Chandler’s Orchard & Country Market Blossoms with Family Tradition

In 1975, Jerry and Vyanne Chandler bought a grain farm in Fillmore, Indiana, and converted it into an orchard. Although Jerry’s father and grandfather had been tenant row crop farmers, Jerry’s passion was flowers and fruit trees.

“He had fond memories of going to a local orchard with his parents when he was a kid, and somewhere along the way, he decided he wanted his own orchard,” says Matt Chandler, Jerry’s oldest son. “That was the dream.”

With nothing more than a few hand tools and a rototiller, Jerry planted the first apple trees and strawberry plants in the spring of 1976.

“It was a very humble beginning from a very humble man,” Matt says. “The sacrifice he has made over the years to build this business and get it to where it is now is not lost on me.”

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From the beginning, it’s always been a family operation. Jerry’s parents, Elmer and Margaritte, were instrumental in getting the orchard off to a good start. Jerry and Elmer planted the orchard’s first trees, which included a few varieties of pears, peaches, plums and cherries, as well as apples. Jerry’s grandfather, Alexander, also helped, particularly when it came to his own cabbage patch.

“That man loved sauerkraut,” Matt says with a laugh. “My grandparents and great-grandparents all helped on the farm from the earliest years. We’ve all been farmers as long as we can remember.”

Now, alongside Jerry, Matt runs the operation with help from his wife, Lisa, and three children, Elijah, Cort and Elle. The business, Chandler’s Orchard & Country Market, includes a 5-acre strawberry patch, a 14-acre apple orchard and fields of pumpkins.

Customers can pick their own berries, pumpkins and apples or purchase them prepicked at the Country Market, where rhubarb, tomatoes, sweet corn, radishes, peppers, green beans and other locally grown produce are also available seasonally.

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First Fruits

Strawberries kick off the fresh-fruit season at Chandler’s, with their spring blooms building the anticipation of sweetness to come.

“By the first of May, you start seeing the blooms and people get excited, because from bloom to harvest is about 30 days,” Matt says. “We’re trying to grow the U-pick business for strawberries. We’ve always focused on being a family-friendly environment, and we want people to spend time with family and provide an experience with something for them to do.”

During the height of strawberry season, Apple Annie’s Cafe opens on the farm.

“Apple Annie’s is the food truck we run in spring and fall, and it’s named after my mother, who always called herself Apple Annie when they did field trips and tractor rides in the earliest days,” Matt says.

Lisa runs the food truck with Elle’s help, serving up strawberry shortcake, strawberry slushies and other springtime favorites.

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Welcoming Fall

When Apple Annie’s returns in the fall – the entire family’s favorite season – it offers fresh apple cider, apple butter cake, caramel apple shortcake, caramel apples, cider slushies and other apple-flavored treats.

Over the years, the Chandlers have grown more than 250 different varieties of apples, but these days, Matt focuses on about 30 varieties spanning over 14 acres.

“Honeycrisp by far is the No. 1 variety going out the door here,” Matt says. “We’ve also got some new varieties grown by the Midwest Apple Improvement Association. Those are Somerset, Rosalee and Evercrisp, and they are a cross between Honeycrisp and Fuji.”

Matt says the Evercrisp variety, a very dense apple with its own unique flavor, keeps exceptionally well at regular refrigeration.

“We have apples all year in the store from the previous season’s harvest except for about a month, which is usually June,” Matt says.

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On fall weekends, visitors can ride the tractor-drawn wagons for apple, pumpkin or zinnia picking. Both Elijah and Cort have served as tractor drivers. Area schools still visit for field trips, and the Chandlers host Farm Bureau events, FFA chapters and other groups, often demonstrating grafting techniques which Jerry perfected over hours of practice during long winter evenings in the family’s basement.

Even with the long days and economic pressures that come with farming, Matt can’t imagine doing anything else.

“It’s all I ever wanted to do,” he says. “This orchard was Dad’s dream, and I look up to him immensely. Thinking back to my great-grandfather’s cabbage patch out here, and the countless hours I spent with my grandparents working on the farm when I was a kid, this place is a legacy. I want to pass that to my children if they so choose.”

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