4,000 Dwarf Golden Delicious Apple Trees to be purchased through grant

Over one hundred years ago, the Golden Delicious Apple was born in a remote part of Clay County and now it will grow here once again. $35,000 in funding has been secured to turn the reclaimed strip mine in Fola into a farm of gold; Golden Delicious that is. Through a partnership with the WV National Guard and the Central Appalachia Empowerment Zone, a plan has been formed to build a Golden Delicious Apple orchard on the post mine land owned by Consol. 4,000 dwarf Golden Delicious trees will be bought from the Stark Brothers, who own the tree and propagation rights, and planted in the fall of 2015. The beginning of the project will coincide with the 42^nd Clay County Golden Delicious Festival, which will take place September 17^th through 20^th. This project was made possible by the collaboration of many groups and individuals and will prove to be very beneficial to our community.