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Twenty-five years ago, Kit (Carson) Trubey sat reading the local paper at her brother’s Little Switzerland home when she noticed “277 acres of unrestricted land” for sale in North Carolina on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The property, just down the road, was worth a look. It was here, amid a declining orchard rimmed by spectacular, shadowy mountains, that they agreed the land needed to be preserved. They made an offer. Thus began the Carson legacy and the Orchard at Altapass.
It took two years of pulling weeds and cutting out poison ivy before any apples could be picked. Eventually the processing plant that consumed the “red barn” was moved to the basement, where it remains today, and live music was brought to the public.
Between 2002 and 2006, two nonprofits were established—to preserve the land, the Orchard, and the heritage of the region.
Two years ago, the Apple Core Grill opened, making the Orchard more than a way station between points. Open from May through October, it has become a destination.
Now in 2019, the Orchard at Altapass celebrates its 25th anniversary with live traditional music, dancing, hayrides, storytelling, 10 walking trails, monarch butterfly and honey bee habitats, theatre productions, homemade fudge and 30 varieties of heirloom apples. “The principle joy after 25 years is the way it has changed and affected the people who visit,” says Bill Carson, orchard co-founder with wife Judy, and current CEO. “We call it saving the good stuff.”
Bill Carson is still flatfooting and telling stories every weekend and still saving the good stuff. For more information: altapassorchard.org.
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The article above appears in our May/June 2019 issue.
