Canton, PA, Jan 03, 2011 — Martha Foley's neighborhood has gathered to press cider for ...umm... a long time.
This year was a good one for apples in her part of the North Country. They were abundant, sweet, and juicy. That meant a record turnout for the annual pressing. People brought apples gathered from roadsides, abandoned pastures, and downtown backyards.

The hand-cranked press lives in an old milk house. It's a barrel-shaped contraption on iron legs, with wooden slatted sides. Whole apples are chopped in a belt-driven corn chopper nearby, then loaded in the press. The cranking starts, the squeeze gets tighter, and, eventually, the cider flows.

The whole process is a team effort, starting outside, with a bath for the apples. Here's the Heard Up North.  Go to full article