Photos by Theresa Garee

The 52nd Annual Apple Butter Day kicked off with music from the Groveport Community Choir.

Marilyn Freitag sells homemade baked items. The proceeds from sales at “Cinna-mission” always go toward philanthropic missions. Last year, she was able to donate to The Wagnalls Memorial.

Evalyn, 19 months old, spent much of her time putting to bed all the babies in the old-fashioned kid’s toys at the Groveport Apple Butter Day.

Sharon is a member of the Central Ohio Weaving and FiberArts Guild and has demonstrated wool weaving at the Groveport Apple Butter Day for several years. She shared that Romedale wool is her favorite to spin. “It’s soft but it’s got crimp,” she said. Crimp is its ability to rejoin strands after they break.

Jon Hay provided hayrides around Palm’s Pond throughout Apple Butter Day. Hay has been a part of the event for 20 years.

Apple Butter Day history (from the Groveport Messenger published Oct. 3, 2023)
The festival has been a mainstay and focal point for the community since October 1974 when it began as a simple gathering of friends cooking apple butter over an open fire in a church parking lot.

Apples were important to Ohio’s and Groveport’s pioneer agricultural economy and daily life. Apples could be stored year round and travelled well when shipped over the rough roads or the slow moving freight boats on the Ohio and Erie Canal.

Apples, in addition to being a treat picked right off the tree, could be used in many products used by the pioneers like dried apples, apple butter, cider, hard cider, apple brandy, apple chips, and vinegar. They were even fed to hogs, which were important livestock to the Ohio pioneer.

The Groveport Heritage Society created Apple Butter Day to pay tribute to the town’s pioneer past and to educate people about what life was like in Groveport and nearby farms in the 19th and 20th centuries. The festival strives to remain true to the area’s historic roots. Apple Butter Day has a relaxed atmosphere and it’s a day to be spent outdoors reveling in what fall has to offer before gray, cold November drives everyone indoors.

People who have long moved away from Groveport stop by the old town to see family and friends on Apple Butter Day. For those who have remained in town, it’s a chance to get reacquainted with neighbors. Apple Butter Day encourages us to slow down, enjoy the pleasures of simple foods, and reinforces our link to the past.

Andrea Green of Circleville and her daughter offer hand churned ice cream in the Groveport Log House, this is her 15th year at the event.

The Groveport Log House
A center piece of Groveport history is the 1815 era Groveport Log House.

The log house originally sat on the southwest corner of Main and Madison streets, where the Groveport Post Office is now located. Workers discovered the log house as they were dismantling it in 1974 to make way for the Post Office. Volunteers from the Groveport Heritage and Preservation Society pitched in to preserve the house and in 1974, with help from the United States Army Corps of Engineers, moved it to its present location in Heritage Park.

Over the years the log house has under gone historical restorations and renovations, but it remains a historical focal point for Groveport and serves as an example of our pioneer ancestors’ way of life. If you are taking a walk around town, take a peek at this piece of tangible history.

Please pick up your next Groveport Messenger for more photos from this local tradition in Groveport.