Miner Pawcatuck, Connecticut 02891
Mention the word ‘steam’ in Old Mystic, Connecticut, and
the townsfolk inevitably follow with the words ‘Clyde’s
Cider Mill.’
On Old North Stonington Road, the tall, white building with its
distinctive red doors and trim sets back apiece, surrounded by
green grass and colorful autumn foliage. A tall, brick stack stands
erect alongside the building, and just one thunderous blast from
the big, brass whistle atop the roof leaves no doubt in one’s
mind that this is the home of the steam operated B. F. Clyde’s
Cider Mill.
Every fall since 1881, Clyde’s Cider Mill has transformed
thousands of bushels of crisp, red apples into thousands of gallons
of sweet cider, rich in color and taste.
The chief steam engine operator, and the man behind this amazing
process, is Jack Bucklyn, owner, and grandson of the original B. F.
Clyde. The family operated business is open every day from
mid-September to shortly after Thanksgiving. Cider is made fresh
daily, and Saturdays and Sundays are custom cider making days where
local farmers as well as entire families bring their own apples to
be ground into cider by steam power. Some are as many as fourth
generation cider makers, upholding a real New England
tradition.
Clyde’s holds steam all the time during the cider season, so
even if the mill is not in operation, Jack is more than eager to
show steam buffs how the engine works.
When Jack took over the mill in 1946, the original steam engine
and boiler had been scrapped and replaced by a 1921 model T engine.
Jack’s obsession to return to steam power led him on a 20 year
search for a suitable steam engine, which ended successfully five
years ago. During Jack’s search, he advertised in various trade
papers and magazines, and spent many hours looking at hopeless old
relics. Jack was determined to reproduce the exact engine and
boiler that originally powered the mill, and finally, five years
ago, Jack found what he was looking for. Ironically, he found his
steam engine less than five miles from home, and all the necessary
other equipment within a week of each other.
The 16′ square, 26′ high smoke stack was quickly
erected, and then the boiler, steam engine, steam pump, and all
essential piping followed. The entire assembly took just 21 days,
finishing only two days before opening for the season.
The mill is now powered by a 15 HP Vim model steam engine with
an 8×8 cylinder. Made by the Ames Engine Company, the
non-condensing engine runs rather slow at 220 rpm. The 15 HP Dutton
vertical fire tube boiler carries 100 pounds of steam. Water to the
boiler is fed via an injector and also a duplex Deane steam
pump.
Colorfully painted and pinstriped, and adorned with brightly
polished brass, the steam engine thumps away quietly in the corner
of the boiler room as the process of cider making gets
underway.
The apples are brought in by truck and are dumped into the top
half of the ‘apple house,’ a small, white building
connected to the mill only by a length of enclosed conveyer. The
apples are then hand fed down a wooden chute and through an apple
washer before they are caught up on the wooden paddles of the
conveyer and transported into the apple grinder upstairs in the
mill. The chopped apple pulp then comes down a long canvas chute
onto a large, nylon cloth made square with the use of a wooden form
underneath it. When the cloth, called a ‘Cheese’ is full of
pulp and evenly spread, the ends of the cloth are folded over and
the wooden form is removed. A slatted, hardwood rack is then placed
atop the pulp filled cheese, and the form and another cloth are
placed on top of the rack for the process to be repeated. As many
as 12 of these cheeses can be accommodated on Jack’s press,
which would be the equivalent of about 75 bushes of apples. When
the desired amount of cheeses is reached, Jack swings the turntable
around until the stack comes to rest under the large, wooden press.
Gears grind, and wide leather belts whistle and whir overhead as
the heavy press block descends down upon the stack. Visitors watch,
eyes wide with awe, as the juice flows down the sides of the cloths
in sparkling amber streams, filling the turntable and splashing
into holding tanks below. When the pressing is finished, the stack
of 12 cheeses will have yielded approximately 260 gallons of pure,
fresh sweet cider.
And while steam power doesn’t make for better tasting cider,
one thing is for certain, nothing equals the breath taking
excitement one feels as the big brass whistle lets out a blast and
it’s cider making time once again at Clyde’s.
