May 2, 2001

The Sweet taste of syrup returns to Burketville.

By Susan Mustapich

APPLETON – The trickling sound of sap running into buckets on a warm March afternoon is the sound of a dream coming true for Christine and Earland Luce.

    The Luce’s Rock Maple Acres in Burketville features a majestic grove of tall sugar maples that according to Christine were once tapped for syruping. "We’ve talked about making syrup for a long time," she said with a smile, "and now we’re doing it."

    The (Earlands [sic]) Luces have a total of 300 taps in their maple grove. Some taps use the old-style buckets, but most are a modern version using specialized plastic tubing that collects sap from numerous trees at once. The plastic tubing runs sap into 55-gallon barrels that are emptied regularly by the Luces and friends who stop into help with the brand-new business.

    Earland uses his oxen team and wooden sled to bring the heavy sap to the maple-sugar house. Four-year-old oxen Jake and Bill, who together weigh over 3,200 pounds, make the work look fun as neighbors Nathan and Nicholas Garrett jump up on the sled for a ride. The (Earlands [sic]) Luces are also raising two more pairs of (baby oxen [sic]) STEERS, who are six and eight months old and will eventually join Jake and Bill in the work.

    The key to a good maple-syrup operation is the sugarhouse, where clear sap is boiled for hours into the sticky sweet substance that just can’t be beat for topping pancakes or homemade vanilla ice cream.

    Earland built the new sugarhouse this winter and fitted it from floor to ceiling with the best of traditional methods and modern technology. The poured concrete floor is designed to stay clean and keep dirt and dust away from sap that in years past would have been boiled over a dirt floor or outdoors. The roof of the sugarhouse is designed to allow steam to escape from small trapdoors that can be opened using ropes and pulleys.

    Earland even thought of lighting when he outfitted the new structure, choosing bulbs and fixtures designed to withstand constant exposure to steam, which did not escape notice of the state inspector who visited Rock Maple Acres last week. Rock Maple Acres passed inspection with flying colors and is ready to produce pure, all-natural maple syrup for commercial consumption.

    The (Earlands [sic]) Luces made their first batch of maple syrup this weekend from the sap collected on Friday. The process involves many hours over several days, as 25 to 30 gallons of sap boil down to a gallon of syrup.

    A 500-gallon stainless-steel milk tank is the holding container for the sap. The modern wood-fired reverse-flow evaporator maintains an even rate of evaporation and brings it to the 215-degree temperature critical to a good syrup product. From there, the syrup foes into a gas-heated finisher, for reheating and bottling.

    This sugaring season, Rock Maple Acres, located on Route 105 West in Appleton will sell pints and quarts of maple syrup. Plans for the future include maple-sugar candy, gift packages and oxen-team rides for children.