I’m in the Chautauqua County community of Busti, NY. It's a big weekend coming up here. The town will be celebrating the 50th edition of its famous Apple Festival. Thousands of people will be coming to the village. Most of them will be taking a tour inside the town’s historic grist mill.

The grist mill first opened in 1839. This was the place where farmers would take their wheat and corn crops that were harvested the previous season. The wheat and corn bounty was stored and cleaned, grinded, and separated. The flour produced from that process was then bagged and returned to the farmer. Joni Blackman, the director of the Busti Historical Society, gave me a tour. She says the grist mill was an important place in Busti for those who grew those crops.

"The grist mill was also a community gathering place for the farmers to meet,” says Joni. “They met at the fairs in the fall and they met at the grist mills in the spring."

The Busti Grist Mill remained open until the 1950s. It was vacant for two decades. In 1972, a decision was made by three teenagers who were members of the local 4-H club. It was a decision that would change Busti's future for years to come. The teens wanted to restore the grist mill.

"They knew it was the center of Busti at one point,” says Joni. “They needed a project. So they wrote a grant to the Reader's Digest company and they got 200 dollars and they decided to save the mill."

A non profit organization was formed to help the teens with the restoration project. That organization became the Busti Historical Society. The society has hosted the town's popular Apple Festival for 50 years. The working grist mill is on display for thousands of visitors to see how flour was made the old-fashioned way. You can even buy some to take home.

"We sell corn meal, buckwheat, and whole wheat flour that's ground right here in the mill at the festival,” says Joni.

Tours are also conducted at the old Miller's House across the street and at the Busti Historical Society Museum on the festival grounds. It will be a wonderful festival this weekend and not only for the history. There will be over 100 vendors, and you’ll find just about every kind of food made with apples.

The festival runs for two days, Saturday, September 28 and Sunday, September 29. from 11am To 5pm each day. Admission is five dollars. Kids under 12 get in free. No pets allowed. Parking is free. Wi-Fi is available so visitors can make purchases at the festival with a credit card.