In our family lineage, the first Currey relative to start producing maple syrup was Great-great Grandpa John Mair in the early 1900’s. Until a few years ago, the stone arch he used to support his kettle was still standing in the woods he once owned. In olden days, his method consisted of collecting sap in buckets hanging from individual trees. Each pail was carried to the kettle in the woods where a fire burned in the stone arch, sending steam billowing up into the fresh, crisp air. This traditional method continued until the 1940’s, when Grandpa Mark Williamson (shown at right) expanded the operation.

With many more trees to collect sap from, Grandpa used a team of horses to pull a tank on wheels through the woods. Each individual bucket was emptied by hand into the collection tank. Later, the sap was boiled using a simple, flat pan.

In the 1960’s, buckets were replaced by tubing systems, which connected many trees together and allowed the sap to be pumped from the trees to storage tanks. The flat pan was replaced by an evaporator to make the boiling process more efficient. As a result of these improvements, production dramatically increased.

Indeed, methods have changed over the years and will most likely continue to evolve in the future. But the basic principle of making maple syrup will always remain: boiling sap until the color, flavor and density are just perfect to produce our delicious, 100% pure maple syrup.