LACEYVILLE, Pa. — Through the fifty acres of fruit trees at Jaynes Orchard in West Auburn, the family roots run five generations deep for Roger Jayne.
"First two generations I don't know too much about, but my grandfather graduated from Cornell in 1910 and started planting apples, so it's been an apple orchard since 1910," said owner Roger Jayne.
The sign on the front door now reads closed for the remainder of 2023.
The fruit trees were blossoming with this year's harvest, only to be destroyed by freezing temperatures on May 18.
"It's never happened before, we've had small crops where they were frosted, and we lost some, but this year, this is the first that I ever knew with a total freeze. It killed everything," said Roger.
"This was hard, I was kind of glad I was away for a few days. When I got back, I could see the cherries had turned black, it's hard on the heart," said Jeannie Jayne.
The Jayne's won't be able to make their 5,000 gallons of cider for customers because the apples were also destroyed.
The produce on their shelves reflects the fruits of their labor.
"If it's not ours, we don't sell it. Some places may buy to supplement, but if it's not ours and we don't grow it, we won't sell it," said Jeannie.
Even though the farm is closed, that doesn't mean the work stops.
The trees will need to be pruned to keep them healthy, as Roger and Jeannie are looking ahead to the next growing season to re-open.
"Every orchard will be able to say this, you have certain people who are only going to come to your orchard for their product, but when we can put out a nice looking fruit, that's what we want," said Jeannie.
The Jayne's say they're hopeful Mother Nature will be kinder next year.
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