Maple Sugaring, 1920's-Style!

(Thanks to Arick Mittler and Naomi Wilson for sharing their photographs with me!)

This past weekend, a few of the guys (and one gal) decided we should go out and make some maple syrup. Now, "sugaring" is not something you do in a weekend. It takes some time to collect enough sap to make a decent amount of syrup. I put out taps a week ahead of time, but it wasn't really running enough and we didn't collect as much as I would have liked. However, we still had an opportunity to make a little syrup and we certainly had a great time doing it!

 Most of us brought historically appropriate foodstuffs, packaged appropriately for the period. Here I have a wicker picnic basket with my supplies. I used original blue Mason jars with zinc lids for storing dry goods.Since I was motoring in, I wasn't concerned much about weight. Historically though, the break-ability of these jars would have been a concern for motorists. Among the provisions I brought, there is whole bean coffee, onions, apples, butter, medicinal whiskey, Life Saver candies (in the 1935 wrapper, not period to the 20's, but I prefer the fruit flavors over the mint.), and some pancake mix, which was in production from several companies by that time. I also brought a bottle of lemonade and my cold provisions were kept in a refrigerator basket. Those included dry salami, cheese, milk, cream, eggs, venison steak and venison heart. Noteworthy among the provisions brought by others was Drew Ingram, who brought a case of Coca-Cola in glass bottles. I must say, it was a delightful treat with the "medicinal whiskey" on Saturday evening.

 Having the right accouterments makes a difference to the appearance of your camp. Arick Mittler's set-up included some original packaging and an L.L. Bean sleeping bag. The early 20th century is the beginning of the era of mass-marketing and commercial packaging and therefore, having some period commercial packaging in use really brings home the period. Many reproduction labels can be made by printing them off the internet and pasting them to your bottles and packaging. Put a little effort into it and make something good. Also, remember that you don't have to throw your packages away at the end of the weekend. Just use and refill when the next event rolls around!

 Here is an early 20's Maple Syrup label. While our goal was to make syrup (and we did) we wanted to make certain we'd have enough for flapjacks on Sunday morning, so a little commercial product was brought along.

And speaking of commercial products, this is the era of Prohibition! If you didn't want to trust to some clear liquid in a Ball jar that may of may not have dubious origins, your other choice was to get your local doctor to prescribe you some! However, most physicians were concerned about government monitoring, and so would often only prescribe a pint to campers as a remedy for snake-bite. (The concept is that since rattlesnake venom congeals the blood, hard spirits will thin the blood, thereby offsetting the effects of the bite.) Some lucky "patients" were able to get larger prescriptions filled by doctors who were willing to wink and nod. Labels for "legal" booze are easy to find online and can be printed and filled out with your local information.

While a little messy, this was home for myself and Brian Cushing for the weekend. This 10x10 cabin was perfect for two people, and the reproduction kerosene heater warmed it well. (Note, we moved the trunk and set the heater in the center where it had a good three feet of room in each direction at night.) We used kerosene lamps for light, as well as a early 1920's Coleman Quick-Lite gasoline lantern. The lamps light up the cabin nicely, but the Quick-Lite was far superior in the outdoors, though it only lasted an hour or so before it needed to be re-pumped. I'll have to work on that. In addition to our fuel-burning light sources, we also has a patented 1921 flashlight. It worked nicely and was bright enough to see fairly well with.

Among the equipment that proved troublesome, the phonograph was having none of it! We eventually figured out that it had to be as close to perfectly level as possible. In addition, the position of the needle, the arm, the pressure on said arm, and many other factors had a distinct effect on whether or not the record would play and how well... Eventually, we got a few records to play tolerably well and we could actually make out the words. This is an adventure that needs more exploration.

 All day on Saturday, we were boiling what little sap we'd collected. For every meal and ever pot of coffee, we were battling our pot of sap in the way. But then, that was the real purpose for our trip, wasn't it?

It took all day on Saturday, and well into the night, but we boiled down our measly two gallons of maple sap so make just enough of a smidgen of syrup for everyone to have a taste on Sunday morning.

It was delightful and hard-earned, but we accomplished our goal and made a little syrup!

Sunday morning saw us huddled around the campfire waiting for the precious delight of hot flapjacks, jowl bacon, and scrambled eggs and of course, maple syrup! Add a couple of gallons of hot coffee and everyone was very happy!

During our down time, (while we waited for sap to boil into syrup) we spent time honing our skills with firearms of the period. We burned quite a few rounds and cleaned all the rust off of the targets!

 We also spent a lot of time in conversation, discussing period topics at times, and at other times sharing historical references and documentation. I can't say that the conversation stayed on topic all the time, but the spirit of the period showed through anyway.

We also enjoyed some music of the era, from Jake Book's fiddle and banjo, my ukulele, and the phonograph!

And, of course, we spent lots of time eating great food! Saturday's lunch consisted of deer heart, crackers, cheese, and salami. That evening, we had venison steak and onions, pork ribs, and some vegetables. Brian Cushing made some nice bread that we had with nearly every meal! I should also point out that he made an excellent stew for dinner on Friday evening.

 All-in-all, it was a fantastic experiment and we all had a really great time. It encouraged some new folks to get involved and those of us who are a little more experienced were encouraged to step up our game a little more! If you'd like to learn more about the hobby, or find out when we're having our next 20th century camp, visit Early 20th Century Sportsman and Amalgamated Order of Motor Campers on Facebook!

Enjoy! Get out there and do something! Happy camping!