Making Vickers apple butter once again

by Gary Vickers

This year’s apple butter at The Vickers Farm was a little different but still a good time.

We had fewer folks and that is what we planned. We worked all the apples outside on four different peeling tables. That helped keep folks spread out a little and keep the kitchen open for Shirley to do her thing—and what a feast she had.

I cut the apple order back by five bushels which gave us 26 bushels to work. The apples were really good this year. Jeff Koehn does a good job of getting our apples for us.

Our veteran numbers were down as well. We normally have 12 Viet Nam vets, but had 9 this year. Our guest of honor veterans were WWII Veteran, Gene Dale, and Korea Veteran, Charles Foreman. What an honor it was to have them here. Charles Army Jeep made it, also!

We had a Flag Retirement Ceremony this year, the first for us. The opening of it was the refolding of the casket flag of our brother, Mark by his brothers, Gary and Stanley. Another brother, Bradley read the 13 Folds and what each fold means.

Tim Bartkowski led the retirement ceremony with the protocol and the blessing. The first flag retired was in honor and memory of 1st Lt. Frank Pierson, my Company Commander, who was killed in Viet Nam April 3, 1969. Stanley Vickers retired a flag in honor of our dad, Gaylord Vickers. The Bartkowski family retired a flag in memory of members of their family who served the U.S. flag. Kerri Vickers helped retire a flag in honor of her father who served in 1970-71. Flags were retired in honor of Garry Dade, Douglas Mike Smith, Chaplain Jack Randall who served with Charles Foreman in Korea, Don Stockstill, Carl Lyons, the first twelve men who entered Cambodia and gave their lives, a flag for the 58,313 veterans who gave their lives in Viet Nam, and one for all military forces.

About 70 family members, veterans, and friends attended: Mike, Carver, Luke, Shane Erdelen, Tim and Linda Bartkowski, Brent and Shirley Beckman, Ray Spencer, Charles and Neoma Foreman, Jason and Wren Vickers, Justin and Kerri Vickers, Jim Compton, Erma Veneger, Brad Vickers, Nancy Miller, Denise Green, Mary and Tom Beatty, Marty and Rich Patton, Joe and Linda Koehn, Melissa and Jason Arlint, Allen David Hines, Marshall Drewery, Mikey and Vicky Cody, Stanley Vickers, Christine and Corey Graham, Gene Dale, Christine and Danny Eaton, Jason and Kelly Eaton and family, Mike Janes, Cindy Gooden, Kordell Gooden, Brinley Janes, Allen Janes, David Hines, Mikyal Boonyakiti, and daughters, Lella and Mia, Joyce Wallace, Brittany Vickers, Emily Jamison, Dalton Ogle, Barb Lunday, Gerrad Vickers, Leonard Bertelli, and the hosts, Gary and Shirley Vickers.