How do you like them apples? Carrie Chapman home invites public to take their pick

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

Apple-lovers of all ages visited Charles City’s Carrie Chapman home on Monday to pick out some red, round and delicious treats.

Labor Day is family apple-picking day at the site, and the public was encouraged to come out and pick a bag of apples from the onsite heritage apple orchard to take home. People could even enjoy some fresh-pressed cider from the site’s cider press, as well as free tours of the museum.

“It’s been a great day — lots of families, and that was the intention, to get lots of families out here,” said Phyllis Meyer, with the National 19th Amendment Society. “A lot of people come out just for the apples, but a lot of them stop in and visit the house and museum.”

The National 19th Amendment Society is a local, non-profit group that is dedicated to telling the story of Carrie Lane Chapman Catt, who grew up just outside of Charles City. Carrie’s girlhood home, located at 2379 Timber Ave., was purchased, restored and opened for public tours in 2005, followed by a newly constructed Interpretive Center in 2011 on the same site. Both facilities are dedicated to telling the story of Carrie and her leadership that resulted in passage of the 19th Amendment.

Catt served as president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association and was the founder of the League of Women Voters and the International Alliance of Women. She helped to pressure Congress to pass the constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote and convinced state legislatures to ratify it.

“Actually, this was intended to be a fruit farm, so that’s where the putting in the apple orchard comes from.” Meyer said. “Since we have an orchard, and apples every fall, we don’t want to do anything with them — and we don’t want them to be just thrown away — come Labor Day, we invite people to come out and pick apples, and it’s free.”

Meyer said the site has been hosting the apple-picking day for the last four or five years — with some exceptions for unexpected events, such as an early frost.

“It’s turned out to be one of our big, busy days,” she said.

Susan Jacob, with the National 19th Amendment Society, said 125 people attended the annual apple picking day Monday.

The site is closed for the season after Labor Day, although it is open by appointment.