Today we highlight Jeff “Mr. Apple Butter” Pyle
For most people, the idea of a vacation could be a time to travel, a time to relax, or a time to catch up on overdue household chores.
However, for veteran Luke Mill employee Jeff Pyle (now retired) Accu Trim operator and mill worker for more than 60 years means one thing: volunteering to make the Old- Fashioned Apple Harvest a successful fundraiser for the children.
Jeff would arrive at 4:30 a.m. each day the week prior to the festival to coordinate the apple butter cooking process. For many years hundreds of volunteers, including many of Jeff’s family members, have helped to assist with this complex event. Tasks include peeling, stirring, cooking, canning and washing jars throughout the week to produce more than 1,700 gallons of apple butter (1993).
Today (2025) the number of volunteers has dwindled thus the amount of Apple Butter that is produced has dwindled. This was due to Covid and the older wooden Apple Harvest building and large apple peeler machine that did not survive an electrical fire.
Thanks to the West Virginia United Methodist Conference and many other financial donations, we were able to revive the festival with a new Apple Harvest Memorial Hall. However, it has taken time to bring back old volunteers as well as recruiting new ones. Thanks to the Mountaineer Challenge Academy, high school students, Potomac State College students, church groups, clubs and so many others, we are gradually making a comeback.