Eggs.  Apples.  Chocolate. Strawberries.

What do they have in common?  They were the four things I was NOT allergic to as a child.  Everything else- fuhgeddaboudit!  Seriously.  I had a forty-three page, three column booklet listing each and (almost) every item to which I had a +4 reaction.

Thankfully, I lived in New York, where there were a plethora of apples.  Back then, the apples were “real”.  Selective breeding (basically dumping trees that did not produce the desired apples) was used, as well as grafting (taking a branch from the apple tree that satisfied your desires and “splinting” it onto  an existing tree).    But, then the desires of the apple growers were not to grow an apple that could be transported thousands of miles or stored for months on end.

Thankfully, my stores were not filled with those awful red delicious varieties.  Those came about later.  By selectively breeding the Iowa Hawkeye, making it possible for them to be grown in the Pacific Northwest.  And, able to be shipped across America. Of course, they looked pretty, they were crisp, and they were juicy- when they were good.  They were also bland.  Unless they were bad- and then they were mealy and bitter.

So, the apples from my youth were tasty and plentiful- until spring set in. Then, they were out of season… (At least, that’s when the strawberries began coming in…)

When I moved to Charlottesville, I found myself in apple country again.  So, I could enjoy my fresh apples.  And, my buddy, Gary Thompson, made it even more possible for me to enjoy my apples.

Despite our obvious differences (Gary came from a rich, multigenerational American family in the South and was a country boy at heart),  we had a lot in common.  He loved learning and knowledge, he loved fast cars and even faster driving, he did not have the Southern concept of racial inequality, and he was creative and inventive.

It’s that last part that I am talking about here.  Gary was concerned about energy efficiency.  As part of this concern, he developed a method to spray polyurethane foam into various shapes.  I wish I still had a picture of Gary’s wonderful home- the first spray-foamed domed house.  With a palm tree going in the center.

But, Gary also used that technology to seal flat roofed buildings.  And, covered the polyurethane foam with a silicone coating so it would last for decades.  That roof not only stopped leaks- but it saved energy.  Lots of it.

And, then, Gary realized he was able to use that technology to line the walls and ceilings of warehouses.  To render them totally energy efficient.  To keep what was in them sealed.  Which, with a refrigeration system (0 C or 32 F) could keep the apples stored in those warehouses crisp and fresh for a year.  (Oh, I forgot to add, that we figured out how to fill those storehouses (which now had separate rooms) with 3% carbon dioxide and reduced oxygen levels (2%) , which stopped the apples from further maturation or decay. )

Oh, a few other things Gary and I had in common- we loved music and had a unique sense of humor.  So, it should not surprise you to know that the name of Gary’s firm was Polyurethane Foam Fabricators, Inc.- PUFF.  And, the logo- Puff, the magic dragon.   Gary sold his firm to Bonnie Strickler, who has been running it for the past two decades.  (I still recall their phone number- since it was one of ours before we left Charlottesville…)

If you would like to learn more about apples- and Apple Country, I suggest you read a copy of Tom Burford‘s new book,  The Apples of North America. This seventh-generation orchardist (and a seventh generation Virginian) covers 192 apple varieties.

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