Fletcher Sweet: The Apple of Lincolnville's Eye

The Fletcher Sweet, a local apple variety, was thought to be extinct until dairy farmer Clarence Thurlow pointed the way to one remaining tree in the Moody Mountain section of town.

Thurlow remembered gathering the sweet apples in his youth in an area that used to be known as Fletchertown.

"Clarence thought the tree might be dead," said Rosey Gerry, a Lincolnville historian and enthusiastic sleuth whose passion is following clues to unearth local history. Thurlow tipped off Gerry and Gerry tipped off John Bunker of Fedco Seeds, who was on the track of lost heirloom apple varieties.

The tree, said Bunker, was "99 percent dead and had lost most of its bark."

"There was one live branch left," said Gerry, who teamed up with Bunker to locate the apple. Bunker took a clipping and nurtured it back to life.

An offspring of that Fletcher Sweet twig was planted in a ceremony at Breezemere Park in Lincolnville Center on Tuesday, May 3 to honor both the apple and Thurlow, a Lincolnville native who died last year.

Before planting the 5-foot tall sapling, Bunker addressed the local gathering of 20 or so people who had gathered.

When an apple seed is planted, the tree that grows from it is not true to type. "A Macintosh does not create a Macintosh tree," said Bunker. "f you plant the seed, you get something unique with unique fruit."

Settlers around New England planted apple seeds and local varieties sprang up everywhere. Of the thousands of apples trees planted by seed, those that were particularly good for pies, apple syrup, applesauce, cider and eating-about 200 apples in Maine -- were saved and propagated by grafting branches onto other apple trees. They were also named. But they were still local.

"These aren't apples you would see in Shaw's or Shop 'n' Save," said Bunker. "The Fletcher Sweet was probably grown in Hope and maybe as far as Appleton. It was perfectly adapted to this area."

Part of the appeal of searching for heirloom varieties, said Bunker, is the unusual historical significance of apple trees that were tucked away in small towns and are on the verge of disappearing.

"It represents Maine-based local agriculture...a collection of small farms across the state," said Bunker. "This is the living memory of that. And someday we'll be all eating these apples together."

Source: Rockland Village Soup