Families drawn to farm atmosphere
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The Pritchetts, Rachel and Marvin, put a lot of time and effort into the Red Apple Barn through the decades to help make it the successful family business it is today.
More than half a century ago, an apple tree began growing on the property of the late W.T. Pritchett in the Pleasant Grove community just west of Ellijay. The apples had a nice red color to them and they “tasted good,” said Barry Pritchett, W.T.’s grandson.
“It wasn’t sprayed or anything, I don’t think,” said Pritchett. “It was dirt roads back then, so the county graded the road and knocked that tree over. My grandpa cut some limbs off of it and grafted them into a Golden Delicious tree, so now I think we’re on our third iteration of that graft. And we’re about to start our fourth iteration of that graft to keep the apple going on.”
In Gilmer County, the Apple Capital of Georgia where dozens and dozens of varieties now are grown, no one else sells the Pritchett Golden.
“It tastes like a cross between a Fuji, a Red Delicious and a Golden Delicious,” Pritchett detailed while touring acreage behind the Red Apple Barn storefront on Highway 282. “And it keeps a long time.”
Today, the Red Apple Barn draws thousands of people in the late summer and fall, many who have been before and also first-timers. They find a lot to like in not only the apples but the family atmosphere cultivated by the Pritchetts, who have operated their roadside store since 1965.
Barry Pritchett was asked what apples would be available in early fall in time for the annual Apple Festival. He pulled out his phone and looked up the Red Apple Barn website.
“By the end of September, several varieties of apples will be in — September Wonder, Jonagold, Rome Beauty, Golden Delicious, Honeycrisp, Cameo — and depending on the weather, Crimson Crisp and Granny Smith,” he said. “Basically, by October and the Apple Festival, everything should be in.”
Another feature of the website is handy charts that show what varieties are good for cooking or just eating out of hand. To accommodate in-house visitors, the market has been remodeled.
“After Covid, we wanted to open up more space so people could move around,” said Pritchett. “Now we’re going to let people be tasting the different varieties again. If people can taste them, it makes a big difference. We ask people, ‘Do you like something sweet or sour or firm or soft?’ So you try to get it narrowed down pretty quick. Like a Cameo, it’s a pretty good all-around apple and has become our number two seller over the past three years. A few years ago, Golden Delicious was the number one seller. Now, Honeycrisp is our number one seller. By the end of September and early October, there’s around 15 varieties we’ll have in, so we try to have enough people working to answer questions people might have about the apples.”
And there’s more than apples in the market.
“We have honey, sorghum — that’s big — and things that local people make and sell,” said Pritchett, a third-generation orchardist. “We have a cookbook we sell that has a lot of old, neat family recipes. The honey straws have become popular. I didn’t know these things existed until about two years ago; some people put them in their coffee and kids eat ‘em right out of the straw. Honey sells just in the comb now too, we picked that up at a trade show. And of course we have several varieties of cider, and our dried apples are popular.
“The crop is light this year, but we’ve got plenty enough of what we need. The crop last year was about 150 percent. So the trees will kinda take a break.”
Another fast seller is baked goods.
“That’s one of our big things — we have pies, bread, doughnuts and fritters, those are huge,” he added. “We have fudge too. The caramel apple pies are a unique thing we have. We have 60 varieties of jams, jellies, pickles, relishes and chow-chow. And there are mulling spices. Candles are another big seller for us. Our doughnuts are made around a mile away at Our Daily Bread Bakery, just on top of the hill. It’s really nice having them close by — we couldn’t get much fresher than that. They just bring them hot down the hill.
“Most everything we have is Georgia-grown.”
U-Pick Apples
Past the apple house in the orchards and farm area, visitors to the Red Apple Barn can pick their own apples off the tree, or choose a pumpkin from the patch.
“The U-Pick venue has grown, it’s a place where guests can come to chill or rock in a rocking chair, it’s very family-oriented,” he said of participants taking a break after picking. “We have a playground so families and their kids will have things to do out here on the farm. We’ve got picnic tables on the creek and benches where people can sit and take pictures and stuff. It’s a relaxed atmosphere, and our games are more laid-back like something you’d do on a farm — horseshoes, corn hole, a rope-climbing activity, boards for kids to climb up on hay bales with, pipes for kids to crawl through. The tire swings have been a smash hit; you wouldn’t believe something so simple would attract kids like that. We have a barn on top of the property and usually have some animals around the barn for kids to pet or feed apples to, usually calves.”
Pritchett said when some folks come and pick out a pumpkin they’re so happy “you’d think they won the lottery.”
“A girl came last year who was only 12 or 14 and found a great big one she wanted,” he shared. “It weighed around 250 pounds. Me and a couple of other guys turned a wheelbarrow on its side and rolled it in there, and then turned it sideways to get it into the back of a Corvette. I think they were trying to show their neighbors up.”
U-Pick participants receive gifts of flowers, apple cider and an apple cider doughnut when they get through picking their own fruit. They can also sample and buy peanuts boiled fresh on weekends.
Still about family
Pritchett said his father, Marvin, is really the one who put “blood, sweat and tears into this operation” and envisioned their property as a place where families could relax on the farm and forest land and get away from the hustle and bustle of life.
“What I enjoy more than anything from all of this is to see couples and families out just enjoying themselves,” said Barry Pritchett.
“I call it just simple fun the way God meant, for us to enjoy what’s here. Some people have done these outdoor activities with us ever since we started it years ago, and they bring their kids and grandkids back. So we’ve got up to three generations of people coming now. It’s become kind of a family tradition. We’ve had a few wedding proposals out here too; we had one in the pumpkin patch last year in October. And sometimes they call or email us ahead of time (about proposals), and if we can help them with that we try to. City folks love it when they can get out here for awhile, sometimes they’ll hang out for hours and hours just to enjoy nature.”
He added, “Every apple house is different, and to me that’s good. We’re more of a rustic, laid-back scenic kind of place. The family theme seems to be in, or coming back. Maybe there’s just more appreciation for people who own family businesses than there used to be. We’re blessed, we really are.”