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Community Foundation honors Sauer Award winner

Hendersonville News

Picking a fresh apple is her dream come true

Many Henderson County residents might take apple picking for granted. But for a little girl from Florida, picking and eating an apple directly off the tree is a “dream come true.”Six-year-old Olive Vasquez of Jacksonville, Florida was diagnosed with Wilms Tumor, a rare type of kidney cancer, shortly before entering pre-kindergarten. Results from an imaging test showed a tumor on one of her kidneys. Physicians removed Olive’s kidney and she began a regimen of intense chemotherapy. Throughout the treatment, Olive needed a feeding tube, lost her hair and experienced extreme energy loss.Olive’s physicians notified Dreams Come True of Jacksonville Inc., which helps children battling life-threatening illnesses to achieve their dream wish. The organization quickly got to work making her apple-picking dream a reality.Trip considerations were made since Olive is only allowed to go a limited distance from her home base. In addition, she would need easy access to hospitals with physicians trained to treat her in the case of an emergency.The team from Dreams Come True did a Google search and quickly found that Henderson County, one of the Southern-most apple growing regions, would be the best place to visit for apples. As they dug deeper, they found the N.C. Apple Festival website, where they discovered that a picturesque mountain town celebrated apples every year for four days. Anyone that loves apples that much, festival organizers thought, deserves some recognition from the town that’s famous for growing them.“We could have just had her come up, go to the festival and pick some apples, but we wanted to do more than that,” said Cheryl Gudger-Thompson, this year’s Apple Festival president. “Olive, her mom and dad, her 9-year-old sister and her 1-year-old sister are driving from Jacksonville to Hendersonville on Thursday, Aug. 30, and are staying at Cascades Mountain Resort until Tuesday, Sept. 4. She will be able to enjoy the pool and waterslide at Cascades. She will be introduced during the opening ceremony Friday morning. Her and her family will go to Stepp’s Hillcrest Orchard on Sunday to pick apples. Then on Monday, the Farm Bureau Association is sponsoring a float for Olive and her family to ride in the King Apple Parade.”Dreams Come True of Jacksonville is not affiliated with a national organization. It relies strictly on the generosity of individuals and corporate supporters to provide the funding and in-kind resources necessary to create unforgettable memories for children who live or are treated in Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia. They will provide Olive’s family with spending money and pay for their accommodations. Meals are being provided by local restaurants and Goldsmith by Rudi is making Olive a special charm commemorating her trip.“Many sponsors have come together to make this little girl’s dream come true,” Gudger-Thompson said. “Right now she thinks she is just coming to pick apples so we are doing a video to send to her before the trip of all the things she will be doing.” Dreams Come True fulfills a variety of kids’ “wishes,” including week-long trips to theme parks, swimming with dolphins and meeting celebrities. “She had all these options laid out before her and she still just wanted to pick apples,” Gudger-Thompson said. “That is what I think makes this story so special.”     Read Story »

