If nature had its way some forty years ago, this Pearmain (Papierwowki) apple tree in our front yard would probably not be here today. But the trunk was cabled at that time, and the tree continues to produce some of the tastiest apples anywhere, ready to go by early August. I would bet that at least 500 pies have been made from the apples of this tree, which is still going strong after 8 decades. Credits: my mother for the vast majority of the pies; my grandfather, father and brother Jim for the cabling.