Local Woman Wins Applecrest's $1K Story Contest

Submitted by Applecrest Farm Orchard

Applecrest Farm Orchard congratulates the winner of the $1,000 Applecrest Your Farm Story Contest, Renee Addario Evelyn! Evelyn’s essay was one of many submitted to Applecrest in celebration of their 100th anniversary. “It was wonderful to hear how the farm has affected so many visitors, employees and families over the past century, in such unique and profound ways,” said Todd Wagner, owner of Applecrest Farms.

Winner Renee Addario Evelyn is a successful fine art portrait photographer based in Exeter. She had her first "real job" working at Applecrest over 20 years ago, and the work, the relationships and the sights and smells remain some of her favorite memories of growing up. Evelyn’s portraiture work combines her technical knowledge with her love of fine art to produce beautifully genuine, thoughtful and artful portraits for families, graduates, events and weddings. View her work atwww.RAEvelyn.com. Renee lives in Exeter with her husband and two young children and will write a novel someday.

In her winning story, Renee talks about her time on the farm, citing specific elements that have stayed with her over the years:

There was the time in the summer of 1992 that I sat in the red, wooden "pick-your-own-berries" shack, that in between weighing and logging and making change, I was reading "A Prayer for Owen Meany" by John Irving.  It was a summer assignment for school; the first of Irving's books I had read. I fell in love that summer. With Owen Meany, with reading, with writing, with Irving. It must have been soon after, fall maybe, that I'd read that Irving was from Exeter, went to UNH (like I would) and that he worked at the farm too … I wrote to Irving, told him what I knew and told him I had fallen in love with Owen Meany and would he please consider speaking at my high school graduation in June of 1993. The day I received a response will be etched in my brain forever. 

Read the full winning story at http://www.applecrest.com.