Places to go and things to see by Gypsy Bev

Archive for November, 2024

Tastee Apple Celebrates 50th Anniversary

America’s Favorite Caramel Apple

Tastee Apple is located on the banks of the Tuscarawas River in Newcomerstown.

Tastee Apple has been making caramel and chocolate apples since 1974. That’s 50 years of delicious apples being made locally in the small, historic village of Newcomerstown, Ohio at a family owned and operated business started by John Hackenbracht and his son, Greg.

Hackenbracht Orchard was the beginning of it all. John not only owned the orchard but from 1958 to 1976 was manager of the Ohio Fruit Growers so was quite familiar with apples. Son Greg grew up surrounded by 4,000 apple and peach trees so he lived, breathed, and ate fruit growing up. He smiles when recalling, “I always knew what a good apple was supposed to be.”

The seed for a caramel apple business was planted in the 1960s. However, it wasn’t until Greg graduated from high school in 1973 that the idea seriously took root. Very few jobs were available at that time and college money was in short supply. John had the perfect solution!

They would start the caramel apple business they had been dreaming about. Greg could work there for six months out of the year and go to college the other six. Tastee Apple, Inc. was officially born!

A variety of Tastee Apples are displayed under their logo.

It all began with one caramel machine and Greg’s personal caramel recipe, which is still used to this day because its smooth taste can’t be beat. That’s why Tastee Apples are called America’s Favorite Caramel Apple. That first year, they made 50,000 dozen caramel apples. Today, they make 50,000 dozen in four days!

Once Greg received his Bachelor Of Science in Marketing/Marketing Management from Bowling Green State University in 1979, he joined Tastee Apple on a full-time basis. During those early years at the plant, Greg worked long hours, seven days a week. Often during the busy season, he fell asleep in a chair at the plant.

John passed away in 2007 knowing that he was leaving the continuation of his legacy in the capable hands of his son, Greg. The family hopes to continue this family tradition of quality products and working conditions for many years to come.

Chad became the president of Tastee Apple in 2022 when his dad, Greg, retired.

Today Tastee Apple continues in the capable hands of a third generation, Greg’s son Chad, who carries on the family tradition after Greg’s retirement in 2022. Prior to returning to the business, Chad enjoyed racing and was a NASCAR champion.

Before returning to Tastee Apple, Chad enjoyed the life of a NASCAR champion.

Today Tastee Apple has 15 full-time employees working all year. However, during the busy apple season from August – October, they employ from 100-160. They treat everyone with kindness, just like they would like to be treated.

Over the last 40 years, Tastee has sold over 250,000,000 apples with candy, chocolate, caramel, and other toppings. This is the only company in the industry certified by the Safe Quality Food Institute. All their apples go through a unique, seven-step rating process to guarantee the quality and freshness of the fruit.

Their dark chocolate, peppermint Gourmet Apple is very popular.

Then perfectly ripe apples are ‘sticked’ and dipped in made from scratch, small batch, kettle cooked caramel or a candy coating. Once cool, they are rolled in gooey toppings like milk, dark, or white chocolate, and then rolled in peanuts, pecans, cookies, or pretzels. The apples are then carefully packaged, stored, and shipped to stores throughout the United States.

Tastee Apple was displayed at the Big Apple in Times Square.

The East Coast is a popular area for their Tastee Apples and New York City has long been a big supporter. Locally, their apples can be found at Walmart and Myers. They also make them for Giant Eagle under a private label.

The Hackenbracht family likes to try new things and over the years have made apple chips, potato chips, sweet potato chips, popcorn balls, and even apple cider. But the Caramel Apple has stood the test of time as a favorite. They have seen a large increase in requests for their Gourmet Apples.

A newer addition this year is Apple Pops, a smaller covered apple.

Every year they come up with some new ideas for their delicious apple treats. This year they have designed Apple Pops, which are just the right size to be convenient for a snack and they are themed for every holiday. A Mystery Box has also been developed that holds a variety of their popular treats.

