It's a sweet, sappy life for George Patton

By Rebecca Rempel

FRANKFORD, On. (17/03/11) - George Patton, a retired school principal, explains the process of boiling down sap to make maple syrup. Patton describes the sugar bush as a hobby that just got carried away. He has been running the Maple Creek Sugar Bush for the past 29 years. Photo by Rebecca Rempel.

George Patton’s answering machine just about sums it up: “The sap will be running through the trees and so will I.”

Patton,72, is a retired school principal and has been running the Maple Creek Sugar Bush for the last 29 years. Before that, he ran and owned a smaller sugar bush north of Foxboro.

“It started small and then it gets carried away,” said Patton.

The Maple Creek Sugar Bush consists of two separate properties in the Frankford area, with about 475 trees tapped per property. More trees could be tapped on both properties. In one bush there’s up to 1,500 trees.

“I’m doing too much now and I’m retired. One day, I’ll retire from here, and my son can take over and do the rest of it if he wants,” said Patton.

A good year sees the sugar bush making around 500 litres of maple syrup. This year’s tally is at 312, Patton said. It’ll be close to 400 litres by the end of this season.

“It’s kind of a uniquely Canadian thing,” said Patton on what he likes about running a sugar bush. “It’s nice to get everybody involved in it.”

While Patton does the main work of boiling down the sap and putting it into jugs, many other people are involved. Patton’s wife, Sheila, and their son help out daily at the sugar bush.

Students are hired to collect the sap from the buckets hanging on the trees, bringing pails to the shed where Patton boils it and puts it into jugs to be sold. An eclectic group volunteers stop in to help out with the process. From a retired RCMP officer to families and neighbours, Patton enjoys talking to them all.

“If they don’t want payment, well, we give them syrup. Most people prefer the syrup in payment,” said Patton.

The maple syrup season typically runs from the first week of March until the end of March. “The season will run until it doesn’t freeze at night,” said Patton. “When it’s continuously warm, the sap will virtually stop. You have to have a frost at night. A good stiff frost.”

The maple syrup season may not be long, but many hours go into the process. “I was here at about 7:15 a.m. This morning and will be until about 11 o’clock tonight,” Patton said.

“I like getting into it, and halfway through I ask myself ‘Why in the world am I doing this when I’m retired?’ ”

The workload depends on the weather. Some days the sap may not be running at all, and other  times it runs everyday. “When you’re busy, you’re very busy. And when you’re not, everything’s quiet. It’s just the way it goes,” said Patton.

The Maple Creek Sugar Bush is government approved and inspected. The machinery is inspected for lead as well as syrup and fertilizer samples are sent to the University of Guelph for testing.

In addition to making maple syrup, Patton also works with people at the high ropes course and team building challenges at Wesley Acres, sells firewood, grows four different kinds of raspberries and likes to travel with his wife.