How the Water System Works

Johnny Appleseed used to be a staple character in old American children’s books. A ragged vagabond in the early nineteenth century, Appleseed traveled barefoot through the forest, wore coffee sacks with cut-out holes for his arms and head, and planted thousands upon thousands of apple trees for the first settlers in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana. From the Special Series: How the System Works “Appleseed” was a nickname; he was born as John Chapman. As a young man, Chapman became convinced that Christianity had lost its way and needed to be restored by a new church. He worked in an orchard, fell in love with apples, and devoted the rest of his long life to wandering through the newly occupied Middle West, passing out tracts for the new church — and establishing apple orchards, selling the saplings for a few pennies each. Although a dozen or so Johnny Appleseed festivals are still celebrated, he is less likely to be found in children’s books today. That may be because histo ... Read full article.