Apple Town’s Bryan Reed To Be 2016 Grand Marshall

Bryan Reed, owner of Apple Town Fruit Stand in Lincoln, will serve as grand marshal of the 2016 Arkansas Apple Festival parade.

Dianna Payne is coordinating the parade for the Apple Festival Committee this year and she said Reed has been a business owner in the community for a long time and associated with the apple industry for many years.

“The committee considers people who have made a contribution to the community and have helped the community in some unique way,” Payne said.

Reed grew up in the apple business. His grandfather, Jim Ned Reed, and father, John Hoyt, owned apple orchards in the Lincoln and Canehill areas and Reed continued the tradition. He estimates the family probably had a couple hundred acres of apple trees.

The business was good for the family for 20- 30 years, he said. Companies from Texas and Oklahoma purchased apples from their orchards and their orchards were well-known. His grandfather and father would sell hundreds of tons of apples to food companies.

Orchards for commercial use have disappeared in this area, Reed said, because of the market and the age of the trees.

Apple Town, located on U.S. 62 going into Lincoln, sells fresh handpicked apples that come mainly from orchards in Missouri and will be open during the Apple Festival. Some apples it offers are Arkansas Black, Red Delicious and Fuji.

FILE PHOTO Above: Bryan Reed owns Apple Town Fruit Stand in Lincoln. His grandfather and father owned apple orchards in Canehill and Lincoln areas. He has grown up in the apple business. Below: Bags of fresh, handpicked apples are available for sale at Apple Town Fruit Stand in Lincoln. The store will be open during the Arkansas Apple Festival and will have apple cider for sale, along with apple cake and possibly apple pies.

LYNN KUTTER ENTERPRISE-LEADER Apple Town in Lincoln is pictured. The store sells handpicked apples.