{Today’s stream carries choppy waters, hence the staccatoed phrases passing as sentences. Thoughts are inspired from reading about Johnny Appleseed, an American folk hero.}
A boy born in Massachusetts in 1774. On a fine autumn day. John Chapman.
His father went off to war. His mother gave birth to a baby while sick. Not much food at home for Johnny and his sister, Lizzie. Then their mother and baby brother died. One after the other.
Johnny went to school. Briefly. Learned to write. And read. At fourteen, he was apprenticed. Worked in the orchards. An apple man. Like his great-great-great-great-great-grandfather.
Influenced by the writings of a philosopher. Believed in Eden on earth. Johnny spread God's words. He spread apple seeds, too. He was twenty one.
Pennsylvania. Along rivers and creeks. He planted brown seeds. Few years later, seedling trees grew. Johnny sold them to families moving west. At about six and a half cents.
Johnny loved the forests. He slept in the outdoors. His trees weren't always paid for through money. He was given clothes. A bed for the night. Sometimes food. He made friends. With the Seneca and Munsee.
He planted on.
Ohio.
Indiana.
Always alone. Wore a saucepan as a hat. Wore a coffee sack as clothes. Some said he wore secondhand sandals. Some said he was barefoot. Through forests. Even in snow storms. He carried his Bible everywhere.
Always kind. Always in love with Nature.
When he visited his half-sister and her family, he brought gifts. He told stories to his nieces. Of his adventures and escapades.
One day, he heard one of his orchard fences was broken. Walked fifteen miles to fix it. Returned with pneumonia. Johnny died in winter. Buried in a six-dollar coffin. Was seventy-one years old.
The sun. The rain. The appleseeds. Time. One man. A stout heart. A big applelicious heart. Filled with sweet, kind juice. A crunchy core. Never stopped believing. Changed the landscape of America. With beautiful apple trees.
Food for hungry families.
...
Johnny Appleseed: The Legend and the Truth
(Jane Yolen & Jim Burke)
A picture book on the legend, from where most of the thoughts in this post were stirred.
The Sun, the Rain, and the Appleseed: A Novel of Johnny Appleseed’s Life
(Lynda Durrant)
A novel (for aged 10 & up) that first got me acquainted with the folk hero. (By the way, Lynda was my instructor at the Institute of Children’s Literature!)
…
It takes about seven years for a cluster of apple seeds to grow into a fruit-bearing tree. I wonder if Johnny Appleseed has inspired you to be patient and determined with your projects, too?
{Also, apple juice & pies are my favourite apple stuff. What are yours?}
A boy born in Massachusetts in 1774. On a fine autumn day. John Chapman.
His father went off to war. His mother gave birth to a baby while sick. Not much food at home for Johnny and his sister, Lizzie. Then their mother and baby brother died. One after the other.
Johnny went to school. Briefly. Learned to write. And read. At fourteen, he was apprenticed. Worked in the orchards. An apple man. Like his great-great-great-great-great-grandfather.
Influenced by the writings of a philosopher. Believed in Eden on earth. Johnny spread God's words. He spread apple seeds, too. He was twenty one.
Pennsylvania. Along rivers and creeks. He planted brown seeds. Few years later, seedling trees grew. Johnny sold them to families moving west. At about six and a half cents.
Johnny loved the forests. He slept in the outdoors. His trees weren't always paid for through money. He was given clothes. A bed for the night. Sometimes food. He made friends. With the Seneca and Munsee.
He planted on.
Ohio.
Indiana.
Always alone. Wore a saucepan as a hat. Wore a coffee sack as clothes. Some said he wore secondhand sandals. Some said he was barefoot. Through forests. Even in snow storms. He carried his Bible everywhere.
Always kind. Always in love with Nature.
When he visited his half-sister and her family, he brought gifts. He told stories to his nieces. Of his adventures and escapades.
One day, he heard one of his orchard fences was broken. Walked fifteen miles to fix it. Returned with pneumonia. Johnny died in winter. Buried in a six-dollar coffin. Was seventy-one years old.
The sun. The rain. The appleseeds. Time. One man. A stout heart. A big applelicious heart. Filled with sweet, kind juice. A crunchy core. Never stopped believing. Changed the landscape of America. With beautiful apple trees.
Food for hungry families.
...
Johnny Appleseed: The Legend and the Truth
(Jane Yolen & Jim Burke)
A picture book on the legend, from where most of the thoughts in this post were stirred.
The Sun, the Rain, and the Appleseed: A Novel of Johnny Appleseed’s Life
(Lynda Durrant)
A novel (for aged 10 & up) that first got me acquainted with the folk hero. (By the way, Lynda was my instructor at the Institute of Children’s Literature!)
…
It takes about seven years for a cluster of apple seeds to grow into a fruit-bearing tree. I wonder if Johnny Appleseed has inspired you to be patient and determined with your projects, too?
{Also, apple juice & pies are my favourite apple stuff. What are yours?}
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