Jude Schuenemeyer
Co-founder of the Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project
Cortez, CO
October 16, 2024
After leaving the desert of Southeastern Utah and heading for Durango, Colorado, we made a stop in Cortez, Colorado to meet with Jude Schuenemeyer, the co-founder of the Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project (MORP). MORP aims to restore forgotten and nearly extinct varieties of rare apples to the Colorado region.
Jude began by showing us how to graft two apple trees together, skillfully creating two ‘Y’-shaped twigs with his grafting knife that slotted perfectly into each other. Jude’s passion and knowledge were ever-present as he spoke lovingly about the history of apple growing in Montezuma County and the people who laid the groundwork for him to continue their important documentation and preservation work. He emphasized the importance of preservation; of the 20,000 historic apple varieties, only 6,000-8,000 remain. The preservation means more to Jude than just a number, though. He sees lessons in his work that apply to our own lives. Jude believes “people and apples are very much alike” and that “we are all seedlings,” noting the relationships built on love and care required to raise and support humans and apples.
We learned about the difficult, colonial legacy of apples as well. Jude explained that during the American Revolution, George Washington ordered all of the orchards in the Seneca village to be cut down, killing them by starvation. However, when soldiers arrived at the orchards, after burning down houses and food supplies, they didn’t want to cut down the apple trees. They were unprepared for the realization that these people they saw as inferior could have grown such beautiful, well-tended orchards. As America began to take shape, orchards became a staple of wealthy plantation owners like Washington and Thomas Jefferson, whose trees were most likely planted, grafted, and tended to by slaves. Jude was vocal about the importance of confronting, acknowledging, and learning from history, no matter how hard doing that can be.
Today, Jude feels he’s doing things the right way. Working out in the field daily, he feels a sense of relaxation. He noted the difficulties of running a non-profit organization in a rural area but emphasized that the people, place, and work make it all worthwhile.
It was a pleasure to meet with Jude for an afternoon, and we left feeling inspired by his words and his passion for his work. Plus, we were nourished by the delicious apples and apple juice that he so graciously gave us.
by Theo Rollman