A "Fruitful" Sunday Afternoon

Nothing says “fall” like going apple-picking.  On a recent Sunday afternoon we enjoyed an apple-picking excursion…along with several hundred like-minded folks.  Our selected destination was Eckert’s Orchard in Belleville, Illinois.  Eckert’s is still a family-run business. Currently the sixth and seventh generations oversee daily operations. There are three locations: Belleville, Millstadt, and Grafton.

Interior of Eckert's Country Store at their Belleville location

The extended family operations began with the vision and hard work of Johann Peter Eckert who immigrated from Germany in 1837 to settle near Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. His son, Michael, moved west and established a farm, Drum Hill, some 35 miles southeast of St. Louis.  By 1890, Johann’s grandson, Henry Eckert, had established Turkey Hill Farm in Belleville.  Alvin Eckert started a roadside farm stand in1910 to sell the fruit and vegetables he raised. That initial retail operation was the impetus for today’s holdings that include an orchard, a country store, a garden center, a restaurant and much more.



Despite what the boxes say, those are PUMPKINS, not watermelons 

The store is bigger than it appears at first glance, and has a little of everything

Mums for sale in the Garden Center, which is attached to the Country Store

A visit to Eckert’s on a weekend is almost like going to a county fair!  There are plenty of food venues from concession stands selling turkey legs to frozen custard stands. Kids’ activities include a petting zoo and a tricycle “racetrack” – both free.  For a nominal fee, youngsters can enjoy a bounce house, a pony ride or even a camel ride.

It was almost a carnival atmosphere, and the food vendors added to it

Llamas in the petting zoo

Miniature Zebu cattle, also sometimes called Brahman cattle

One of two camels, waiting for kids to climb aboard and ride



Of course the main reason for a visit to Eckert’s is to pick apples (or, depending on the season, strawberries, blackberries, peaches or pumpkins.)  We chose a beautiful Sunday afternoon in September, with the temperature hovering around 75 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.  Apparently, a lot of other people agreed that it was too pretty a day to stay inside; we learned that the weekend had set records for the number of guests .Though the lines to board the wagons that took the “pickers” to the orchard looked daunting, they actually moved quite quickly.  An estimated 10 to 12 tractor-and-wagon combinations continuously shuttled people, armed with empty bags, to the orchard, and just as quickly, brought back others carrying bulging bags, on sale that weekend for $0.89 per pound.  Everyone was having a good time and in the orchards there was plenty of space for people to spread out. The trees were so laden with apples that limbs were practically breaking with the weight of the fruit.  Lots of folks munched on an apple as they plucked a Golden Delicious or Red Delicious from the trees.

Despite the long lines waiting to ride to the orchard, it went quickly
because of the number of tractors/wagon combinations they were using

You can't take strollers on the wagons, so this was the "stroller parking area"

Another wagon load of "pickers" arrives in the orchard

This section of the orchard, not yet picked, is laden with fruit

Despite the old maxim, not all of the "low hanging fruit" gets picked first

Golden Delicious

Red Delicious

"American Picker"



Even the areas that had already been picked still had a lot of apples

Three of the more than a dozen tractors and wagons in use. You can see
how quickly they move people to and from the orchard



With our sixteen pounds of apples safely stored in the truck, we set out for a late lunch in the restaurant, only to find out that there was an estimated two-hour wait for seating.  Oh, well, another time, perhaps…

Sixteen pounds at $0.89 per pound

Taking a break after a hard day of apple picking



We enjoy off-the-beaten-path adventures, and the combination of a beautiful fall afternoon, the fun of “apple picking” and the opportunity to visit a place we’ve never been – that’s how you find the best Road Stories.

Look for these two characters out gathering more Road Stories