Hard Cider Making In The Schodack NY Region

My most recent archeology type of digging has found The Hawk looking into old farmers dumps. It was common practice for centuries to have a family landfill on ones property. I plan to write about more of my findings this fall. The pieces of one artifact I have discovered appears to have been the remnants of an old hand crank cider press.
Cider making on a small scale was common for much of the history of this country. The tools and knowledge were common throughout Europe. Hard cider drinks are still served in Pubs in England...enjoyed them on my recent visit.
Apple orchards still dot the Hudson River Valley. Many small farms had a few apple trees on them and the older varieties such as the pippen were quite durable to our weather changes. Now the need for excape from the drudges of life are as old as man. A hard cider fermented could sometimes provide such relief. This was common practice and as moonshine is of the southern regions of America cider was to us.
The remnants of the press was uncovered in Columbia County but these often hand made devices were from what I have been able to ascertain quite common. I know of atleast 3 cider makers now deceased from the Schodack NY region. All brewed their ciders during prohabition in the 1920's & early 30's. Apparently a common practice back then was what can be referred to as in the ground fermenting. Make the cider in late summer early fall put in proper container such as an earthen jug , bury in ground atleast 1.5 feet and allow to simmer. Dig up when the ground is cold and test and enjoy. As can be guessed , the in the ground method also provided for refrigeration.
The Schodack landing area was a hotbed for such activity. Alcohol Tobacco and firearms agents
did go after such activity. Small scale selling of product was not uncommon. As a matter of fact , one of my ancestors was busted for such activity circa 1931.

1968 Schodack N.Y.

The Town of Schodack is a small town south of Albany N.Y. on the opposite side of the river from the Capitol. As the crow flies it is about 5 0r so miles south. It has been a town often gone through or bypassed on the way to somewhere else. A small village of Castleton is by the river and a rural suburban composition is the rest of the town. If the reader has read my other blogs you can say history passed through as well. Did not stay long. 1968 was a tramatic year for the country , riots , political unrest , counter culture movement , war. The changes that would effect the nation would touch Schodack as well. I wanted to stop by 1968 in that sleepy town and what was Schodack of the time atleast some impressions.
Schodack was alot dirtier then. As sited by State Study and a 1967 NYT magazine article the biggest pollutors in the Hudson River Valley per capita. Paper Mill from the Fort Orange Paper Company and the Anti Corrosive metal plant poured tons of industrial waste into the river. Open sewer pipes to the river were common. Farming runoff was still common. Large fish kills were not uncommon , 100+ fish could wash up on shore in or near Castleton , making life less pleasant.
You never quite forget that dead fish smell. The environmental movement was just beginning , the first Earth Day was 2 yrs away.
Schodack was less suburban than now , farming was still a common occupation. The smell of manure , common. Outhouses were more common than one might think , I could count atleast 23 that I knew were in use. The Chatham Farmers Coop still in business. The buying and selling of cattle was not uncommon in Schodack.
Our one semi rock star was long since gone....Buddy Randell was a temporary resident of Castleton and was married there. The group was called The Knickerbockers...they were known as making songs that sounded very much like the Beatles. It was said he often used notary public services instead of copyrights. L. V. Hudson often was his notary.
The town was affected by the 60's , it had angry elements....the town voted overwhelmingly for Richard Milhouse Nixon for President. Law & Order was a common phrase heard back then. Of course the 60's had reached the hamlet of Schodack...Drugs , drinking , political unrest amongst the younger residents. From talks with people , many of the young looked forward to leaving and coming back rarely if at all. Not uncommon for small towns , even today.
Several young men left for Vietnam , some came back to resume a quiet life some never quite were whole again. Arguements among families concerning the war was common. It split people apart as it did the nation.
The sleepy little town moved on as all places do , it some ways it is a better place. For me more a place of archeology...left behind memories.

what happaned to Mohigan burial mounds in castleton new york 12033

While away I recieved an e-mail inquiry as to what happaned to the burial mounds located in 12033. My researches including old Castletonian news articles make clear that in the 19th century , the railroads were being built. There was a need for fill for the railbeds especially along the Hudson River route. The mounds were dug into rediscovered and used to fill the railbeds. These sort of situations were not uncommon back then. Many burial mounds were distroyed in the process of building , farming etc. A shame , of course......lost to history and culture.