August 27, 2023 • 11 mins
Barb Joudrey is the owner of Apple Hill Orchards, which has two locations in Mid-Ohio (Mansfield and Fredericktown). Apple Hill has been around since the 1930's and Barb's family has owned it since the late 1980's. Over 30 different types of apples and several other fruits and vegetables are offered at their locations. Apple Hill's donuts are one of their most popular items. Barb was born in Mansfield and shares about her business and her family on the podcast.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
The CEO you should Know, broughtto you by Robie Foster Miller Eric Insurance.
This week's CEO Barbe Joe Dry,owner of Apple Hill Orchards, Barb
Good morning, Good morning. Well, I've heard the name for many many
years and excited to have you withus this morning. So I always begin
(00:21):
with everybody the same, whether somebodyis from the area or they just moved
here. Can you explain a littlebit and tell us about your company.
I was born in Mansfield, Ohio, and lived here until I went to
wait to school and did some yearsEast Coast, West Coast, met my
husband. We had three kids,and we were in Rhode Island at that
(00:45):
time, and we came back becausemy father was sick visiting and my husband
we were in real estate in RhodeIsland and he was out looking around and
he came back to my parents houseand he said, you know, I
think I'm going to make an offeron this orchard. And I said what
orchard? And he explained to meit was Apple Hill Orchards. So that's
(01:12):
how we actually got into this.And we were novices. We didn't know
much about doing orchard work or anythingabout it, but we both had a
little bit of farming in our background. So we moved from Rhode Island to
Ohio and I was pleased to beback around my parents with our three children,
(01:34):
and we took it from there.So how long has Apple Hill Orchard
been around? Do we know whatyear everything got started? We think it
was multigenerational before we owned it,probably from the thirties. The interesting thing
about Apple Hill is it is locatedon the second highest point in the state
(01:55):
of Ohio, which is advantageous fororchard and orchard work because it avoids some
of the early spring frosts that canbe damaging to the fruit. Right,
So did not know about that?Now, how long have you and your
family owned it? Nineteen eighty ninewe came here and giving credit to my
(02:17):
husband, Russell, he stayed uptill late at nights studying about orchards and
growing fruit and what is required formany nights figuring out what we were doing.
And we're starting to catch on.And you mentioned to me that there's
more than one location, correct,Could you talk about that? Yes,
(02:38):
there's a Mansfield location on Lex OntarioRoad, and then there's a location that's
about five miles east of Fredericktown onFredericktown Amity Road. That is a seasonal
location for the store, but ofcourse where the orchard is a year round
work. We are chatting this morningin studio with the owner of Apple Hill
(03:01):
Orchards here in the area that isBarbed Jodry, So we talk about two
locations. How about everything you offerat your orchards. Yes, we're open
year round in Man's Field, andyear round we have apples. Maybe we're
sure maybe about a month out ofthe year that we don't have apples,
(03:22):
but that's because we're able to putour apples into what's called controlled atmosphere storage,
which they are sealed rooms and theypump out the oxygen and replace it
with nitrogen, and that keeps theapples fresh and nice, so we can
sell them even as late as June. So we have of course fruit and
(03:43):
we have apples, peaches, pears, cherries, plums, Asian pears.
And then in our high Tunnel mostyears will have offered tomatoes and some vegetables,
and I do go to the produceauctions and get local produce that we
offer in our store in season.Now I want to talk about some of
(04:09):
the popular items you told me oneof them super popular then, right,
well, yes, our donuts they'reapple donuts and they're made fresh in our
bakery and they have become very popular. Absolutely, are those sold year round
as well. They are at theMansfield store. It's a year round offering,
(04:30):
all right. Tremendous to learn thismorning the story of Apple Hill Orchards.
The owner, Barbed Jodrey, iswith us in studio this morning.
Now we mentioned, you know,maybe let us tomatoes, carrots, other
vegetables. You were telling me therewas a bit of an issue from a
storm, correct, could you talkabout that. Well, we're dependent on
whether and this year the peach cropwas lost due to if you recall a
(04:55):
very severe cold snap right before Christmas. It last year, and it followed
over a warm period, so thebuds had been drawn out and then when
this it went below freezing like eightbelow zero with a strong wind, and
it got our peach crop in Mansfield. We have a few peaches in Fredericktown.
(05:17):
But ironically in Fredericktown we had ahailstorm, which is another thing we
don't like to see, and thatdinged up the fruit pretty good down there.
