62 | SEPTEMBER 2 • 2021 

family festival at the farm, with 
tractor rides, live music, var-
ious activities and, of course, 
apple picking. 
Goldstein lives at the orchard 
with his wife, Michelle, a 
fifth-grade teacher, and their 
two teenagers Hyley, 16, and 
Manny, 15. Their home is 
probably 1,000 feet from where 
customers park during their 
brief but busy season, begin-
ning in early September and 
ending on Nov. 1. 
Shortly after I arrive, 
Goldstein is eager to show 
off his property. He grows 
approximately 20 varieties of 
apples, everything from the 
popular Honeycrisp apples to 
McIntosh, Golden Delicious, 
Empire, Fuji, Jonathan and 
more. 
“This is how I get to work,” 
said Goldstein, hopping in his 
candy red Honda Pioneer ATV 
before we tour the property. 
As we zip around the orchard, 
it becomes apparent that 
Goldstein is an endless source 
of knowledge regarding apples 
and growing them. He explains 
how apples are more abundant 
at the tops of trees than at the 
bottom after a spring frost. He 
points out how rubber bands 
can pull down limbs, forcing 
the trees to bear more fruit, 
and spews out countless other 
examples of modern growing 
techniques during the tour. 
“You can’t just let the trees 
grow,” he says. “You have to 
train them.” 

A FAMILY LEGACY 
At one point, we stop, and 
Goldstein shows off an area of 
the orchard that’s particularly 
special to him. “I planted those 
45 years ago. Want to know 
how I know that?” he asks. 
“That’s when I graduated high 
school.”

Goldstein attended Almont 
High School, where he and his 
siblings were the only Jewish 
students. Although he was 
offered a full scholarship to 
study agriculture, he declined 
and began working full time on 
the family orchard. At the time, 
his father’s health was declin-
ing. Goldstein started to take 
over operations of the farm 
purchased by his grandfather 
approximately 100 years ago. 
His grandparents, Joe and 
Ettie Goldstein, emigrated 
from Poland in the early 
1900s. They initially settled 
on Hastings Street in Detroit, 
where Joe worked as a peddler. 

However, the couple later pur-
chased the farm and moved 
out to the country with their 
two sons, Gustave and Hyman. 
Goldstein’s father, Hyman, 
opened Hy’s Cider Mill in the 
fall of 1973. 
Before the cider mill opened, 
the farm was 160 sprawling 
acres. Joe split the land in half, 
with one section designated for 
crops and livestock. The other 
half became the apple orchard. 
Gustave subsequently took 
over the crops and livestock, 
and Hyman got the orchard. 
While Gustave gave up farm-
ing, Hyman kept his orchard 
going, selling his crops at 

Eastern Market in Detroit and 
opening the cider mill. Their 
first cider press made 200 gal-
lons of cider an hour. Today, 
the press produces 1,200 gal-
lons in one hour. Goldstein 
says it takes approximately 14 
pounds of apples to make just 
one gallon of cider. 

CIDER SEASON
Hy’s is open from 11 a.m.-6 
p.m. on Saturday and Sunday 
during the fall. Unlike many 
other cider mills and U-pick 
farms, there aren’t other 
activities on-site; there’s no 
petting farm, playground or 
corn maze. But patrons don’t 
seem to care because they 
love the cider, donuts and 
caramel apples. 
Goldstein’s 16-year-old 
daughter is often found 
helping with the donut oper-
ations. Their donut machine 
spits out 180 dozen donuts 
— cinnamon or plain — in 
just one hour. 
In addition to his children 
who pitch in when needed, 
Goldstein employs two full-
time workers. In the fall, his 
staff swells to somewhere 
between 30 and 40, with a 
dozen picking apples. 
This year, Goldstein 
expects to harvest between 
30% and 40% of his usual 
crop due to a late spring 
frost. “At least it’s not like it 
was in 2012,” he says, refer-
ring to the year when many 
area farmers lost their entire 
crop. 
“The weather makes you 
or breaks you,” he says. 
“Mother nature will always 
be the boss. When you lose 
so much of your crop, you 
have to make due. There’s no 
other choice. 
“I love doing this. It’s 
rewarding to grow something 
because you see it from start to 
finish. It’s hard work, but it’s so 
gratifying to see what comes 
out of that work.” 

“IT’S REWARDING TO GROW 
SOMETHING BECAUSE YOU

SEE IT FROM START TO FINISH.”

— JIM GOLDSTEIN

Jim Goldstein with 
his children Manny 
and Hyley. All those 
empty containers 
will soon be filled 
with fresh cider.

ROSH HASHANAH

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