MIke Tussey: October — apple butter, football, pumpkins, World Series, and Halloween

It’s late October and the leaves are falling, overnight temps are now in the mid 30’s, football is in full swing, and of course, in just 7 days, Halloween will haunt us all with a loud BOO.

As always, the stores began filling their shelves with costumes of skeletons, ghosts, vampires, witches and of course, the obligatory cob webs since back in early September.

How’s your neighborhood looking right about now?

Halloween 2024 is set for next week – Thursday, October 31. Amid the little goblins visiting your front door for goodies with the ever present march of the monsters and spooks, it’s always a fun time.

Be sure and check your local times for Trick of Treat in your neighborhood. Usually, it’s from 6-8 p.m.

In the meantime, we enjoy the mystic month of October with all its majestic beauty punctuated by the 120th World Series and seemingly 500 reruns of the 1978 movie – “Halloween.” It should be noted that there were 12 sequels of the classic movie with the central star – Michael Myers. How many have you seen?

To prepare you for Halloween just a week away, be sure to greet the Frankenstein monster, the ever-howling Wolfman, Dracula and of course, The Mummy himself.

Right now, apples seem to take center stage as a tasty delicacy in the form of apple butter and apple cider.

When thinking of apple cider, we should remember it was JOHNNY APPLESEED who gained the credit for inventing that mouth-watering beverage we all love – APPLE CIDER!

As far as apple butter, I was blessed with my first taste during my youth in mid October of the 1940’s and early 1950’s. My grandmother would begin her annual gatherings of ingredients and in a blink of your eye, it was Apple Butter time. It would be time for our “family tradition” that involved most of our relatives lending their assistance. She would contact the family and then schedule the annual ritual of making Apple Butter on a weekend late in October.

What is it that makes this wonderful autumn treat so tantalizing that we yearn for it annually? Basically, it’s a highly concentrated form of apple sauce produced by long and slow cooking of apples and water.

So, just where is the manufacturing location? Our family gathered in the back yard of 1333 Carter Avenue in Ashland and the first order of business was the building of an open fire to accommodate a huge copper kettle.

I remember well that once the cauldron was percolating; the actual creation of our homemade treat was near to reality. However, just before the cooking began, my grandmother would give me a shiny silver dollar to toss into the kettle for Good Luck.

Now, we were set and raring to go.

Teamwork was necessary in regard to the required constant stirring which was done by a huge paddle with holes in the center. We would rotate stirring in shifts of 10 minutes each to assure that when the sugar in the apples caramelizes it turns the Apple Butter to a deep brown color. The concentration of sugar gives the Apple Butter a much longer shelf life as it turns into a sauce. One of the great additives was cinnamon clove seasoning coupled with other spices as well.

Next up, the pouring of the Apple Butter into jars and it was then ready for our enjoyment for months to come.

If you would like making your own batch, here is a recipe for Apple Butter that is widely known throughout the commonwealth as:

“Taste of Kentucky”

· ½ bushel of apples

· 4 lb of sugar

· 2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon

· ¼ teaspoon of salt

· ¼ cup of red hot candies

75 years ago or so, Ashland residents could build an open fire without any consequence of breaking any type law. Over the coming years, the city did indeed pass an ordinance banning open burning and with that, the making of home-made Apple Butter instantly became history.

The making of Apple Butter here in Kentucky is huge. Two weeks ago, the 60th annual Kentucky Apple Festival was held as usual in Paintsville with thousands attending. Plenty of Apple Butter everywhere mixed in with the annual parade, beauty pageant and apple treats.

If you’re not in the mood yet, you’re missing what autumn brings to us all. Here in late October with the daytime temperatures sometimes reaching nearly 75 many call it – “Indian Summer.” However, officially that doesn’t really happen until November 11 through November 20.

Ready or not, the 2nd half of October is underway so keep in mind if you should see a deer in his grey coat – you can expect a very hard winter. However, the Almanac warns that with a nice warm October means there could be a very frosty and windy February.

It’s very hard to talk about October without thinking about pumpkin pie. So, in just 2 days, October 26 it’s “National Pumpkin Day.” Don’t forget the whipped cream.

Thinking of this weekend, our Bengals will be home for week #8 this Sunday October 27. They meet the Philadelphia Eagles at 4:25 on CBS.

This beautiful time of the year is filled with golden days that can motivate you and the family to even visit a local park or perhaps a small trip to admire the colors of October 2024!

Once upon a time back in 1967, Louie Armstrong had a huge hit entitled “What a Wonderful World.” I was a DJ back then and the first time I heard it, I knew it was destined to be a super hit. Without any doubt, the song’s lyrics certainly describe the wonderful month of October for sure.

Enjoy these lyrics :

“I see trees of green, red roses too, I see them bloom for me and for you

And I think to myself, what a wonderful world

I see skies of blue, clouds of white, the bright blessed days, the dark sacred nights

And I think to myself, what a wonderful world

The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky are also on the faces of people going by

I see friends shaking hands, saying “How do you do?” They’re really saying, “I love you”

Yes, I think to myself, what a wonderful world, Oh yes”

So, as we wait for the Grand Finale here in the waning days of the month; be sure to be ready as the curtain goes up in just 7 days with the pageantry that is Halloween.

Keep the camera handy.

Mike Tussey has “retired” from a 60-plus-year career as a legendary play-by-play announcer for over 2000 football, baseball, and basketball games, including most recently for ESPN+. His career also includes a stint in law enforcement, teaching and coaching, and writing books, including the “Touchdown Saints.” He grew up in Eastern Kentucky and now lives in Florence with his wife, Jo. He has opened another “Door of Opportunity” and is now a regular columnist for the NKyTribune.