Todd, the leader of the clan and serial entrepreneur, combines his many talents and skills to run the orchard. Todd’s botany degree, horticulture background, business savvy, and his unfailing love for the outdoors makes him especially suited to include the orchard in his list of successful business ventures. If we can do things bigger, better, faster, or smarter he’ll find the way. He especially values the relationships we have established with schools where we help food service professionals feed thousands of students healthy, nutritious, locally grown fruits and vegetables every week. Todd also has used his entrepreneurial skills to start a new enterprise, Catalyst, a business consulting business.

Caren, Todd’s wife, has been a dedicated homeschool mom for 20+ years. Now that all the kids have graduated, she continues to help out on the orchard even more and with Todd’s other business. She grew up in The Big Apple, moved to the “Little Apple” of Appleton, and now has the opportunity to live amongst the trees, gardens and wildlife of the Black Creek apple orchard! She has a medical and business background and enjoys running the store and providing great service and friendship to our customers. She is in charge of the retail business and also handles all things finance and bookkeeping. If you ever have a question about anything regarding homeschooling, ask her. She will be happy to help! After all, our children are our future.

Christina, the oldest, graduated from Lawrence University in 2018 with a degree in Music Composition with an emphasis in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. She married her husband, Stephen, in 2018 and now has two children with another on the way. She also uses her musical talent to teach piano lessons in the community.

Matthew, the middle child, has found a job outside of the orchard but still lives at home. He loves experimenting in the kitchen coming up with creations for the whole family to enjoy. Matthew keeps us laughing with his special brand of dry humor. He is currently pursuing bookkeeping at Fox Valley Technical College and will soon be pursuing a degree at St. Norbert College. He also enjoys finding odd and interesting facts. We call him our walking encyclopedia! Ask him a question and he just might know the answer! If he doesn’t, he’ll be sure to look it up later.

Hope is always excited to see our customers. She is always enthusiastic to help wherever needed and loves to make sure you get a taste of everything in the store. She helps out Caren in the retail store with customers and making sure everything looks pretty. She is in her element here at the orchard… one of her favorite things to do is climb trees, and you will often find her curled up outside with a novel. She has a special affinity for baking delicious goodies including pies and apple crisps, and she enjoys the country living and the beauty of nature. She is also attending Fox Valley Technical College for natural resources.

Uncle Kerry lives with us at the orchard and faithfully tends to all the trees and gardens. He is a thoughtful, conscientious and hard-working gentleman who keeps everything humming. Kerry is an accomplished musician having mastered the harmonica like few others. Oh, and he loves onions and puts them on and in everything! Despite this, he has a calm, kind, and gentle spirit that is an inspiration to us all because sometimes it gets a little crazy here!