Multiple generations of apple growers at Bickle’s Orchard Park Farms

From left are Tom, Kathy and Kaye Bickle, along with the farm mascot, Morty the bulldog, who greets everyone with a friendly welcome during apple season. Gary West photo

By Gary West

East Zorra-Tavistock (EZT) has many farms to be proud of, but few are as well known as Orchard Park Farms, where the Bickle family has been producing quality apples for more than 150 years.

Located just four miles south of Tavistock, Orchard Park Farms has been an important part of Oxford County’s history. The farm’s legacy began in 1865 when Robert Webber purchased the property on Highway 59 and established a commercial apple orchard. The farm remained in the Webber family until Randolph and Sarah Webber sold it to a young Frank Bickle in 1955.

At that time, the farm included 80 acres of mixed crops and 20 acres of mature apple trees. Frank Bickle, who grew up on the family homestead on the 11th Concession of East Zorra, had already gained years of experience farming with his father, William, and brother, Eric. After marrying Kaye Wittig in 1956, Frank and Kaye Bickle moved into the farmhouse on Highway 59 and planted 10 more acres of apple trees.

Over the years, the orchard transitioned from standard root stock to semi-dwarf and dwarf trees. Apples once packed in barrels, hampers and wooden boxes were eventually shipped in bins to the Oxford Fruit Co-Operative in Woodstock for grading and packing, before being sent to markets across Canada and overseas.

Recognizing the need to adapt, Frank and Kaye Bickle built their own cold storage and retail outlet in 1977. In 1981, their son, Tom Bickle, and his wife, Kathy, joined as partners and later took over the farm business.

Like all farming operations, growing apples requires immense care, maintenance and investment. The Bickle family has endured hail storms, tornadoes, severe winters and late frosts, all of which can devastate crops. Despite these challenges, their orchard has continued to thrive.

Today, Tom and Kathy Bickle run the farm with the support of longtime helpers Joanne Sauder, who has worked at the retail store for 20 years, and Pam Zehr, who joined three years ago. The next generation is also beginning to show interest: grandson Nash, 14, attends College Avenue Secondary School and has started working weekends on the farm. His mechanical skills have already proven useful in keeping equipment running.

Kathy and Tom Bickle’s daughters, Laura and Erin, along with their husbands and six sons, represent the next wave of potential apple growers. And at 90, family matriarch Kaye Bickle remains proud and deeply connected to the farm’s story.

The Bickle family’s Orchard Park Farms stands as a reminder that an apple a day – and generations of hard work – keep the tradition alive in northern Oxford County.