"Sap's running dad". These words have echoed down through the years to herald the coming of spring, maple syrup making season and all of the activities that are part of the sugar camp experience. Even before the arrival of the white settlers in the vast North American wilderness, the native Indians had discovered maple syrup, the 'sinzibuckwud' (Algonquin word meaning 'drawn from trees'). While their methods were primitive, the basic idea of evaporation of sap to produce maple syrup is still the same today.

From birch bark buckets used by the Indians , to the boiling of sap in large iron kettles by the early pioneers, to the modern present day evaporator, producing maple syrup remains North America's sweetest gift to the world of gourmet dining: a natural product without preservatives or additives.

Presently most maple producers collect the maple sap through a plastic pipeline vacuum system. By using this system a maple syrup producer is able to collect more sap, (less spillage & waste) and is also able to keep the sap cleaner and thus produce a higher quality maple syrup. This higher quality maple syrup is required to make maple products such as butter, taffy and candy. But even with the modern methods at our disposal, the words 'saps running dad', still continue to be part of this great spring time tradition.