Students embrace a classic Vt. tradition

Middlebury students are taking advantage of their location and many are getting involved in the maple syrup and sugaring industry. Max Godfrey ’13.5 and Sam Koplinka-Loehr ’13 have each discovered a love for the classic Vermont tradition.
Koplinka-Loehr and Ford Van Fossan ’13 began researching sugaring in Vermont last year.
“We had known Vermont was known for sugaring and realized how cool it would be to make it,” said Koplinka-Loehr.
The pair went to the library and read every book they could find on the history and process of making maple syrup. Aside from what they learned, many of the books had old time stories and pictures, which helped paint a picture of the impact and history of sugaring in Vermont. The best part of the books, said Koplinka-Loehr, was “the culture behind sitting around sap and having everyone come together.”
After reading countless books and articles, Koplinka-Loehr and Van Fossan began talking to locals. “We talked to people who sugar in the area, like Charlie Sargent [buyer/meat shop receiving supervisor at the College], a lot of custodial and facilities staff take off and tap in this season,” said Koplinka-Loehr.
Aside from the custodial and facilities staff, local firefighters are also involved in sugaring. The Middlebury pair contacted John Elder, owner of Maggie Brooks Sugarworks and college professor emeritus, and they went to his sugarbush and helped tap the trees, as well as clear the lines to help in the collection process. Koplinka-Loehr particularly enjoyed the community aspect of sugaring. “There are so many steps involved but it is also so fun to have a group effort around it,” he said. “It’s all making use of nature and what is provided.”
Koplinka-Loehr took Godfrey with him to Maggie Brooks Sugarworks earlier this season. Godfrey, although interested in maple syrup, had not read about the process and was hesitant, as he did not know what to expect.
“I thought it was going to be a row of trees like a farm, but it was just a forest,” he said. Godfrey and others helped the Elder family switch out the tree tapes, also known as spiles, as well as clear off the lines of rubber tubing that funnels the sap into the evaporator. “It was tougher than I thought it would be; a gnarly tree fell and we had to lift it off a hose,” he said.
He enjoyed the opportunity to leave campus and truly be a part of nature. While the snow was deep, Godfrey said it was not too cold and there was a quiet at the farm, which is often difficult to find on campus.
“I was curious. I had not been out into actual Vermont yet,” said Godfrey, and he believes sugaring may be one of the best ways to really connect to the state.
Koplinka-Loehr and Godfrey both agreed sugaring is a community practice that brings people together.
“It was cool how easy it was to bond with the people I worked with; there was a lot of teamwork involved,” said Godfrey.
Outside of the isolated experience of tapping trees in the woods, Koplinka-Loehr has discovered another way to burst his Middlebury “bubble.”
“Start talking to people,” he said. “A lot of custodial staff sugar. It is such a huge part of the culture and it feels like a lot of kids do not know about it.”
He felt his sugaring experience helped him break the divide between staff and students at the College.
“The best part is being able to take part in a local culture and the staff that work here so it is not really a bubble any longer,” he said.