Director Mark Ware stirs sugar for the maple sugaring class last year. (Submitted photo) |
SOMERSET -—
The Somerset Historical Center, in cooperation with the Somerset County Maple Sugar Producers Association, will offer a school for maple sugaring in the winter and spring of 2012.The school will teach virtually all aspects of maple syrup and sugar making. This class is being offered to teach awareness of Somerset County's maple sugaring heritage and to instruct participants in tapping trees, boiling sugar water into syrup, and sugar making.
The class is open to any individual, student, or adult interested in the sugaring process and would be of particular interest to potential maple princesses who are competing for the title of maple queen. Participants may take the class for fun, to increase one's knowledge of this important sugaring heritage, or to develop their own sugar bush.
Somerset County is the largest producer of maple products in Pennsylvania and has a unique sugaring heritage. Unique processes and terminology have developed within Somerset County's maple sugaring region which set it apart from many other sugaring regions.
The Maple Sugar School will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Feb. 9. Students will then have the opportunity to meet periodically throughout to early spring to learn the basics of sugar making. Students will learn how the actual tapping, gathering, and boiling processes depend upon "Mother Nature" when the actual sugaring season occurs. Students will be notified of specific times for tapping, gathering, and boiling if they are interested.
The Historical and Genealogical Society of Somerset County has an ideal location for conducting the school. A classroom, pavilion, and sugar camp building are in close proximity to the sugar bush. The Society has placed a portion of its woodlot into professional managed care through Appalachian Forest Consultants to develop it into a productive sugar bush. More than 250 maple trees have been marked and the sugar content will be tested with refractometers during the maple season to identify the most productive trees.
Cost of the first class includes all hand-out materials, pure Somerset County maple syrup for processing into sugar cakes, crumb sugar, and the taffy treat of spotza. Classes will be taught by the Somerset Historical Center education department and held at the Somerset Historical Center. To register or for more information, call the Somerset Historical Center at 814-445-6077, or email the education coordinator at c-kcordek@pa.gov.
The Somerset Historical Center is four miles north of Somerset along Route 985. From Somerset, take Route 601 north to Route 985.
Persons with disabilities who need special assistance or accommodation should call 814-445-6077 in advance to discuss their needs.
The Somerset Historical Center is one of 28 historic sites and museums on the Pennsylvania Trail of History, administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in partnership with the Historical and Genealogical Society of Somerset County.