A sign in front of the business lets locals know when seconds are for sale.

Tastee Apple sells apples with caramel, candy, chocolate, and other toppings. No apple gets the Tastee label unless it is perfect. Those that don’t meet their standards are sold at the plant as “seconds” if the caramel doesn’t cover evenly or the stick isn’t straight!

Tastee Apple, Inc. is located at 60810 Co. Rd. 9, Newcomerstown on the banks of the Tuscarawas River. Bite into a nutritious, mouthwatering Tastee Apple soon. You might want just a slice as their gourmet apples are very large!

Having a successful Tastee Apple business for 50 years shows that the Hackenbracht family knows a good apple when they see one.

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Christmas, Ohio, Uncategorized

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Rick Booth Remasters Guernsey County History

Rick Booth holds both volumes of his newly published book set, The Extended Stories of Guernsey County, Ohio.

The Extended Stories of Guernsey County, Ohio, Volumes 1 and 2, has recently been released after seven months of detailed work by Rick Booth, who spent 20 to 30 hours per week republishing the writings of William G. Wolfe, an early historian from Guernsey County. This new 1,640-page book set contains all the historical writings of Wolfe that Rick could find.

William G. Wolfe was born in Quaker City in 1874, attended Ohio Northern University, and received his teaching certificate at the age of 23. He then spent 47 years in the Guernsey County School system as a teacher, Superintendent of Quaker City Schools, and then Superintendent of Guernsey County Schools.

Rick’s desire to make Wolfe’s out-of-print stories available forever began when Rick found forgotten Wolfe articles in online newspaper archives, and he thought they should be added to the original Wolfe’s history. Rick decided then to remaster Wolfe’s original 1943 history book, Stories of Guernsey County, Ohio, the most comprehensive Guernsey County history book ever written. This book, reproduced as Volume 1, was based on 313 historical articles that Wolfe had written for Cambridge’s Daily Jeffersonian newspaper in the 1930s. Rick placed it in a modern format and added a second volume of the additional 171 “forgotten” stories he discovered in Daily Jeffersonian archives.

Rick studied history with his dad, Atty. Russell Booth, at any early age.

Most know Rick Booth as our local historian, but all may not be familiar with his background. Rick grew up in Guernsey County, the son of another historian, Atty. Russell Booth. History was an important part of their lives, and from his earliest memories, Rick recalls his dad telling him bedtime stories based on tales from history and many from Wolfe’s book. Atty. Booth treasured the copy of Wolfe’s Stories of Guernsey County which Wolfe personally signed for him in 1943 when a high school freshman. Rick was immersed in history from a very early age.

Rick studies the Apollo 11 Saturn V rocket just days before it took men to the moon.

After Rick graduated from Cambridge High School, there were many years when Guernsey County history was not of chief importance. After graduating from Princeton University, Rick spent two years in medical school at Columbia University in New York City before deciding to instead join the exciting new personal computer revolution just then emerging.

“A Boy and His Blob” is Rick’s best known gaming credit and still followed today.

For most of the 1980s, he worked for Sesame Street’s computer division, creating and designing software tools for their early educational computer game products. Later, he also designed core sound and animation systems for Nintendo cartridge and Sega CD-ROM games for video game companies. His best-known gaming credit is for the 1989 NES cartridge game “A Boy and His Blob,” which retains a niche following to this day.

In 1997, he wrote a computer book, “Inner Loops.” This book was designed for computer professionals and hobbyists to get high performance out of their computers. He also co-authored another computer book at Intel’s request, “Programming Itanium-based Systems: Developing High Performance Applications for Intel’s New Architecture.” Much of his later career involved digital video engineering and Internet-over-cable systems.

While living in the Philadelphia area, Rick was instrumental in saving the Cornwells Heights Amtrak Station in Bensalem, PA, which was needed for easy access to his work in New York City. (There’s a remarkable story attached for perhaps another article by Rick.) He witnessed history, too, having been on perhaps the last train to enter NYC before the Hudson River railroad tunnels were shut down in the chaos of 9/11.

