How did you get into the orchard business?                   

I was volunteering as an English teacher in the Philippines for the Peace Corps after my undergraduate years. Of all the places I have actually worked for money, Yellowstone National Park in the housekeeping department for Canyon Village was probably the most interesting. These days, I work along side my partner Noel Miller, starting in the nursery business with him in 2017. I enjoy this business for the people. There is no stereotypical person who enjoys plants and buys trees. People from all walks of life purchase plants and you get to meet the entire spectrum of people.    

What's the first tree you remember?      

Across the street from my mother’s house is this 95 year old gingko that is absolutely enormous. Ginkgoes are extraordinarily slow growing trees but they can live over a millennium. Around the end of October every year this tree uniformly turns the most magnificent shade of yellow. The color lingers on the tree for 3 or 4 weeks. Then, seemingly overnight, the entire tree sheds all of its leaves in an overly dramatic fashion before hibernating for the winter.  

What are your favorite apples?

My favorite tree is the Harrison apple- unsurprisingly it is a yellow apple that produces renowned cider. The cider is vinous, thick, and delightfully flavorful. It is also an incredibly rare apple, only having been saved from extinction by chance around the turn of the century.  

How did you get into the orchard business?

Evidence of Noel's green thumb came early. When he was 8, he grew the largest zucchini in his hometown and won a local competition. He even got his picture in the local paper. As an adult, Noel turned to apples and got into the fruit tree nursery business in 2005. He loved it so much, he wanted to start growing his own trees, so he reached out to BIll Meyer at Kickapoo Orchard. Bill inspired Noel to start grafting and growing his own trees. He taught him all about grafting, growing, and pruning apple trees. Noel soon fell in love with the Driftless area and moved there to start a nursery business. 

What are your favorite apples? 

I love Creston apples. They are notoriously hard to grow and only exist at a few orchards. The Creston is a large, red apple (with some yellow and green) that is sweet and very crunchy.