Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2021 20:25:22 GMT -5
‘It’s just sad.' Fly Creek Cider Mill near Cooperstown wraps up final day
Donna Thompson
Times Telegram
Fly Creek Cider Mill and Orchard owner Bill Michaels and his mother, Barbara, stand beside a display of Fly Creek Cider Mill cookbooks. The popular attraction closed its doors at the end of the day Sunday.
A small but steady flow of customers wound their way through the mill store at the Fly Creek Cider Mill and Orchard on Sunday, the mill’s final day of operation.
While many shelves and displays were empty, cider and doughnuts were available along with apple wine, barbecue sauce, fudge and various other items, all at 65% off.
Whether the mill will reopen at some point remains to be decided.
“We’re going to take some time and reassess what we’re going to do,” said to Bill Michaels, who owns the mill with his wife, Brenda, and was on hand for the final day. “We’ll announce (the decision) through our customer portal and on social media.”
The decision to close came a little less than a year after the local area started to feel the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The mill was able to stay open throughout the lockdown period, according to Michaels.
“We sell food, so we were essential. In May and June we took a real hit,” he said.
A Payroll Protection Program loan and small business loan helped the mill stay afloat.
Business picked up and continued at a steady pace through the holiday season, but crashed in January as the number of COVID-19 cases increased. The family saw no choice but to close the mill.
“It’s just sad,” Michaels said.
A long history
The Fly Creek Cider Mill has a long history in the Michaels family and an even longer history in the community.
Hosea Williams built the original mill in the mid-1800s and farmers and local residents who had been pressing their own cider by hand were happy to bring their apples to the mill, where Williams used a turbine and waters from the creek to run a Boomer & Boschert press and grinder to process the fruit, according to the brief history included in a cookbook Brenda and Bill Michaels published in 2016.
Williams also used the mill to make woodwork for homes. Linn Kane was the next owner. Prohibition brought cider making to a halt, but Kane used the mill for custom pressing and woodworking, closing it in the 1950s.
He sold the property to Charlie and Barbara Michaels in 1962. The newlyweds were interested in the miller’s residence as their new home, and they went to work restoring the house. After hearing tales about the mill from Kane, they turned their attention to that project, shoring up the structure and starting the family business.
“My husband, Charlie, built this whole thing,” said Barbara Michaels, who also was at the mill shop on the final day. “We started very slowly.”
She recalled a neighbor from West Winfield trucking in apples to be pressed into cider.
“This was before pasteurization,” she said. “We modernized a little at a time.”
Barbara Michaels, who worked as an art teacher, decided to open a gift shop on the upstairs level.
In 1998, the couple sold the operation to their son Bill and his wife, Brenda, who worked to turn the mill into a tourist destination.
The mill had been a seasonal attraction, but shifted to a year-round business in 2016, according to Bill Michaels. It was slow going at first, but business had started picking up during the winter. Then came the pandemic and, in January, the decision to close.
Overwhelming support
Support from the public since the announcement has been overwhelming, Bill Michaels said.
“Customers have shared their memories and pictures. We’ve received cards and messages, people have sent their thoughts and prayers,” he said.
Some people even suggested starting a GoFundMe page.
Many have expressed concerns about the ducks and geese that inhabit the mill’s pond, according to Bill Michaels, but they need not worry.
“They have plenty of food,” he said. “They’re spoiled.”
A flock of about 100 mallards has been joining the resident ducks and geese on a daily basis.
“They know where there’s food," he said. "They don’t overnight here, though. They leave about 5:30, but they’re right back here in the morning.”
While people visiting tourist attractions in Cooperstown and the surrounding area have brought business to the mill, local and regional customers have brought in much of the business, according to Michaels.
“And we get a lot of campers,” he said.
Donna Thompson is the government and business reporter for the Times Telegram. For unlimited access to her stories, please subscribe or activate your digital account today. Email her at donna@timestelegram.com.
www.uticaod.com/story/news/2021/02/02/fly-creek-cider-mill-near-cooperstown-ny-closes/4338439001/
I was there once maybe 15 years ago and found it to be way overpriced.
