Article written by Ainsley Hall and published in The Journal on October 20, 2026, link to article HERE.
The Mountain State Apple Harvest Festival (MSAHF) donated books about Johnny Appleseed to Mountain Ridge Primary School to celebrate the long-standing tradition and help students connect with the region’s heritage. The books were given through the Apple Harvest Literacy Initiative that was funded by a grant from the Clyde Worthington Benedum Foundation. In addition to giving students books, they are putting Jonny Appleseed books in every school library in Berkeley, Jefferson and Morgan counties.
Susan Snowden, a member of the MSAHF board, shared that she’s always been a prolific reader. Growing up, she read every book in her school library. It’s that love of reading that pushed her to give kids today the same opportunity to grow their love for books and learn more about the region’s history with apples.
“I believe every child should know where they come from,” Snowden said. “They all deserve free access to books because they are the gateway to learning.”
In addition to giving students books, they also invited Hank Fincken, a Johnny Appleseed re-enactor who travels the country performing. Fincken first got into acting after taking a course in college. For many years he’s performed, portraying historical figures like Thomas Edison and Christopher Columbus and teaching others about their lives. He enjoys creating unique experiences where kids can hear these stories in a fun and interactive way instead of just reading about them in a textbook. One of his favorite parts about playing Johnny Appleseed is the fact that he was a peaceful man who lived during a violent time.
“Most of the heroes during this time period were violent people, but Johnny Appleseed was a founding father who was nonviolent,” Fincken said. “He was all about helping people.”
During his presentation, Fincken pretended to be Johhnny Appleseed travelling through while the second-grade students from Mountain Ridge Primary were new people he met along the way. Appleseed shared a story about his brother Nathaniel who was very forgetful. When Appleseed was asked to pick some apple, core them and press them into cider, he asked his brother for help, but Nathaniel always had an excuse. So, Appleseed tried to trick him by hiding his mug so his brother couldn’t try the cider, but that didn’t stop Nathaniel from trying it anyway.
Throughout the story, he shared facts about Johnny Appleseed and got the students involved by asking them questions. Then all the second graders got their own book about Johnny Appleseed to take home.