By Matt de Simone
Apple Barn II Gifts and Collectibles in Troutville closes its doors on May 31. After 35 years, store owner Rachel Nichols decided that it was time to say goodbye to the rows and rows of Cat’s Meow villages and collectibles, P. Buckley Moss prints, and Department 56 illuminated villages, amongst other popular items.
Rachel and her late husband, Alfred, are synonymous with their “family” of Apple Barn businesses throughout Botetourt County.
“We enjoyed our many customers, so many like family,” Nichols said in a recent interview. “We didn’t plan five businesses; they just happened—led by a hand from above. Now, with my two children, two grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and so many Apple Barn friends, I am blessed closing the store I loved with so many great memories.”
Nichols stated that the Apple Barn II is her last business. In 1965, she and Alfred arrived in the area. They wanted to raise a family in the country after spending a few years living in Roanoke. They bought some acreage in Troutville that contained about 300 young apple trees.
“(The property) had a whole strip of apple trees, and the man selling it divided them into five-acre tracts. So, we bought one five-acre tract. Then, we went home and counted pennies or whatever and bought another tract, so we had two five-acre tracts. Alfred planted apple trees every year for I don’t know how many years while he worked for General Electric (GE). I told him that he had to work at GE to support his ‘John Deere habit.’”
Soon after that, they would invite their friends to stop by and pick their own apples. The couple referred to this as a “U-Pick” operation. Alfred planted more trees. More folks stopped by to pick their fruit. Nichols mentioned people would slide money through their garage door as payment. Next thing they knew, school field trips and countless community members sought the Nichols’ farm as a destination to pick apples.
Amazingly enough, Alfred had to learn how to grow apples after initially purchasing the tracts. After working for GE for several years and maintaining the apple farm (and Barn), Alfred retired to focus on his and Rachel’s businesses.
The Nicholses built a red barn on their property, adding a country store (“Apple Barn I”). In 1987, they added a gift shop upstairs for Rachel to sell collectibles. The Apple Barn became a Cat’s Meow dealer in 1990, adding local schools, churches, and buildings. Cat’s Meow collectibles are wooden replicas of buildings, landmarks, and scenes depicting current and former memorable locations. The craze caught on, and soon the Apple Barn became the country’s No. 1 seller of Cat’s Meow collectibles.
After receiving requests for more locations focusing on specific collectibles, the couple opened other stores – Apple Barn Gallery/P. Buckley Moss Gallery and Olde Country Store in Buchanan. They also opened Cackleberry Ridge in Troutville, which sold Amish furniture and other collectibles.
In 1997, a big red barn like the original Apple Barn at the the orchard was built in the town of Troutville, referred to as Apple Barn II.
As the years went on, Alfred closed the orchard due to the age of the trees, making it difficult to maintain. Sadly, after surviving a bout with cancer, Alfred passed away following a heart attack in 2016.
Rachel then moved Moss Gallery into Apple Barn II and sold the old building in 2017. The Nichols family sold the Cackleberry building in 2019. Since then, the Apple Barn II Gifts and Collectibles has remained the last of the Apple Barn “family” of stores open in the area.
“Age catches up with us,” Nichols stated. “I’m 86, and it’s time to retire. It’s been work, but we both enjoyed it all.”
Apple Barn II is open on Memorial Day (May 30), offering a free Cat’s Meow item to patrons from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 31 is Apple Barn II’s last day of business. For more information, visit the website http://applebarn-va.com/. The Apple Barn II property is currently for sale.
