An Apple, a Ladder, and a Century of Change

When I picture Arthur climbing that apple tree in the Catskills, I always wonder — what kind of apple was he reaching for?

Back then, apple harvests generally stretched from late August or early September for early varieties through October, and sometimes into November for later ones. Ripening times depended on the variety, local climate, elevation, and weather conditions.

Just as medicine evolved between Arthur’s childhood and adulthood, apple growing in the Catskills evolved too, from practical, local, short-season fruit to today’s wide selection of sweet, crisp, long-keeping apples.

Apple Picking in the 1920s

Picture this: it’s 1924 in the Catskills

Apple trees grew on small, family-run farms, and the entire family, including children, helped with the harvest. Boarders staying for the summer might lend a hand as well. Apple picking was hard, manual work. Immigrants were also hired to help bring in the crop, especially during and just after World War I, when many men were away.

A wooden ladder was dragged over and carefully leaned against the trunk of a tree. Up the pickers climbed. Each apple was twisted or gently pulled from the branch and placed into a sack or a wooden bushel basket. Care was important. Apples bruised easily. When a sack or basket was full, the fruit was slowly dumped into a barrel waiting below.

Once collected, apples were sorted into grades. The best fruit was kept for eating or selling, while the rest was dried, evaporated, or made into cider or vinegar. In many ways, that part hasn’t changed.

Apples bound for nearby markets were delivered by horse and wagon, or by truck. Fruit headed farther away was taken to the train station and shipped by rail.

Apple Picking Today

images above from Drazen Orchards, Cheshire, CT

Now we jump ahead to 2026.

Believe it or not, on many small local farms, hand-picking is still how apples are harvested. Instead of barrels, however, large bins are now used for collecting, washing, and sorting the fruit. Many farms also invite visitors to pick their own apples, turning harvest time into a shared experience.

To make picking easier, modern orchards often grow trees that are shorter in stature, with rows planted more closely together.

Large commercial orchards, however, rely on different techniques to reduce labor costs and speed up the harvest. These methods are easier to visualize than you might expect:

• Mechanical tree shakers grip and vibrate the tree trunk or limbs so ripe apples fall into catch systems below. The fruit is then gathered into bins or trailers.
  
• Harvest platforms and picker-assist equipment replace traditional ladders, allowing multiple workers to pick at the same height safely and efficiently as platforms move between rows.
  
• Robotic apple harvesters are being developed by scientists and engineers at universities such as Washington State University and Michigan State University. These experimental systems use cameras, artificial intelligence, and soft gripping arms to locate and gently pluck apples. While still in testing, they offer a glimpse into how automation may help orchards cope with labor shortages and rising costs in the future. For now, most orchards continue to rely on human pickers, especially because careful handling reduces bruising.

Here is a brief summary of apple picking at a small local orchard versus a large commercial orchard.

Then and Now

Walk through a local orchard today and the differences are easy to see. Trees are shorter. Rows are closer together.

And yet, a child reaching for an apple today is still doing what Arthur did a century ago — climbing, choosing, twisting, and pulling. What’s changed is the apple itself. Instead of a pale yellow summer apple or a tart early variety, that hand might close around a Honeycrisp, Ginger Gold, Empire, Macoun, or another apple bred for sweetness, crunch, and a long shelf life.

Arthur didn’t know the name of the apple he reached for — and it probably didn’t matter. What mattered was that moment at the end of summer, when the apples were finally ready, and Arthur made the choice to climb and reach for one.

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Sources

Sources include historical horticulture research, regional agricultural history, and contemporary reporting on modern apple-harvesting practices.

Merwin, Ian A. Some Antique Apples for Modern Orchards. Department of Horticulture, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.
https://nyshs.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Some-Antique-Apples-for-Modern-Orchards.pdf

How the Hudson Valley Became a Land of Orchards. Hudson Valley One.
https://hudsonvalleyone.com

Medina’s Apples. Western New York Heritage Press.
https://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~seck/medina_apples/medina_apples.html

Jentsch Lab. History of Fruit Growing in the Hudson Valley. Cornell University.
https://blogs.cornell.edu/jentsch/history-of-fruit-growing-the-hudson-valley/

The Mechanization of Fruit Picking. Choices Magazine.
https://www.choicesmagazine.org/choices-magazine/theme-articles/emerging-technologies-theme/mechanization-efforts-in-fruit-harvesting

The Robots Are Coming — to Pick Northwest Apples. Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB).
https://www.opb.org/article/2023/04/06/northwest-oregon-apple-washington-farm-harvest-robots-robotics-orchards-agriculture-technology/

Apple Picking Comparison Chart
Created by ChatGPT 5.2, January 25, 2026