Each farmer would bring his own apples and would return home with their own barrels of fresh sweet cider to use as they saw fit. At that time there was no retail, no road side stand, no apple sales. As time went on James son, Harold Campbell, had a deep interest in the Cider Mill and continued the mill with his wife, Eleanor, and their children after James retired. Harold ran the mill with his fam
ily through the years and in 1976 his son Fred Campbell and his wife, Mary Ann, returned from college and a career with Radio Shack to help run the Cider Mill. Over the years a retail and wholesale market has been added as well as the large selection of New York State apples we all love so much. Time and change has morphed the Cider Mill and the Cider making process into something very different from what it started as in 1920, but at the same time the machinery and process isn't all that foreign from it's humble beginnings. We like to say that we are a "functioning museum", still using our cider press, manufactured in the 1800's, that is still run by a gas powered tractor. Where wooden tanks and barrels were once used, now stainless steel is utilized. Where hoists and pulleys were once the norm, we now have forklifts and handcarts. A lot has changed in the last 96 years and it's all for the better! As we head into a new Season of cider making here at Keystone, Fred's daughter, Beverly VanOstrand, and her family will be taking on new roles at the Cider Mill.
