How well do you know your folklore heroes? Part 6: Johnny Appleseed

“[He] has nurtured life instead of destroying it, and has been sensitive to the beauty of this continent, and has done something to create here a civilization. Johnny Appleseed stands for ourselves at our best.” ~Charles Smart

If you haven't heard of Johnny Appleseed, welcome to America! That's about how famous the boy with the tin pot on his head and a sack of apple seeds over his shoulder has come to be as a symbol of apple-pie-lovin-America today. There have been movies, stories, tall tales, biographies, radio programs, and much much more written and told about the gentle traveler, and if I had to pick a single folklore hero whose identity has the closest connection to the look and landscape of America, it would probably be Johnny Appleseed. With that said, it's still fun to see in what ways our personal version of him differs from someone else's.

What does he look like?

Dad: He's a younger man, maybe 30ish. He wears farmer's clothing.
Mom: 40s. He's not at all athletic. He has a pot on his head and his pockets are stuffed with apples. He sings songs, he loves children, he tells stories, he's very gentle. Like a deer. He's part of nature.
Sarah: I'd say he's 16. He wears a pot on his head. He has freckles and wears overalls.
Hannah: He's either in his 60s and 70s or maybe 15. He has curly hair, he's tall and skinny, wears overalls with a patch in the knee, a frying pan on his head, and is holding an apple with a bite taken out of it.

Here's "Scrawny Johnny":

Why is he famous?

Dad: He ran around the early United States, encouraging settlers to plant apples and fruit trees.
Mom: He planted orchards everywhere. He tried to help the land, and the settlers.
Sarah: He planted a lot of trees in random places. Oregon, maybe?
Hannah: He planted a lot of apple trees all over the country.

Was he real?

Dad: I believe he was real. His name was Chapman...?
Mom: I think so. His name was John Chapman.
Sarah: I think so. Yeah.
Hannah: Yes.

John Chapman was a real person, born September 26, 1774 in Massachusetts and died sometime in the late 1840s, although the actual date and his burial site are disputed. He did not exactly scatter apple seeds everywhere, as we sometimes think, but apparently planted them in nurseries and ensured that they would be taken care of before moving on. As for the idea of him traversing across the continental United States, he really only left a lasting impact on a few Mid-Western states: mainly Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana. He was a kind of preacher as well as a planter, and was known for his kindness to animals and generosity to others. It is said that he traveled with a Bible in one hand, a bag of apple seeds in the other,and a cooking pot on his head; however, I wasn't able to find any certain evidence for any of these facts, and other sources say he carried the usual tools of a woodsman. It was also said that he wore no shoes, even in winter, which possibly led to the telling of another legend where a rattlesnake tried to bite his foot and couldn't penetrate the skin. If you want to read more about the myths and realities of Johnny Appleseed, I recommend this link, as well as the ever faithful Wikipedia entry. And I recommend watching the Disney version, too, just because it's fun.