Today is Johnny Appleseed Day, a time to honor that first man to introduce the apple to the Midwest. The GlobalScholar Bellevue office will be celebrating this holiday with a potluck of homemade apple dishes!

So now, in the GlobalScholar fashion, let’s learn a little but about Johnny Appleseed.

Johnny Appleseed, born as John Chapman was born September 26, 1774 and died February 18, 1845. He earned his nickname as he traveled across the states of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois planting apple trees. He was an American pioneer nurseryman, known for his generosity, leadership in conservation and the symbolic importance of apples.

Johnny’s apple affection began in his youth when his father, Nathaniel Chapman, started him on a career as an apprentice at an apple orchard. Once Johnny started work on the apple orchard he was hooked and moved west from his home in Massachusetts.

He started his own apple tree nursery and began transplanting trees, spreading seeds and was also an occasional preacher. Contrary to popular belief, Johnny Appleseed did not wander the countryside spreading apple seeds, but instead planted nurseries, built protective fences around them and sold his trees.

Some interesting facts about Johnny Appleseed are that he never married because he believed that he would receive two female spirits in the after-life if he remained single during his life on Earth. Also, he had beautiful teeth and was believed to suffer from Marfan syndrome, a rare genetic disorder.

Well, I hoped that you learned a little something today and that you honor his pioneering nature by planting an apple tree or throwing an apple related party.

Here are some great apple dish ideas:

• Apple Brioche Pizza

• Apple crisp

• Apple pie

• Apple raisin bread

• Frosted apple squares

• Apple cider

• Apple coffeecake muffins

• Apple dumplings

• And the list goes on….

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