By T. R. Shaw
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| Maple Syrup is Michigan's oldest agricultural enterprise, and the first crop "harvested" each year. |
My
affection for all things Maple, began in my youth when I spent time at my
grandparent’s orchard and farm market in Athens, Michigan.
Wayne and Lillie Smith operated the Smith Orchards in Athens. They spent their
lives growing and selling apples and cider, mostly from their barn market in
the fall and sold apples commercially to larger buyers such as Gerber Baby
Foods and area supermarket chains.
In
the very early spring, just as winter was breaking a mysterious thing would happen. Townspeople came around, drilled holes in the
maple trees, which line every street in the village, and attached bags which
filled up with water on warm days. Not
sure what that was all about, my grandmother would take some of that tree
water, bring it into the kitchen and boil it down showing us how it becomes
maple syrup. My sister and I were amazed
by the process and learned to love and appreciate pure maple syrup.
On
the other side of the village, several volunteers were busy collecting the sap,
and boiling it down to syrup to sell in an annual community fund-raising
project dating back to 1950.
Since then, volunteers
of the Athens Youth Council, who maintain the annual tradition, have generated
more than $275,000 for the community. Their
annual labor of love has benefited the village immensely, including helping
the Boy Scouts, supporting athletic teams, buying equipment and providing local
scholarships. The funds have also purchased
a Jaws of Life for the Athens Fire Department. Some of the funds have been set aside to
replace aging maple trees and upgrade the processing equipment.
The syrup is
sold at various locations around the village, but usually doesn’t last
long. For many years, the founder of the
project, Les Snyder, sold it from his front porch.
In the
beginning, sap was boiled down in a wood-fired still which took a lot of time
and attention. There is a fine line
between, sap, syrup and sugar. You had
to be careful not to over boil it. Today,
the operation has a state-of-the art computerized gas-fired evaporator built in
Vermont, which makes the process fairly simple and efficient.
Sap collection
is still labor intensive and determined by the flow. Sometimes it’s a daily pick-up, other times
it may take a few days. Through a robo-call
volunteers are notified when they need to help collect. There is seldom a shortage of
volunteers. It takes about ninety
minutes to get around the village and fill the mobile tanker.
Athens has had
friendly competition with neighboring Union City whose Rotary Club has done the
same project in their community for decades.
The Nottawaseppi
Huron Band of Potawatomi also partakes in the annual rite of spring on their
reservation. In fact it was Native
American’s who introduced Europeans to the art of maple syrup production. The craft and lore dates back hundreds of years
in Native American culture.
Maple
syrup is big business in Michigan according to the Michigan Maple Syrup
Association. It is the oldest
agricultural enterprise in the United States and the first crop “harvested”
each year. Michigan has about 500
commercial producers and approximately 2,000 groups like Athens, Union City and
the NHBPI Tribe, along with many hobbyists.
Michigan ranks 5th in the nation in Maple Syrup production at
about 90,000 gallons which, seasonally brings in $2.5 million according to the Association
website,
www.mi-maplesyrup.com.
www.mi-maplesyrup.com.
Maple
syrup activities have also become part of Michigan’s burgeoning “agri-tourism”
sector with two major Maple Syrup Festivals each year one in Shepard and
another in Vermontville. This year, the
Association will host a Maple Syrup Weekend in the North, Middle and Southern parts
of Michigan. March 18-19 is slated for
Southern Michigan. Information on events
and educational activities can be found at www.michiganmapleweekend.com.
According
to the Athens Youth Council their best year, which typically begins in late
February, was 695 gallons in 1984; their smallest was 129 gallons in 2000. Mother Nature determines the length of the
season and amount of production. Last
year they only collected sap for 10 days as the weather warmed quickly and the
trees budded, changing the sugar content of the sap. A good sap run requires a period of cold
nights below freezing, with significant warming in the day. It also has a lot to do with barometric
pressure. In a good year, the sap run
goes for 3-4 weeks. Much of maple syrup
production and quality is based on luck, timing and weather rather than pure
science.
So,
if you want to shake off winter and witness an annual rite of spring in
Michigan, visit a Maple Syrup operation and bring your kids.
The Athens Maple
House is located at 310 W. South Street in Athens and welcomes visitors when
they are operating, mostly during the month of March. For their operating hours or to help collect,
contact Syrup Chairman J. R. Brunner at (269) 317-7593 or visit www.athensyouthcouncil.org.
Don’t miss out
on one of the greatest and sweetest times in Michigan, but you’d better hurry, it
doesn’t last long!
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| Collecting sap in front of my grandparents home and former Farm Market in Athens in March 2016 |
