Where autumn memories grew: Mitch Lynd’s legacy
The 1964 graduate welcomed families to the apple orchard, built a grower network and strengthened farming statewide.
(Photo from Isaac Lynd)
Generations of Central Ohioans grew up picking apples at Lynd Fruit Farm, a memory-making experience that John “Mitch” Lynd ’64 sold to his reluctant older relatives more than a half century ago. Those pick-your-own adventures spread the Lynd name across and beyond the metro area and made trips to the orchards east of Columbus a staple of many Buckeyes’ autumns.
A sixth-generation apple grower, Mitch Lynd died April 17, 2026. He was 83.
Fresh out of Ohio State with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics, Lynd spent a few years at The Kroger Co. learning about operational efficiency, management and other translatable topics before joining the family apple business. “He knew eventually he would go back to the farm. That’s what he grew up around and really loved,” says son Andy Lynd ’86, one of a handful of family members who run the operation today.
Andy was 4 years old and sister Debbie was 8 when Mitch and Penny Lynd moved their family from Reynoldsburg to the apple farm in Pataskala. At harvest time, Mitch invited friends from their old neighborhood to visit. “Those girls in that family loved being in the orchard picking apples,” Andy says. Their enthusiasm offered evidence the pick-your-own concept could succeed. “The older generation wanted nothing to do with that; they didn’t want anyone in the orchard. Dad was a very persuasive person. Growing up, I thought he was the smartest man in the world.”
Andy’s son Isaac Lynd ’13, ’15, the first of Mitch and Penny’s 10 grandchildren, thought similarly of his grandfather. “He made time for the grandkids, and he and my grandma took us on a lot of trips. He always knew the history of the places we went, whether it was natural history or Ohio history or whatever. His mastery knowledge always impressed me.”
Mitch’s mastery of apple growing certainly impressed his peers. In addition to leading Lynd Fruit Farm, he founded the Midwest Apple Improvement Association (MAIA) with Indiana grower Ed Fackler in the mid-1990s. Their aim was to support the development of apples most fitting to Midwest conditions and give growers access to high-quality cultivars with minimal investment. That’s an inclusive philosophy not shared by all apple licensure organizations.
At this point, five generations of the Lynd family have made their livelihoods growing apples since John Lynd emigrated from Ireland in the early 1800s. Today’s caretakers of that legacy oversee not only orchards but a sprawling market and family-friendly attractions. “They’re doing a great job, and he was very proud of all of them,” says Penny, who shared 64 years of marriage with Mitch. And those stewards remain motivated by a father and grandfather who nourished others with apples, nature, education and love.