He returned to Guernsey County in 2007. Then his efforts to keep Guernsey County alive began as he watched his father, Atty. Russell Booth writing about and researching local history.

At that time, his dad was writing monthly articles for Now & Then magazine. When his dad was no longer able to do that, Rick stepped in and continued those historical articles, completing the transition in 2012.

Rick with a group of Rainy Day Writers at a book signing get together.

Rick has been an important part of Rainy Day Writers since its beginning. Here he not only contributes interesting stories to their annual books but also helps with the publication process and serves as treasurer.

Spreading local history at the Heritage Arts Tent during the Salt Fork Festival is another of Rick’s contributions.

When Now & Then ceased publication in 2019, Rick seamlessly kept the stream of monthly history articles going in Crossroads magazine. Rick also keeps others informed about our history through his leadership at the Guernsey County History Museum where he is Treasurer and Director of Digitization.

He writes the script for the Cemetery Tours and then portrays one of the “Coming Alive” characters.

He also does many downtown tours in Cambridge, developing and participating in Cemetery Tours, and being the guide for Trolley Tours during Dickens season.

Dressed at John Herschel Glenn, Sr., Rick gives tours of the John & Annie Glenn Museum.

In New Concord, Rick portrays the role of John Herschel Glenn, Sr. to keep the history of John & Annie Glenn alive at the museum there. He also led the effort to get the official Ohio Historical Marker for Fletcher General Hospital and WWII POW Camp, which most locals later knew as the Cambridge State Hospital. Everyone wonders when this man sleeps.

During the Dickens Victorian Village season, Rick narrates historic Trolley Tours on special Saturdays.

For all his hard work in the community, in 2023 he received the Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Public Service Award.

In 2024, Rick digitized, proofread, and republished the writings of William G. Wolfe, the author of Guernsey County’s most extensive history book, Stories of Guernsey County, Ohio. His new collection is called The Extended Stories of Guernsey County, Ohio. He has used digital image manipulation to enhance the photos in some of the articles and add new ones to others, making them even more interesting. There are also 76 pages of newly-added historical township landowner maps, each with a QR code for easy cell phone viewing of every township in Guernsey County in the last few chapters of Volume 1 for those who enjoy comparing maps from 1855, 1870, 1902, and today.

An amazing thing about these volumes is the indexing. In the second volume, Rick has listed every name that is in both volumes and the pages where they appear. Over 23,000 name references were compiled into the new 131-page “all names” index! This provides an easy way to find family connections.

In proofreading Wolfe’s materials, Rick was surprised that he credited Cambridge Iron and Steel Company as the reason for Cambridge’s turn-of-the century (1900) sudden growth. Most recall the glass and pottery industry being a big boost to the local economy.

Pick up his new book set at the Guernsey County Museum.

Both volumes of The Extended Stories of Guernsey County, Ohio are available on Amazon, or you can pick them up at the Guernsey County Museum, 218 North Eighth Street, at a total cost of $80 for the two-volume set. Rick is giving a percentage of the profits to the museum. These volumes are printed in a perpetual hardcover print-on-demand book form so the work won’t go out of print again and the history of Guernsey County will live on, especially in historical and genealogical societies.

If you enjoy history of the Guernsey County area, you are certain to find this book set a treasure filled with memorable events that have shaped our lives.

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Authors, Cambridge, History, Ohio, Uncategorized

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Roger Pickenpaugh…Research is Key

Local educator and author, Roger Pickenpaugh of Caldwell, enjoys the challenge of discovering information about topics of interest so he can organize them into a book filled with accurate historical facts.

Roger graduated from Ohio State University and earned his Master’s Degree there as well. He retired from Shenandoah Middle School after teaching thirty years. Over the years, he has written 20 books filled with local and national history. Five of his books focus on the Civil War.

These three books are samples of those where he used traditional publishing.

