Meet Keija Booker, our Art Reach banner contest winner

Marine Toys for Tots has been around for 75 years and delivered more than 627 million toys and books to children. Krapohl Ford & Lincoln is once again a drop off for the annual Isabella County Toys for Tots event, and we’ll wrap up this year’s drive Thursday when we Cram a Cruiser from 3-5:30 p.m. We have collection boxes for Toys For Tots set up in our sales showroom, Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center and the Krapohl Body Shop. Donated toys and books should be new and unwrapped.

Eastman’s Antique Apples/Forbidden Ciders in Wheeler is first stop in video series Welcome to “Touring with Tom,” an occasional series designed to showcase the hidden gems, longtime favorites and exciting new spots that make Michigan’s central region so special. Tom Krapohl, second-generation owner of Krapohl Ford & Lincoln, invites you along to experience, reminisce and maybe discover something new. Local Dealership. Local Commitment. For Tom Krapohl, family trips in a car when he was a child usually meant another drive to Bay City to visit grandparents. “It was to their house, and then to the graveyard. We got to not like those trips,” Tom, co-owner of Krapohl Ford & Lincoln said, laughing. “I really can’t think of any highlights. We rode in a ’57 Ford Fairlane. There were a lot of station wagons because there were three of us kids.” Eastman’s Antique Apples/Forgotten Ciders co-owner Nicole Ward shows Tom and Mary Krapohl and their grandchildren Merritt, 10, and Jake, 8, how to load an old-style apple carrier. As parents themselves, Tom and his wife, Mary, enjoyed taking short trips and traveling on vacations. They regularly included their children. “Every year, we would do a family trip,” Mary said. “So now, our kids do. Our girls just did a trip to California to see Pink. They wanted Tom and I to go! I was like, ‘You know, you guys do this.’” Tom and Mary’s love of adventure and arriving in a Ford continue. For the inaugural “Touring with Tom,” we arranged a behind-the-scenes look at Eastman’s Antique Apples in Wheeler. Like Krapohl Ford & Lincoln, the orchard is a multi-generational operation. Tom and Mary were joined by two of their grandchildren, Merritt, 10, and Jake, 8. They rode in one of Ford’s hottest models, a full-size 2020 Bronco Wildtrak sporting an orange metallic tri-coat. Orchard co-owner Nicole Ward set up Merritt and Jake in a prime spot while Tom donned the gear of long-ago apple pickers — a metal container with a cloth opening and straps to secure it to his body. The boys helped fill it after Ward taught them how to pick an apple by lifting and turning so it snapped off the tree. She also brought tiny apples — a tart crabapple variety — for the boys. Both took one bite and grimaced. One signaled his review with a thumbs down. Ward, who operates the farm with her husband, Rafe, and other family members, said the fifth-generation orchard has more than 1,000 varieties of apples and more than 3,000 apple trees. “Basically, my husband’s grandfather and uncle treated apple trees like a baseball card collection,” Ward said. “Over time, we’ve learned what a rare, unique gem we have. I haven’t fully vetted it, but I think we are the largest commercial orchard — in terms of varieties. We might be the last holder of some of these types of apples.” While the orchard itself is no longer open to the public, people do visit to enjoy its Forgotten Ciders tasting room, food trucks and live music. The apple variety creates a series of hard ciders with unique tastes, including the best-selling, red, dry and tart “Mad Russian.” Eastman’s Forgotten Ciders is located at 1058 W. Midland-Gratiot County Line Road in Wheeler.

Annual customer appreciation event combines music and classic vehicles Did you ever drive a Ford Falcon? Do cool cars equal a good day in your world? If yes, put Thursday, July 21 on your calendar and stop by between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. for the annual car show at Krapohl Ford & Lincoln. This free event is a way to show appreciation to our community and customers. It’s extra special this year as we thank all of you for your ongoing support and patience while our industry continues to wrestle with supply shortages and shifting norms in buying vehicles and getting service parts. Over the past 72 years, customers have encouraged us, pushed us to go further, and joined us in making our communities better places to live and work. Please stop in to wander among 200 cars and trucks of today and yesterday, meeting their owners and marveling at how these vehicles have taken us, our families and our friends to places near and far.