SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY, Pa. — It's been seven decades since apples were pressed at the Yarns Cider Mill, until now.
The apples are sent down a conveyor belt, then go down into the hopper; just the first of many steps before those apples are turned into cider.
The mill has a deep history in Clifford Township.
"The only written information we have is that Will Yarns had this cider press going in October of 1898," said Sandra Wilmot, Clifford Township Historical Society President.
In 2012 the Clifford Township Historical Society set out to restore the mill to its former glory. The building was in rough shape.
"It was resting on the press, the whole building. The press was holding it up, so we couldn't go in. We had two experts come, and they wouldn't go near it. They said this building is going to collapse," said Sandra.
The historical society discovered the original press was still intact but needed a lot of work to restore it.
Mark Wilmot is one of the people who took on that task, "That was one of the deciding factors of whether or not to tackle this, and we thought we're going get it going. It's a late 1800s mill, and you don't just go to Walmart to buy parts for it; it's just impossible," he said.
The historical society welcomed the community into the mill to show off the labor of love. People got an up-close look at how the apples get pressed.
"It's nice to see it actually press cider; we still have some glitches to work out. This is the first time we are actually pressing cider," said Mark.
Gloria Suraci Bilotta and her husband bought the mill back in 1965 when the mill was out of commission. The family always hoped that someday it would be revived.
"Wonderful, tremendous. I can't believe it," said Gloria Suraci Bilotta, former Yarns Cider Mill owner.
"My mom made the decision to donate the cider mill to the Clifford Historical Society so that future generations and people in our community could enjoy the heritage," said Richard Suraci.
In 1898, cider sold for one and a half cents per gallon.
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