Henderson County News

Fourth generation steps up at U-pick orchard

Four-year-old Heather Stepp Erwin (left) and 5-year-old Danielle Stepp McCall represented Stepp’s Hillcrest Orchard in the 1979 N.C. Apple Festival Kiddie Parade. They were dressed as apples and carried a sign that read ‘Apple of Our Papaw’s Eye.’ Along with their cousins, they won the trophy for Best Costume. EDNEYVILLE — The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in the Stepp family.It all began in 1964 when J.H. Stepp bought a 70-acre farm and apple orchard off Pace Road that he had been sharecropping. J.H.’s family had operated a packing house, general store and hardware store in Dana for years but he was ready for a change. He moved his family to the farm in 1967, named it Hillcrest Orchard. A pioneer of direct marketing, Stepp began selling apples out of his car trunk until he built a small fruit stand.The 1990s were hard on many Henderson County apple growers as the importing of foreign apple juice concentrate became more prevalent. Fortunately, the Stepp family had another idea in the works — the pick-your-own trade.Mike Stepp, the youngest son of J.H. and his wife, Yvonne, worked off the farm during the ‘90s but the family business was always a part of his life and he returned to the farm in 2003. The business had grown as more and more people tried picking their own apples. In 2004, Mike’s wife Rita retired from teaching and joined Mike on the farm. Their son-in-law Rex McCall, husband of daughter Danielle, has also joined the ranks of full-time farmer. Today, Stepp’s Hillcrest Orchard grows 38 acres of luscious pick-your-own apple trees carrying 20 varieties of apples. During the peak of the apple harvest, they employ 40-plus seasonal workers.“We call what we do agritourism,” Rita says. “Our main focus is pick-your-own apples. About 90 percent of our crop is pick your own. We do have some picked to sell in our retail store for those who don’t want to pick. Plus, we added the other activities to bring more education and value to the farm.”In addition to the U-pick orchard, the Stepps sell other fruit and vegetables grown on the farm including pumpkins and grapes. They sell apple cider and apple slushies and pumpkin doughnuts baked fresh in a bakery on the farm. A 5-acre corn maze opens Labor Day weekend. The orchard also offer educational tours for preschoolers through 2nd grade. Rita, being a retired teacher, is proud of the educational tours offered on the farm. “Every week day from mid-September through October we do two school tours a day,” Rita said. “We get children from Henderson, Buncombe, Transylvania, Haywood and Jackson counties. We see about 6,000 children every year. They take a wagon ride tour throughout the farm. Then we do an educational activity that we try to match to the school curriculum. The corn maze is educational. They answer questions about the farm to find their way through the corn maze. We also offer a pumpkin patch tour and talk about the life cycle of the pumpkin. We try to be as educational as we can.” Prime location at Apple Festival Day to day, from mid-August through October, the Stepps count on apple buyers to find them. On Labor Day weekend, the Stepps go to where the tourists and local people have gathered by the thousands to celebrate the apple. The family runs the apple stand across from the Historic Courthouse, one of the busiest corners on all of Main Street during the N.C. Apple Festival.Danielle organizes the booth, gathers up the family farm hands and assigns jobs to everyone. On any given day of the festival, visitors may find Heather, Cortney and April, along with their husbands, manning the popular booth. The bigger kids in the fourth generation are pressed into service bagging apples, serving apple samples, stocking apple cider donuts and doing work is needed. Ranging in age from 10 to 17, they put in long hours at the festival. Mike and Rita’s daughters, Danielle and Heather, along with other third generation members have a passion for the Apple Festival and everything it celebrates. Danielle and Heather, along with their cousins, won the trophy for Best Costume at the 1979 NC Apple Festival Parade. Today, they operate the farm’s Apple Festival booth at the corner of First Avenue and Main Street, across from the Historic Henderson County Courthouse. Throughout the festival, you may find Danielle or Heather along with their two sisters Cortney and April and husbands, manning the popular booth. You will also find some of the fourth generation of Stepps bagging apples, offering samples, stocking the apple cider doughnuts and more.As for the 2018 apple crop, it has been a tough year. “We have a shorter crop this year, not a full crop,” Mike said. “There are some varieties that get into a bi-annual blooming trap and don’t produce many blooms, mainly the Fuji and Cameos. I feel like it is due to weather stresses over time. We believe we had more cold damage than what we originally thought. Tremendous amounts of rain cause a problem with disease. It’s been a real fight this year but we are in good shape.”Stepp’s Hillcrest Orchard opens for the season on Aug. 15 with Ginger Gold, Gala and Honey Crisp along with grapes ready to pick. “Our busiest time is from the third week of September through the second week of October. There are more varieties ready to pick,” Rita said. J.H. and Yvonne have since passed on, but the Stepp family has strong ties to apples and the NC Apple Festival. They plan to keep apple farming in the family for generations to come.“The pick-your-own apples was such a small undertaking at the time,” Mike said. “We really didn’t know that it would take off like this.”“Mike’s father used to say that scariest thing he ever did was to sit here and wait for people to come pick apples. He was dependent on it for his livelihood,” Rita said. “We have visitors from all throughout North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana. We our generations are seeing generations of visitors who return year after year.” * * * * * * U-Pick orchards include Billy Laughter Orchards, 111 Tullahoma Farms Lane; Continental Divide Produce, 2494 St. Paul’s Road; Coston Farm & Apple House, 3748 Chimney Rock Road; Grandad’s Apples ‘N Such, 2951 Chimney Road Road; Justus Orchards, 187 Garren Road; Skytop Orchard, 1193 Pinnacle Mountain Road, Zirconia; Stepp’s Hillcrest Orchard, 170 Stepp Orchard Drive.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Don't miss this week's Lightning (5)