But yeah, we're subject to climatechanges and you are telling me about
your greenhouse. You guys are workingon that too, correct. Yes,
we lost that in a storm thisyear and knocked it right down, so
(05:42):
we'll have that ready to go againfor next season. All right. You
can check out the website at AppleHill Orchards dot com or chatting this morning
in studio with Barb Jodrey, theowner of Apple Hill Orchards. So here
you and I are chatting. We'rerolling towards September. I think about,
Hey, you know fresh apples andthings like that. Can people actually come
there and pick them themselves? Andhow does can you explain about that?
(06:03):
Yes, we do offer pick yourown and it's on most varieties, but
you know, some apples we maynot have enough of to do pick your
own some varieties, but we offerquite a bit of pick your own.
It's very popular. It's gotten tobe a source of entertainment for families.
For in terms of variety of apples, do you know roughly how many you
(06:25):
have each year or does that varyyear to year? It does vary a
little bit, but we offer allabout thirty different varieties of apples. Wow,
that is a lot. That's great. Now, do you guys do
anything else in the fall in termswhen you get to that time of the
year, I don't want to missanything. So anything you want to talk
about that you guys do, Yes, we do. We offer hay rides
(06:47):
as well as pick your own.We have a little food trailer, and
we'll do some special events as theycome along during the year. Barb,
let's step away from work and findout a little bit more about you.
You shared a little bit early,but let's go back to the beginning.
If you would tell us where wasBarb Jodrey born. I was born in
(07:10):
Mansfield, Ohio, and my parentshad moved here just after the war,
and they settled in Mansfield because myfather was from Canton and my mother was
from Findlay, and they wanted tobe about in the middle of those two
cities, so we came here.I'm the third of four children, and
I was here until I went toschool in Springfield Wittenberg University. And then
(07:35):
I had some years of kind ofdoing some fun jobs, and I worked
on a fishing boat for a littlewhile, and you know, some kids
don't get to do those kind ofthings nowadays. You got to be pretty
serious about your careers. But Iwas fortunate and did that before I moved
to Rhode Island and met my husbandRussell and had kids. Did you move
(07:57):
back to this area in the eighties, then, yes, in eighty nine.
Okay, I didn't ask this question. Where did you go to high
school at Malabar? All right?Right, good to hear about that.
Now, Barbe, you brought uphusband kids. If you would tell us
a little bit more about the family, Yeah, I have two boys and
a girl. The boys couldn't getoff the orchard fast enough. And it's
(08:22):
wonderful because my daughter loves it,and she and her partner Chad, are
going to move in and continue theorchard and we're just delighted. All right,
Well, terrific to hear about that. Now, running a business and
all of that takes a lot ofwork. But when Barbe has spare time,
do you have any hobbies or whatdo you like to do when you're
(08:43):
you're not technically working. Well,I love orchard work now, but I
have been a competitive sailor since Iwas twelve years old, so I have
continued to do that and I hopeto be able to do it a little
bit more here, all right,I bet people didn't know. If you
know, Barb, maybe you didn'tknow that. Well, great, now
(09:03):
overall, when we go back tothe business before I let you go again,
Barb. Joe dry in studio thismorning. Owner Apple Hill Orchards.
Two locations in the area, onehere in Mansville, one in Fredericktown.
Apple Hill Orchard dot com is thewebsite to get more information. I'm sure
this can change and depending on theseason. But how many staff members roughly
do you guys have that kind ofmakes you guys go over the course of
(09:24):
the year. Well, it's veryseasonal. Of course in the in the
winter we have about ten and thenof course during the season we have to
bump that up quite a bit.And we are looking for seasonal workers right
now. So please come out andsee us and see if it's something that
you'd like to do. So theycould just stop in with the better place
(09:46):
to be to stop at the Mansfieldlocation then or yeah, yes, at
the Mansfield location and could they goonline get the phone number. All of
that is sure if they want moreinformation. Okay, so the website is
Apple Hill Orchard dot com. Barb, did we miss anything this morning?
You want to let people know aboutyou guys. Yes, I love we
press our own cider, we makeour make the donuts, and we'd love
(10:09):
to see you out there. AndI'm sure the falls are really really cool.
Time that's to stop by, right, little busy time probably two?
Well, great, we'll stop byand seem. Barb Jodrey our against in
studio this morning, owner of AppleHill Orchards again. Two locations Mansfield,
Lex, Ontario Road, Fredericktown,that's Upper Fredericktown, Amity Road. Website
is Apple Hill Orchards dot com.Barb, it's been great to learn your
(10:33):
story. Thank you so much forcoming in and we wish you continued success.
Thank you for having me. BarbeJodrey, owner of Apple Hill Orchards.
Thus CEO. You should know ritabio, see a photo and hear
the extended interview at WMAFM dot com. Leading means have an a vision in
(10:54):
sharing it with others. I'm JohnRobi of r F and ME Insurance.
