either still producing cider or had stopped and now just sold "imported" cider. The business changed over the years as regulations became much more stringent regarding sanitation and health using hot or cold pasteurization to stop the potential spread of E. coli bacteria. This was made in response to an outbreak of the illness in the 1980's. While some cider makers consider this a hassle, others have taken this in stride continuing to produce the beverage with the new requirements.

To produce cider, the Burroughs Cider Mill had to have a special process. Trucks from apple farms would unload their apples either in front of the mill and into a bin where a conveyor belt would take them up and into the mill where they would be crushed into what cider makers called "pummy", an apple mash that included skin, meat and core. The juice filled pummy would then be loaded on and spread across wooden framed screened racks covered by a thick screening cloth. Once the approximately four foot frames were filled, the pummy was smoothed with special wooden pummy rakes and an additional cloth that hung over the sides was carefully draped back over the pummy. Layer upon layer of pummy rackswould be filled, smoothed out andstackedupon each other. When enough racks were filled, a press would slowly descend, squeezing the juice out of the pummy. The sweet liquid would first drip, then pour into a holding bin below where it would be siphoned off to be kept in a holding tank that stood outside the building. From there, the cider would be poured into the jugs for public-and private-consumption.

The process was difficult as it took time and effort to load and crush the apples, spread the pummy, load and unload the pummy racks, fill and carry first glass then plastic jugs of cider and to complete a host of other tasks including fixing motors, tending to mechanical problems, washing bottles and mending the wide leather belts that ran from the motor to the three presses of the Burroughs Cider Mill. Once finished, the leftover pummy was often kept for local farmers to feed their livestock.

All this and more was a part of running the mill, the unseen and mostly unknown part of producing that sweet and popular beverage.

Chapter Four

Al and Margie

Of all the people who worked at the mill, two of the best remembered are Margie Burroughs Teller and Al Teller. Nary a day went by during the sixties and seventies that both couldn't be found either making or selling the delicious and popular local beverage. Before then, Margie's mother and family worked at the mill. Over the years both Al and Margie have been the focus of several magazine and newspaper articles exploring the history and anniversary of the popular mill.

(Continues...)



Excerpted from The Burroughs Cider Mill by Serge G. Mihaly, Jr Copyright © 2011 by Serge G. Mihaly, Jr.. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Table of Contents

Contents

Chapter One: A Brief History of Cider....................1
Chapter Two: The Early Mill....................11
Chapter Three: The Process....................29
Chapter Four: Al and Margie....................35
Chapter Five: The Restoration....................45
Chapter Six: A Short Reflection....................87
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