The Early Days of the Maple Mob
by Henry Lappen
March 1998
Forecast: Friday February 20, 1998, clearing, high in the forties, low in the twenties. I
call Wayne. “Weʼd better get the taps in... Okay, 3 Oʼclock.”
That afternoon a flock of grown-ups and kids migrate across the street to officially tap
open spring. Itʼs the blind leading the blind as we drill and tap, hang buckets and lids,
put together stove pipe, and clean buckets and boilers. A few of us have done this
before. In my case, about 15 years ago. But for most of us, this is a new experience.
But the sap runs! By evening, despite the fact that the weather doesnʼt clear, some
buckets have three inches of sweep maple water. By morning they are nearly full. We
collect and filter the sap, almost twenty gallons. Then Wayne fires up his new boiler and
the long slow process of making syrup begins. Chop wood, feed the fire, add sap to the
pan -- don'tʼ let it burn. Thirsty? Have a quick cup of sap. Yum.
7:30 p.m. Wayneʼs garage is warm, steamy, smoky and sweet. Nancy Bair takes a
solo shift while Wayne goes out dancing.
9:15 p.m. I stop by to check. Nancy is reading and content. The fire is roaring. All the
sap is in now. Itʼs beginning to brown and thicken. We decide it is time to stop, before it
scorches. Now, how do you stop a huge wood fire and cool a gallon or two of boiling
liquid before it turns to candy? We need to thin it, but we are out of sap. I rush off into
the dark, checking buckets. Thanks to the mild night, itʼs still dripping. Back in the
garage, we struggle to lift the pan, add sap, scatter the fire, and cool the garage.
We manage to avert the crisis. But everything is still way too hot. Nancy agrees to
extend her now 4 hour shift and keep an eye on things.
10 p.m. John Fabel stops by. The sap/syrup is still hot and thickening. He is just in
time to avoid a second meltdown. Together they pour off the dark amber liquid and
close down the shop.
In the morning Wayne finishes off the syrup and pours it into canning jars, 2 of them -- a
half gallon for all our effort. The coals from the fire are still red hot. And, the sap is still
dripping!
The helpers: Mike, Serena, Nancy, Laura, Eliot, Tommy, Julian, John P., Sarah, Zane,
Rebecca, John F., Jaye Jaye, Natasha, Ernie, Evan, Zoe, Ezra, Jasper, Henry, Wayne,
Misty, Jamie, and ... Come join us for the next sap run. As of February, 25, we have eight
quarts. Itʼs tasty!
Editor's note: this article originally appeared in the Pioneer Valley Cohousing Newsletter under the title "Maple Syrup."
by Henry Lappen
March 1998
Forecast: Friday February 20, 1998, clearing, high in the forties, low in the twenties. I
call Wayne. “Weʼd better get the taps in... Okay, 3 Oʼclock.”
That afternoon a flock of grown-ups and kids migrate across the street to officially tap
open spring. Itʼs the blind leading the blind as we drill and tap, hang buckets and lids,
put together stove pipe, and clean buckets and boilers. A few of us have done this
before. In my case, about 15 years ago. But for most of us, this is a new experience.
But the sap runs! By evening, despite the fact that the weather doesnʼt clear, some
buckets have three inches of sweep maple water. By morning they are nearly full. We
collect and filter the sap, almost twenty gallons. Then Wayne fires up his new boiler and
the long slow process of making syrup begins. Chop wood, feed the fire, add sap to the
pan -- don'tʼ let it burn. Thirsty? Have a quick cup of sap. Yum.
7:30 p.m. Wayneʼs garage is warm, steamy, smoky and sweet. Nancy Bair takes a
solo shift while Wayne goes out dancing.
9:15 p.m. I stop by to check. Nancy is reading and content. The fire is roaring. All the
sap is in now. Itʼs beginning to brown and thicken. We decide it is time to stop, before it
scorches. Now, how do you stop a huge wood fire and cool a gallon or two of boiling
liquid before it turns to candy? We need to thin it, but we are out of sap. I rush off into
the dark, checking buckets. Thanks to the mild night, itʼs still dripping. Back in the
garage, we struggle to lift the pan, add sap, scatter the fire, and cool the garage.
We manage to avert the crisis. But everything is still way too hot. Nancy agrees to
extend her now 4 hour shift and keep an eye on things.
10 p.m. John Fabel stops by. The sap/syrup is still hot and thickening. He is just in
time to avoid a second meltdown. Together they pour off the dark amber liquid and
close down the shop.
In the morning Wayne finishes off the syrup and pours it into canning jars, 2 of them -- a
half gallon for all our effort. The coals from the fire are still red hot. And, the sap is still
dripping!
The helpers: Mike, Serena, Nancy, Laura, Eliot, Tommy, Julian, John P., Sarah, Zane,
Rebecca, John F., Jaye Jaye, Natasha, Ernie, Evan, Zoe, Ezra, Jasper, Henry, Wayne,
Misty, Jamie, and ... Come join us for the next sap run. As of February, 25, we have eight
quarts. Itʼs tasty!
Editor's note: this article originally appeared in the Pioneer Valley Cohousing Newsletter under the title "Maple Syrup."