In 1963 Paul Fahrbach, breaking bold new ground (so to speak), planted an orchard 4 miles north of Courtland in the Bostwick Irrigation District. At the time it was the largest orchard west of Us 81 Highway, and consisted mainly of apples, but also included peaches, cherries, apricots, and strawberries.  He farmed it until he sold it to Nick Munk in the late 70’s who hired Dan in 1979 to work in the orchard. He went on to rent it until 2003 when it was bulldozed to make room for more farm ground.

The 80’s were unbelievable.  Despite the fact the orchard was on a gravel road far from a town, in a small metal building with no plumbing, we sold as many as 400 bushels in a day.  U-pickers from all over north central Kansas and south-central Nebraska came to pick bushels and bushels, many times filling their trunks. It was a time when home canning and food preservation was standard operating procedure on most farms and in many households.  How we ever managed the crowds with no serious accidents is a testimony to Providence!   To this day, every once in a while, a late thirty or forty something person will come into the Depot and say something like,” my gramma used to take us to the orchard when we were little and we had the best time picking apples”.  Fyodor Doestoevsky, the Russian novelist said, “We can be saved by one happy childhood memory”.  Our goal is to make happy memories again, having fun picking apples.  Nothing tastes as good as an apple you pick right off the tree!