Army & Navy Academy by Mui Alexander;

Author:Mui, Alexander;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Inc.
Published: 2017-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

LAST OF THE RED APPLES

During that same year, Joe Orozco started working in the mess hall. In an interview with him, he said that he could recall a cream meat dish called “mung” that they served to the cadets. “One thing I could fondly remember were the red apples that remained from the Red Apple Inn.” The red apples dotted every piece of furniture in the old inn—the gates had apples made of clay, apples were forged into the iron electric fixtures and even all the china plates had the red apples fired on them. Back when the Academy relocated to the new campus, there was no money to replace the china, so they were put into use, hoping that they would “vanish through attrition.” Every time a plate fell, the crashing sound ringing throughout the mess hall, the cheer could be heard by everyone. “Every time Col. Atkinson heard a plate break he would say thank goodness,” noted Joe.

Years before, while working in the mess hall, Joe repainted red apples on the light fixtures that can still be seen today. Joe recalled his memory of those apples, how Mrs. Atkinson would warn him about painting them. She said, “Joe, Col. Atkinson doesn’t like those apples he is going to get angry.” But Joe continued painting the apples, and the first thing Colonel Atkinson said when he walked by was, “Who painted those apples?” Mrs. Atkinson noted that it was Joe, but the colonel replied, “That’s okay. Joe is my favorite little guy here.”

Through the years, more and more plates broke until there was apparently only one left. The Academy celebrated as the last piece of red apple was ceremoniously broken. Later, Joe found another box of red apple plates in the back of the mess hall and put them to use. This annoyed Colonel Atty, who would continue to cheer whenever they broke. The plates were made from china and would crack in the dishwasher because they were so old. Finally, when there was only a handful left, the colonel told Joe to throw them out. They were never seen again, and with them went the last piece of the famous inn. Joe noted that it was a shame he didn’t preserve one so a piece of the Red Apple Inn could be remembered. Cadets in the 1960s remember the Academy having dog mascots wandering campus and trooping the line during parades. The original mascot was a young boxer named Husky, which was a gift to the school. He was seen around campus, often hanging out near Colonel Atkinson’s office.

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