Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project (MOR P) was co-founded by Jude and Addie Schuenemeyer in 2008\, who drew upon t heir experiences in horticulture and managing a nursery. Their lifelong jo urney began when they discovered many forgotten old apple trees in the reg ion\, inspired by requests from elderly clients about apple varieties they remembered from their youth. MORP works to preserve Colorado's fruit-grow ing heritage and restore an orchard culture and economy to the southwest r egion.
\nThe roots of Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project (MORP) w
ere established when co-founders Jude and Addie Schuenemeyer began their h
orticulture careers in 2001. For fifteen years\, they ran a nursery that h
ad originally been in business for over 50 years and had a lot of older cl
ientele who often asked about apple varieties they remembered enjoying as
children. In asking around\, the Schuenemeyers realized just how many old
trees still grew in the region &ndash\; hidden or right in plain sight &nd
ash\; sometimes forgotten\, and other times revered by the families who al
ways remembered. In collaboration with the Montezuma County Historical Soc
iety\, they founded MORP in 2008 with the belief that the remarkable orcha
rd culture and economy that once thrived in southwestern Colorado could be
rebuilt.
After the couple purchased a peach orchard in McElmo Canyon
\, Jude attended an orchard restoration workshop in Capital Reef with some
of our Nation&rsquo\;s most renowned fruit enthusiasts\, and taught himse
lf to graft from books. Thus began their efforts to find and graft from he
ritage trees returning one to the trees owners when possible\, bringing a
piece of living history back to the place where the parent tree stood for
more than 100 years. For them\, to pass back a tree that was grafted by so
meone&rsquo\;s grand or great grandparents is priceless.
Jude and
Addie also plant young scions grafted from these trees in their McElmo Orc
hard as a genetic bank- a way to preserve the rare varieties found. They h
ope\, however\, to do more than just build and preserve a collection of ol
d apple varieties. They hope to capture and preserve the history of the re
gion as a fruit-growing center in the late 1800s and early 1900s\, as well
as restore a lost fruit economy.
In 2014\, MORP put together an Advi
sory Team and organized under 501c3 fiscal sponsorship in order to systema
tically collect\, document\, and share the work done so far\; and to secur
e funding to make further progress towards its goals.
Since its fo unding\, MORP has established school\, community\, and conservation orchar ds to preserve Colorado&rsquo\;s rare and endangered apple cultivars.
\ nGreat Garden events happen every fourth Wednesday of the month\, April -September\, presented by the Durango Botanic Gardens\, CSU Extension Offi ce\, &\; Durango Public Library. For more details visit \;www.durangobotanicgardens.or g/events.
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