You won't want to miss this week’s Hendersonville Lightning.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Cooper to appeal fed’s denial of flood damage aid

RALEIGH: North Carolina will appeal a decision by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the White House not to grant a major disaster declaration for the May floods and mudslides in western North Carolina, Governor Roy Cooper said Tuesday. The Governor’s Office and North Carolina Emergency Management learned Monday that the federal government had denied the state’s request for a federal disaster declaration. The state is seeking the declaration to pave the way for FEMA assistance for people and communities affected by the storms. “Five people died as a result of these storms, and many others suffered damage to their homes and businesses. Many roads, bridges and driveways were washed out,” said Governor Roy Cooper. “People in western North Carolina need help recovering and we will keep doing everything we can to get it to them, including appealing this disappointing decision by FEMA.” North Carolina has already succeeded in getting help from other federal government programs for the same storms. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue declared four North Carolina counties, Buncombe, Henderson, Madison and Transylvania, as natural disaster areas, and the USDA Farm Service agency is opening its emergency loan program for those and neighboring counties. The U.S. Small Business Administration is opening its loan programs to assist farmers, small businesses and non-profits affected by the disaster. Gov. Cooper requested a disaster declaration covering 13 counties for severe storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides in the period of May 15-31, 2018 including the rains from Sub-Tropical Storm Alberto. North Carolina received a letter from FEMA administrator Brock Long Monday denying the request and explaining that FEMA determined that “the damages resulted from separate and distinct events, none of which were of the severity and magnitude as to be beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments.” The state has 30 days from August 20 to submit its formal appeal to FEMA, and is working on it with members of the state’s congressional delegation.   Read Story »

North Carolina News

Hungry cat gets new home after mountaintop rescue

PISGAH NATIONAL FOREST — Brother Wolf recently rescued a cat from an unlikely locale — on top of Looking Glass Rock in Pisgah National Forest in Brevard.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

New Belgium event to benefit 'River Heroes' movie

The Center for Cultural Preservation, WNC’s cultural history and documentary film center announced a partnership with New Belgium Brewing Company to help the Center make its new film on the River Heroes of Western North Carolina.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Local foundation wins grant for Appalachian roots music show

The Will & Deni McIntyre Foundation has been awarded a $15,000 grant by the Community Foundation of Henderson County to help fund Season 4 of David Holt’s State of Music, an Emmy-nominated public television series distributed nationally by PBS.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

600 volunteers get schools ready in Day of Action

More than 600 community volunteers came together to work on 44 service projects at 23 Henderson County schools as part of United Way of Henderson County’s annual Day of Action on Friday.   Read Story »

Henderson County News

Community Foundation announces new board members

A Henderson County schools administrator and a downtown shop owner have joined the Board of Directors of the Community Foundation of Henderson County, the foundation announced on Friday. Wendy FryeThe new members are Dr. Wendy Frye, director of high schools for the Henderson County school system, also overseeing Career and Technical Education, and Virtual Learning; and Caroline Gunther, owner of Wag! A Unique Pet Boutique.Frye and Gunther join Community Foundation board members Chair Cindy Causby, Vice-Chair Bill McKibbin, Treasurer David Marshall, Secretary Shirley McGee, Past Chair Les Boyd, President/CEO McCray Benson, Jimmy Cowan, Tom Darnall, Stan Duncan, Chuck Edwards, Elisa Jarrin, Pat Jones, Betsy Lutz, Kevin Parries and Judy Stroud.Community Foundation board members give their time, talent, and treasures to support CHFC’s mission of helping people who care make lasting contributions to causes that matter. To learn more visit www.CFHCforever.org or the Foundation’s Facebook page or call (828) 697-6224.       Caroline Gunther   Read Story »

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