Photos by David Lane
Page 37
Various pictures of Maple Syrup Days.
Phone: 260-463-4901 • Fax 888-439-6528 • The Hometown Treasure
by David Lane
How do you know it is almost spring? The taps are on maple syrup. The children get a laugh or two at his
the sugar maple trees and an annual event of the how- story-telling humor. A few jokes along the way to make
to’s of making maple syrup called Maple Syrup Days. for fun learning.
The Marionette Puppet Children’s storytelling
The festival gave the many visitors that participated
a chance to learn about the pioneer and modern show was another welcoming event as they came alive
methods of maple sugaring. The entire process from once again this year by telling the benefits of the
identifying the sugar maple tree to tapping the trees maple sugar season. The story “The Sugar Makers” was
and collecting the sap, to boiling the sap and making adapted from the book, “The Young Sugar Makers of
maple syrup to tasting the final product. Many hungry the West Woods”.
“This is our chance to educate people about the
guests took full-advantage of the pancake and sausage
blessed gifts that we get from trees and nature.”
breakfast served by the South Milford Lions Club.
“While breakfast and maple syrup is the main “tap”,
Visitors also were greeted by the sweet smell of
wood smoke mixed with maple syrup as demonstrators it is such a fun educational day that uses all of your
demonstrated maple-sugar making at the nature center senses… see, hear, smell, taste and touch.”
“I hope that the many visitors to the festival learned
village’s “Sugar Camp.” They watched the sugar making
process and learned why pure maple syrup was more to be respectful to trees and nature, and the importance
commonly used back then than to what you can buy of trees. We can see the beauty that they provide on
a daily basis, but when we learn about these different
in the stores today.
Inside the wooden evaporation building were aspects, then we see how this is something that we
evaporating units that are wood-fired to boil down the should not take for granted.”
This annual event is sponsored by the LaGrange
sap water. A friendly man smiles and welcomes visitors
into the sugaring shed. He delights in the curiosity County Parks Department and the South Milford
of visitors who are genuinely interested in what he is Lions Club.
doing, and explains in detail the full-process of pure
April 2011
Sweet Syrup Sugar Sensation