We're excited to bring you this programfeaturing CEOs from our area who will share
their thoughts of what it means towork and live in North central Ohio.
The CEO you should Know, broughtto you by Robie Foster Miller Eric Insurance.
This week's CEO Barbe Joe Dry,owner of Apple Hill Orchards, Barb
Good morning, Good morning. Well, I've heard the name for many many
years and excited to have you withus this morning. So I always begin
(00:21):
with everybody the same, whether somebodyis from the area or they just moved
here. Can you explain a littlebit and tell us about your company.
I was born in Mansfield, Ohio, and lived here until I went to
wait to school and did some yearsEast Coast, West Coast, met my
husband. We had three kids,and we were in Rhode Island at that
(00:45):
time, and we came back becausemy father was sick visiting and my husband
we were in real estate in RhodeIsland and he was out looking around and
he came back to my parents houseand he said, you know, I
think I'm going to make an offeron this orchard. And I said what
orchard? And he explained to meit was Apple Hill Orchards. So that's
(01:12):
how we actually got into this.And we were novices. We didn't know
much about doing orchard work or anythingabout it, but we both had a
little bit of farming in our background. So we moved from Rhode Island to
Ohio and I was pleased to beback around my parents with our three children,
(01:34):
and we took it from there.So how long has Apple Hill Orchard
been around? Do we know whatyear everything got started? We think it
was multigenerational before we owned it,probably from the thirties. The interesting thing
about Apple Hill is it is locatedon the second highest point in the state
(01:55):
of Ohio, which is advantageous fororchard and orchard work because it avoids some
of the early spring frosts that canbe damaging to the fruit. Right,
So did not know about that?Now, how long have you and your
family owned it? Nineteen eighty ninewe came here and giving credit to my
(02:17):
husband, Russell, he stayed uptill late at nights studying about orchards and
growing fruit and what is required formany nights figuring out what we were doing.
And we're starting to catch on.And you mentioned to me that there's
more than one location, correct,Could you talk about that? Yes,
(02:38):
there's a Mansfield location on Lex OntarioRoad, and then there's a location that's
about five miles east of Fredericktown onFredericktown Amity Road. That is a seasonal
location for the store, but ofcourse where the orchard is a year round
work. We are chatting this morningin studio with the owner of Apple Hill
(03:01):
Orchards here in the area that isBarbed Jodry, So we talk about two
locations. How about everything you offerat your orchards. Yes, we're open
year round in Man's Field, andyear round we have apples. Maybe we're
sure maybe about a month out ofthe year that we don't have apples,
(03:22):
but that's because we're able to putour apples into what's called controlled atmosphere storage,
which they are sealed rooms and theypump out the oxygen and replace it
with nitrogen, and that keeps theapples fresh and nice, so we can
sell them even as late as June. So we have of course fruit and
(03:43):
we have apples, peaches, pears, cherries, plums, Asian pears.
And then in our high Tunnel mostyears will have offered tomatoes and some vegetables,
and I do go to the produceauctions and get local produce that we
offer in our store in season.Now I want to talk about some of
(04:09):
the popular items you told me oneof them super popular then, right,
well, yes, our donuts they'reapple donuts and they're made fresh in our
bakery and they have become very popular. Absolutely, are those sold year round
as well. They are at theMansfield store. It's a year round offering,
(04:30):
all right. Tremendous to learn thismorning the story of Apple Hill Orchards.
The owner, Barbed Jodrey, iswith us in studio this morning.
Now we mentioned, you know,maybe let us tomatoes, carrots, other
vegetables. You were telling me therewas a bit of an issue from a
storm, correct, could you talkabout that. Well, we're dependent on
whether and this year the peach cropwas lost due to if you recall a
(04:55):
very severe cold snap right before Christmas. It last year, and it followed
over a warm period, so thebuds had been drawn out and then when
this it went below freezing like eightbelow zero with a strong wind, and
it got our peach crop in Mansfield. We have a few peaches in Fredericktown.
(05:17):
But ironically in Fredericktown we had ahailstorm, which is another thing we
don't like to see, and thatdinged up the fruit pretty good down there.
But yeah, we're subject to climatechanges and you are telling me about
your greenhouse. You guys are workingon that too, correct. Yes,
we lost that in a storm thisyear and knocked it right down, so
(05:42):
we'll have that ready to go againfor next season. All right. You
can check out the website at AppleHill Orchards dot com or chatting this morning
in studio with Barb Jodrey, theowner of Apple Hill Orchards. So here
you and I are chatting. We'rerolling towards September. I think about,
Hey, you know fresh apples andthings like that. Can people actually come
there and pick them themselves? Andhow does can you explain about that?
