Sugar bush is a place in the woods where Sugar Maple trees grow and people go year after year to make maple sugar. Sugar Maples, acer saccarum, are also known as hard maples. They produce the sap that is boiled down into Maple Syrup and that can be further refined down to Maple Sugar. The sap is clear liquid about 98% water.
I had the opportunity to visit an ancient sugar bush site this week with my neighbor Dennis Yepma. We took 4-wheelers across lake ice about a 1/4 mile north of his home at Little Hardwood, to an area just south of the
"Meadows" where we walked ashore. This is in an area in Sec. 7, T.143N,-R.30W just west of Leech Lake. Immediately we knew we were in an maple syrup area. The majority of the trees were mature maples. It didn't take us long before we found physical evidence of old maple sugar making. We found old cans, bottles, tubs, barrows and other physical evidence. We were careful not to disturb the area.
Some of the native elders that know the area told me that the last time there was much sugar making in the area was around the WW II which would make that about 65 years ago. Each native family use to move to the
bush where they stayed for the whole season which could last two to four weeks. One elder told me as a youngster his job was to gather wood for the fires. All the wood had to be cut by hand. Other jobs were to tap the trees, collect the gallons of the sap and tend the fire and boiling pots. This was also a sort of reunion time with all the families together they had a chance to reminisce and tell stories.
Maple syrup/sugar was an important food commodity for the native families. For ages it was used as a food source and as seasoning agent for meats and fish. It was also used for trading for other goods. Maple sugar was carefully stored for use during the year. It was stored in birch bark basket that were made by hand.
I had this feeling when I was in these woods that I was in the presence of many hundreds of years of history all around me. I felt privileged for this opportunity. We did find an ancient overgrown wagon trail in the woods with ruts filled with leaves. This trail will be the source of future adventures.
I had the opportunity to visit an ancient sugar bush site this week with my neighbor Dennis Yepma. We took 4-wheelers across lake ice about a 1/4 mile north of his home at Little Hardwood, to an area just south of the
"Meadows" where we walked ashore. This is in an area in Sec. 7, T.143N,-R.30W just west of Leech Lake. Immediately we knew we were in an maple syrup area. The majority of the trees were mature maples. It didn't take us long before we found physical evidence of old maple sugar making. We found old cans, bottles, tubs, barrows and other physical evidence. We were careful not to disturb the area.Some of the native elders that know the area told me that the last time there was much sugar making in the area was around the WW II which would make that about 65 years ago. Each native family use to move to the
bush where they stayed for the whole season which could last two to four weeks. One elder told me as a youngster his job was to gather wood for the fires. All the wood had to be cut by hand. Other jobs were to tap the trees, collect the gallons of the sap and tend the fire and boiling pots. This was also a sort of reunion time with all the families together they had a chance to reminisce and tell stories.Maple syrup/sugar was an important food commodity for the native families. For ages it was used as a food source and as seasoning agent for meats and fish. It was also used for trading for other goods. Maple sugar was carefully stored for use during the year. It was stored in birch bark basket that were made by hand.
I had this feeling when I was in these woods that I was in the presence of many hundreds of years of history all around me. I felt privileged for this opportunity. We did find an ancient overgrown wagon trail in the woods with ruts filled with leaves. This trail will be the source of future adventures.
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