This evening I gave a talk in the parlor of the rambling old farmhouse at the Vaughan Homestead in Hallowell. This was the home of Benjamin Vaughan (1751-1835), one of the early important plant geeks of ME. The homestead was established in 1794, and the story goes that Benjamin Vaughan himself planted a tree of a brand new apple variety called Black Oxford. That tree is still producing apples in the front yard more than 225 years later!

The topic of the talk was, “What can an old apple tree tell us about Maine’s past? Why saving an old apple means saving a piece of Maine’s History? And Why should we care? I did a deep dive into the MOFGA apple T-shirt with its 16 apples—one originating in each county of Maine. It was an evening of story telling. Afterwards, I did a photo op with Vaughan himself. I got to offer him a Black Oxford from his tree.