Margret Tanner samples fresh cider on a chill fall day in 1958. |
The roots of the apple tree
run deep. You might say the
same thing about the
Tanners, their roots run
halfway around the world to
the town of Walde,
Switzerland. It was there
that Rudolph Tanner ran his
family's apple orchard until
1906 when he set off for the
"new world".
The old marketplace on top of the hill on old Route 88 in 1953. |
Rudolph and his new bride
Mina settled in Deer Creek,
Illinois and started a new
orchard and family. Rudolph
and Mina raised lots of
children and lots of apples.
Their son John, seventh
of eleven children
eventually took over the
Deer Creek Orchard. John and
his wife Margaret raised
their apples and children.
Unfortunately, the Deer
Creek Orchard was five
dusty, bumpy miles from the
nearest "hard road".
In 1947 John found a new
place; an 80 acre farm near
Speer, Illinois with 20
acres of well established
apple trees right next to
Old Route 88 (now Route 40),
and he and Margaret moved
there with their four
children.
John Tanner
smiles as he
gets ready to
deliver a load
of apples in
1955. |
Sons Harold and Richard
with their wives, worked
together for 30 years. Now
the orchard is owned and
managed by Richard and
Marilyn, their two children
Craig and Jennifer and
Jennifer's husband, Ben.
They are the fifth
generation of fruit growers.
It has been 60 years now for
Tanners Orchard at this
location. The Tanners have
grown together through the
years, spanning the
generations, across the
country and an ocean.
Tanners Orchard has
become a family destination
with an on farm bakery
serving noon lunches, a
large county farm market,
wagon rides to the orchard
for pick your own apples and
pumpkins, a corn maze and a
children's playground with
farm animals.
As the fourth generation
of Tanners remains
optimistic about the future
of our diversified family
farm, we hope to keep
growing fruit, fun and
memories for future
generations.
Hard work and the
blessings of God are very
sweet fruit indeed.