(06:03):
Yes, we do offer pick yourown and it's on most varieties, but
you know, some apples we maynot have enough of to do pick your
own some varieties, but we offerquite a bit of pick your own.
It's very popular. It's gotten tobe a source of entertainment for families.
For in terms of variety of apples, do you know roughly how many you
(06:25):
have each year or does that varyyear to year? It does vary a
little bit, but we offer allabout thirty different varieties of apples. Wow,
that is a lot. That's great. Now, do you guys do
anything else in the fall in termswhen you get to that time of the
year, I don't want to missanything. So anything you want to talk
about that you guys do, Yes, we do. We offer hay rides
(06:47):
as well as pick your own.We have a little food trailer, and
we'll do some special events as theycome along during the year. Barb,
let's step away from work and findout a little bit more about you.
You shared a little bit early,but let's go back to the beginning.
If you would tell us where wasBarb Jodrey born. I was born in
(07:10):
Mansfield, Ohio, and my parentshad moved here just after the war,
and they settled in Mansfield because myfather was from Canton and my mother was
from Findlay, and they wanted tobe about in the middle of those two
cities, so we came here.I'm the third of four children, and
I was here until I went toschool in Springfield Wittenberg University. And then
(07:35):
I had some years of kind ofdoing some fun jobs, and I worked
on a fishing boat for a littlewhile, and you know, some kids
don't get to do those kind ofthings nowadays. You got to be pretty
serious about your careers. But Iwas fortunate and did that before I moved
to Rhode Island and met my husbandRussell and had kids. Did you move
(07:57):
back to this area in the eighties, then, yes, in eighty nine.
Okay, I didn't ask this question. Where did you go to high
school at Malabar? All right?Right, good to hear about that.
Now, Barbe, you brought uphusband kids. If you would tell us
a little bit more about the family, Yeah, I have two boys and
a girl. The boys couldn't getoff the orchard fast enough. And it's
(08:22):
wonderful because my daughter loves it,and she and her partner Chad, are
going to move in and continue theorchard and we're just delighted. All right,
Well, terrific to hear about that. Now, running a business and
all of that takes a lot ofwork. But when Barbe has spare time,
do you have any hobbies or whatdo you like to do when you're
(08:43):
you're not technically working. Well,I love orchard work now, but I
have been a competitive sailor since Iwas twelve years old, so I have
continued to do that and I hopeto be able to do it a little
bit more here, all right,I bet people didn't know. If you
know, Barb, maybe you didn'tknow that. Well, great, now
(09:03):
overall, when we go back tothe business before I let you go again,
Barb. Joe dry in studio thismorning. Owner Apple Hill Orchards.
Two locations in the area, onehere in Mansville, one in Fredericktown.
Apple Hill Orchard dot com is thewebsite to get more information. I'm sure
this can change and depending on theseason. But how many staff members roughly
do you guys have that kind ofmakes you guys go over the course of
(09:24):
the year. Well, it's veryseasonal. Of course in the in the
winter we have about ten and thenof course during the season we have to
bump that up quite a bit.And we are looking for seasonal workers right
now. So please come out andsee us and see if it's something that
you'd like to do. So theycould just stop in with the better place
(09:46):
to be to stop at the Mansfieldlocation then or yeah, yes, at
the Mansfield location and could they goonline get the phone number. All of
that is sure if they want moreinformation. Okay, so the website is
Apple Hill Orchard dot com. Barb, did we miss anything this morning?
You want to let people know aboutyou guys. Yes, I love we
press our own cider, we makeour make the donuts, and we'd love
(10:09):
to see you out there. AndI'm sure the falls are really really cool.
Time that's to stop by, right, little busy time probably two?
Well, great, we'll stop byand seem. Barb Jodrey our against in
studio this morning, owner of AppleHill Orchards again. Two locations Mansfield,
Lex, Ontario Road, Fredericktown,that's Upper Fredericktown, Amity Road. Website
is Apple Hill Orchards dot com.Barb, it's been great to learn your
(10:33):
story. Thank you so much forcoming in and we wish you continued success.
Thank you for having me. BarbeJodrey, owner of Apple Hill Orchards.
Thus CEO. You should know ritabio, see a photo and hear
the extended interview at WMAFM dot com. Leading means have an a vision in
(10:54):
sharing it with others. I'm JohnRobi of r F and ME Insurance.
We're excited to bring you this programfeaturing CEOs from our area who will share
their thoughts of what it means towork and live in North central Ohio.
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