What is your opinion of Johnny Appleseed?

[cestpaspossible]

Poll question: What is your opinion of Johnny Appleseed?

[Chipper Chat]

1. Our fair city of Fort Wayne thinks highly of him.

However, if he were to "do his thing" today I'm sure he would be called "a left-wing environmentalist wacko" by Republicans.

[Spinzonner]

2. Eco-terrorist disrupting ecosystems with foreign species

[Chipper Chat]

3. I can hear El Rushbo now:

"Ladies and gentlemen I dont want to get out of here today without addressing this "Johnny Appleseed character" out in Indiana. According to our Fox afilliate in Fort Wayne, this bozo has apparently been seen on local Amish farms planting apple-tree seedlings. Now, what I want to know is who is behind this activity. My first guess, since he reportedly came from Europe by way of Pennsylvan-yuh, (why are you laughing Mr. Snerdley?) that it has something to do with the French wine industry. You see, the frenchies are all bent out of shape because Americans are drinking more domestic wine since John Claude Whateverhisnmeis-prime minister refused to help us in the liberation of Iraq. Getting American citizens used to the taste of apples will cause them to crave French apple wine -the best according to all my doctors ER I mean all my wives I mean - oh hell - Kerry's ancestors! Now the Pennsylvania connection is a mystery. Perhaps we can ask Rev-rund JACK......zun, since he was spotted recently in Lancaster County eating apple pie with Gov. Rendell. (What Mr. Snerdley: oh, that was Rick Santorum eating CROW in Lancaster County?) Ahumm...er..cough cough -we'll continue following this story on open-mike Friday. Now to the latest outburst by Howard Dean.......

[man4allcats]

4. I think he probably was nuts,

but he was certainly also ecologically minded. Crazy or not, you have to like him. I guess all of that makes him a pretty great American, too. :-)

[TheModernTerrorist]

5. descendant

I am actually a direct descendant of Johnny Appleseed (Jonathon Chapman to those who want to know). I don't know a ton about it, and I suppose that it could be a HUGE coincidence in my genealogy research, but from what I've gathered, Johnny Appleseed was basically a very kind-hearted missionary of sorts, who did in fact plant apple trees from Pennsylvania to Indiana. He would travel, spreading his love of God around, and was so kind and warm-hearted that people fed him, clothed him, and gave him shelter for the night when he passed through.

...at least that's what I've gathered so far.

[Kindigger]

6. How cool!

Was he a Quaker? If I had lived back then, that's how I would have liked to live :)

[swampman]

7. John Chapman was a land speculator

In the book the "Botany of Desire" John Chapman is described as a land speculator who had a sense of where the towns would flourish in the Ohio Valley in the early 1800s. The law was that settlers had to plant an orchard of 50 trees and live on the land until the trees bore fruit (about 10 years). Each fall John Chapman would travel to the Pittsburgh area and bring back bushels of apple seed which he planted in nurseries along the Ohio River. When the settlers finally arrived, they were able to buy 3 and 4 year old saplings at a nickle a piece and shorten the time before they owned the land outright.

However, you do not propagate apples from seeds since there is too much genetic variation. Contrary to popular belief, the apple falls far from the tree. What Johnny Appleseed did was develop "American" varietals of apples that survived the conditions in the Ohio Valley. Much of the fruit from his trees could only be used to make cider and applejack which is another story. The temperance movement tried to outlaw apple trees in the late 1800s.

BTW, Johnny Appleseed never married and he is reported to have died very wealthy.

[TheModernTerrorist]

12. thanks :-)

I can verify the fact that he did not marry. That other stuff is interesting, and this may push me bac into my research of the man, along with the rest of my genealogical stuff. Thank you :-)

[jedr]

8. The true appeal of Johnny was not the fact that he gave the

people of the west a nutritious fruit, but that they now had a source to make alcohol, ie. hard cider.....a wonderful by product.

[Jara sang]

9. I like his cousin...

Johnny Potseed :smoke:

[AngryAmish]

11. heh

[GreenArrow]

10. among the very greatest of Americans

.