Roger has always been interested in history. Even as a child, he liked to read books with a historical touch. Although he does admit to also reading some comic books.

His interest in the Civil War stems back to the fact that his grandfather and uncle were both very interested in Civil War events so he became interested just by listening. He also had a relative who took part in the Vicksburg campaign.

His interest in writing began when a student at OSU where he did writing and research on term papers for college and found he enjoyed the exploration.

His late wife Marion felt research was much like a Treasure Hunt.

Since most of his books require accurate historical information, research has always been an important part of his life. He credits his late wife, Marion, for being the research organizer and the reason for his success in writing historical books.

Some of those early books required research before the advent of computers. Roger remember Marion’s patience and tenacity as she searched through books on the library shelf looking for that piece of missing information. Note cards were made with information gathered and then placed in order. Indexes in his books are an important part so he feels accuracy is extremely necessary.

Roger frequently uses resources at the Ohio Historical Society for his research.

Research over the years has been from interviews over the phone to personal visits at places he is researching. There he makes good use of their local libraries for old newspaper records. National Archives, State Historical Societies, and many universities or colleges have provided needed information through books or diaries. When you read his books, you clearly see how important this research was.

Roger enjoyed a close look at Agnes Moorehead’s Emmy while doing research at Muskingum University Library.

One of his favorite local places for research is the Muskingum University Library. They have been so helpful to him with use of equipment and finding the resources he needs. Roger said, “I never could do this writing without them.”

Friendships with members of the Noble County Writers Group have proved valuable over the years. Writers need to have other writers to talk with and share ideas. Other members of the group also are great at proofreading and giving ideas for improvement. They have even written some books together.

This early book of Roger’s tells personal tales of that terrible blizzard. True and often humorous!

At this point in time, Roger has published 20 books. Eight of them were with traditional publishers, the first being Rescue by Rail: Troop Transfer and Civil War in the West, 1863, which was published in 1998 and took about three years to write. That book had a local touch as some of the trains ran through Guernsey County on the B&O.

Johnson’s Island: A Prison for Confederate Officers (Civil War in the North) was published in 2016 and won the Bowling Green Center for Archival Collections Local History Publication Award.

Noble County, Ohio was Roger’s first book, which he self-published.

He also has twelve books of local nature that are self-published. A History of Noble County, Ohio 1887-1987 was his first self-published book back in 1988. He spent nearly eight years researching over 100 newspapers to get the accurate information he needed.

Roger feels local books can be self-published but if you are writing about a national event, it will best be received if going through a traditional publisher.

In their travels, Roger visited his sister Jill and her husband in Georgia, where they worked with President Jimmy Carter. They attended services at the Baptist Church where President Carter taught Sunday School. Today his sister is Superintendent of Jimmy Carter National Historic Site in Plains, Georgia. Roger was pleased to have his picture taken with the president and President Carter left a review on Amazon for one of Roger’s books.

Meeting President Jimmy Carter was a special moment for Roger.

When Roger is not researching, he enjoys being active with daily walks and work in his garden. His walking goal was to have a thousand consecutive days with over 10,000 steps and he has probably reached it by now as had 900 consecutive days in mid-May.

Roger starts his garden early inside. During the summer, he enjoys working in his garden.

He is putting the finishing touches on a book about John F. Kennedy’s sense of humor. The working title right now is John F. Kennedy: The Kennedy Wit.

Transferring handwritten notes to the computer is time consuming.

Currently, Roger is also researching information about Ohio in the early days of the Civil War. This is being done in various newspaper archives and finds the ones at Ohio Historical Society very helpful.

His list of books is extensive but most can be found on Amazon or if you happen to see Roger at a book fair or local promotion. He often promotes his books at places like Art on the Square in Caldwell, Bookology in Cambridge, and Buckeye Book Fair.

If you enjoy history, you are certain to appreciate the research Roger Pickenpaugh has done to make his books accurate. His style of writing makes history interesting.

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Authors, History, Ohio, Uncategorized

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