SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- State Senator Dale Fowler thanked a local multi-generational business for 150 years of service to the southern Illinois area.
Sen. Fowler met up with and welcomed Rendleman Orchard owners Wayne and Michelle Sirles to the State Capital in Springfield on Tuesday and thanked them for the family farm business of a 150 years of service to the area.
“Tucked away in the hills of southernmost Illinois, and bordered by the Shawnee National Forrest, the Rendleman Orchard Family has dedicated their lives to producing some of the best apples and peaches across our state,� said Senator Fowler. “Over the years, they have invested and grown their operation providing fruit and vegetables across the entire state.�
On their website, Rendleman Orchards states it began in 1873 when John and Isabelle Rendleman bought and established the original 88 acre family farm raising chickens, cows, and corn for livestock.
The facility has lasted five generations and operates on an 800-acre plot of land employing hundreds of people and have fed millions.
“We are considered a full-service turnaround operation,� said Michelle Sirles. “Our family farm being that we are wholesale primarily and retail secondary. We grow it, we take care of it, we harvest it, we pack it in our own packing facilities, and we ship it in our own trucks or sell it direct to consumers in our farm markets. People are quite surprised by the various services that we offer and mostly that we are the fifth generation.�
Every Senator was delivered a gift box as a token of appreciation from the orchard, Fowler's office stated in a release.
Rendleman Orchards is planning a Bell Ringing Ceremony on June 28th, 2023 at 3 p.m., officially opening their sesquicentennial year. This will be held at their facility at 9680 State Route 127 North in Alto Pass.
