'Apple Detective' to Visit Waitsburg this Fall

WAITSBURG – Former F.B.I investigator turned apple detective, David Benscoter, will be in Waitsburg this fall, and he needs your help. Kate Hockersmith invited the celebrated heirloom apple expert to visit the Waitsburg and Walla Walla area and is putting together a list of site visits in advance.

"We're looking for people who own old apple trees and think they might have something special," Hockersmith.

Benscoter, whose accomplishments were even recognized in the New York Times in May, uses his former detective skills to find lost apple varieties.

Earlier this year, the sixty-two year old Spokane resident, received confirmation that he had found previously lost Arkansas Beauty and Dickinson apples at Steptoe Butte. Prior to that, he found the previously lost Nero in the same area.

In 2013, Benscoter discovered a Fall Jeneting variety in Colfax, which was the second-known tree of its kind. The Arkansas Beauty is believed to be the last of its kind, currently bearing fruit, in existence. He has pruned the tree to stimulate new shoots that can be grafted onto other trees to preserve it for another generation.

After the discovery of the Nero apple, Benscoter enlisted help from the Whitman County Historical Society and area landowners to purchase 437 acres of land next to the state park. The land holds many old trees and a donor has offered to help fund the search for more lost apples.

Benscoter told the Spokesman Review that he believes there may be as many as 13 more lost apple varieties growing in Whitman County. Benscoter uses homestead and cemetery records, along with taste and appearance to research and identify lost apples.

"The work of an apple detective is fascinating on a couple of levels. The most obvious is that it is exciting to find something believed to be extinct. It's kind of like Jurassic Park, bringing dinosaurs back to life. But it's also about the stories behind the apples," Benscoter told author Heidi Scott in an article published in the Aug.Sept. 2015 issue of Wheat Life.

Hockersmith, who is a member of the Waitsburg Tree Committee said she was fascinated with Benscoter's story after reading about him in the Walla Walla Union Bulletin in May of 2015.

"His story was so cool. I thought he should come and check out some of our old apple trees, but I knew we could never get him to come here," Hockersmith said.

She and her husband had purchased the "Hinchliffe Homestead" at Rocky Point on Jasper Mountain, and the land includes an old apple orchard with several "very, very old trees."

Hockersmith emailed one of the organizations mentioned in the article and was surprised to receive an almost immediate personal reply from Benscoter, himself, who said he had been wanting to visit the Walla Walla area.

Hockersmith convinced him to come to Waitsburg and tentative plans have been set. On Sept. 30, Benscoter will tour the area, looking at trees of interest from 1-6 p.m. He will then give a talk on old apple varieties and his research at the Waitsburg Elementary School library from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Hockersmith said they may do some more touring, possibly closer to Walla Walla, on Sunday.

In the meantime, Hockersmith plans to talk with 4-H executives, county agriculture representatives, and anyone else who may be interested. She would like to be able to gather a list of old trees in the Dayton, Waitsburg, Walla Walla area, and put together a tour map prior to Benscoter's arrival.

Anyone who has or knows of an old apple tree or orchard should call Hockersmith at (509) 337-8789. Leave a message if there is no answer.