The last Colorado Orange apple tree stood for 100 seasons, its location a sworn family secret. Riley Diana, 74, said the owner of the historic Steinmeier Farm told him there'd be no peace if word got out. "He said we'd have people all over this orchard if they knew it was here," Diana remembered.
But, in 2014, Diana knew he had to break his promise or lose the storied apple forever. "I could tell it was checking out. It stopped producing blossoms," he said.
The retired prison psychologist who cared for the five-acre apple orchard east of Canon City knew exactly who could discreetly keep the Colorado Orange from dying out. He had heard about a pair of apple hunters out of Cortez who were searching for any sign of the legendary fruit. "When he called, he said he had a Colorado Orange," said Jude Schuenemeyer.
"We thought it was extinct. It was almost too good to be true for Schuenemeyer and his wife, Addie, who dedicated their lives to mapping lost historical Colorado apple varieties in hopes of restoring them. More than once they sent leaves they thought may have been that of the Colorado Orange to labs for DNA testing.
And more than once, the results came back showing a different apple variety like the York or the Ben Davis. Diana sent them nine blush-colored apples from his gnarled mother tree. When the Schuenemeyers sent Diana's leaves for forensic tests, the result came back “unknown.
” This was a major clue, which told them that there was no known apple for comparison..
