BURLINGTON, W.Va. — Volunteers are the core of the traditional making and selling of “old-fashioned apple butter” on the campus of Burlington United Methodist Family Services.
This weekend marks the 51st Apple Harvest Festival, according to Cindy Pyles, BUMFS resource development manager. Pyles said two years were missed because of the COVID-19 pandemic and a fire that destroyed the peeling and cooking facility. “In the years after COVID, volunteers were hesitant about coming out,” Pyles said.
“But this year we have a good turnout.” Help comes from local churches and the community at large. Scott Whitacre of Augusta came to help stir the kettles.
Glenn Mosley of New Creek said, “I just came to help stir and do what I can. It’s all for the kids.” Volunteers are bused from Keyser and Frankfort high schools.
Others come from the Mountaineer Challenge Academy in Preston County. Ted Heckert, of Romney, president of the Burlington United Methodist Family Services Auxiliary, said there are 20 bushels in a bin and 30 bins of Jonagold apples ordered from Shanholtz Orchard in Hampshire County. “I am hoping and praying for a thousand gallons, that’d be 4,000 quarts this year,” he said.
Heckert said all the proceeds from apple butter sales go to supplement the organization’s programs. That includes children’s needs in the cottages, offices and two recovery houses off campus. “We fill a wish list every year that could range from baby diapers to coffee pots,.