Donna Thompson
Times Telegram
Fly Creek Cider Mill and Orchard owner Bill Michaels and his mother, Barbara, stand beside a display of Fly Creek Cider Mill cookbooks. The popular attraction closed its doors at the end of the day Sunday.
A small but steady flow of customers wound their way through the mill store at the Fly Creek Cider Mill and Orchard on Sunday, the mill’s final day of operation.
While many shelves and displays were empty, cider and doughnuts were available along with apple wine, barbecue sauce, fudge and various other items, all at 65% off.
Whether the mill will reopen at some point remains to be decided.
“We’re going to take some time and reassess what we’re going to do,” said to Bill Michaels, who owns the mill with his wife, Brenda, and was on hand for the final day. “We’ll announce (the decision) through our customer portal and on social media.”
The decision to close came a little less than a year after the local area started to feel the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The mill was able to stay open throughout the lockdown period, according to Michaels.
“We sell food, so we were essential. In May and June we took a real hit,” he said.
A Payroll Protection Program loan and small business loan helped the mill stay afloat.
Business picked up and continued at a steady pace through the holiday season, but crashed in January as the number of COVID-19 cases increased. The family saw no choice but to close the mill.
“It’s just sad,” Michaels said.
A long history
The Fly Creek Cider Mill has a long history in the Michaels family and an even longer history in the community.
Hosea Williams built the original mill in the mid-1800s and farmers and local residents who had been pressing their own cider by hand were happy to bring their apples to the mill, where Williams used a turbine and waters from the creek to run a Boomer & Boschert press and grinder to process the fruit, according to the brief history included in a cookbook Brenda and Bill Michaels published in 2016.
Williams also used the mill to make woodwork for homes. Linn Kane was the next owner. Prohibition brought cider making to a halt, but Kane used the mill for custom pressing and woodworking, closing it in the 1950s.
He sold the property to Charlie and Barbara Michaels in 1962. The newlyweds were interested in the miller’s residence as their new home, and they went to work restoring the house. After hearing tales about the mill from Kane, they turned their attention to that project, shoring up the structure and starting the family business.
“My husband, Charlie, built this whole thing,” said Barbara Michaels, who also was at the mill shop on the final day. “We started very slowly.”
She recalled a neighbor from West Winfield trucking in apples to be pressed into cider.
“This was before pasteurization,” she said. “We modernized a little at a time.”
Barbara Michaels, who worked as an art teacher, decided to open a gift shop on the upstairs level.
In 1998, the couple sold the operation to their son Bill and his wife, Brenda, who worked to turn the mill into a tourist destination.
The mill had been a seasonal attraction, but shifted to a year-round business in 2016, according to Bill Michaels. It was slow going at first, but business had started picking up during the winter. Then came the pandemic and, in January, the decision to close.
Overwhelming support
Support from the public since the announcement has been overwhelming, Bill Michaels said.
“Customers have shared their memories and pictures. We’ve received cards and messages, people have sent their thoughts and prayers,” he said.
Some people even suggested starting a GoFundMe page.
Many have expressed concerns about the ducks and geese that inhabit the mill’s pond, according to Bill Michaels, but they need not worry.
“They have plenty of food,” he said. “They’re spoiled.”
A flock of about 100 mallards has been joining the resident ducks and geese on a daily basis.
“They know where there’s food," he said. "They don’t overnight here, though. They leave about 5:30, but they’re right back here in the morning.”
While people visiting tourist attractions in Cooperstown and the surrounding area have brought business to the mill, local and regional customers have brought in much of the business, according to Michaels.
“And we get a lot of campers,” he said.
Donna Thompson is the government and business reporter for the Times Telegram. For unlimited access to her stories, please subscribe or activate your digital account today. Email her at donna@timestelegram.com.
www.uticaod.com/story/news/2021/02/02/fly-creek-cider-mill-near-cooperstown-ny-closes/4338439001/
I was there once maybe 15 years ago and found it to be way overpriced.
We decided at that point that we were better off drinking Topper beer at cost of 3 quarts for a buck at a store in Schuyler that the oldest looking of us four managed to buy with draft card he acquired somehow.
How the hell I ever survived to see 74 yrs old is beyond me.