When the Weed family of Cayuga County in upstate New York began Schoolyard Sugarbush to make pure maple syrup they had already been making pancake mix for three generations. A young Danielle was puzzled at receiving a gift of 25 metal spikes from her grandparents one winter when her mom told her, “You’ll learn to use them this spring.”

And learn she did. There in the schoolyard of an old one-room schoolhouse where several aunts and uncles had received their first years of formal education, Danielle and her father began yet another science lesson in her home education.

The first people to make maple syrup were the Native Americans of the Northeast who called their syrup, "sinzibukwud," which means, "sweet buds." The Native Americans used it as a flavoring for breads, stews, teas and vegetables. They taught the making of the indigenous treat to French and English settlers. During the colonial period maple sugar became the principal sweetener in North America, widely preferred to the cheaper cane sugar.

Having made pancake mix at the family’s New Hope Mills for so many years it was only natural to combine pancakes and maple syrup. The family’s background gave them a good understanding of the quality, flavor and coloring of pure maple syrup. For the Weed family the quality of the product is paramount. Any product that is made at New Hope Mills is produced in the most eco-friendly way; absolutely free from chemical additives and artificial ingredients. Under organic standards the maple forest must be protected by buffer zones from poisonous run off and environmentally harmful fertilizers, exactly as the family would have it.

Applying their long held values to the making of maple syrup they began by crafting it from a roaster pan on a pot-bellied stove. It wasn’t long before that old pan just couldn’t keep up. A year later their endeavor grew to 100 taps as they produced 23 gallons of syrup from sap carried by hand or pulled across the snow on a toboggan. Returning from college in 1993, Dan Weed took over the process in the family’s third year of operation. Within two years there were 500 taps along the roadways and in the ravines near the sugarhouse.

If you’re in Moravia, Cayuga County in upstate New York, visitors are welcome anytime they’re boiling at the roadside sugarhouse. Guests entering the sugarhouse comment most on the amazing aroma of the syrup. Some even say a perfume should be developed. So stop in. You’ll learn the taste and aroma of Natures Sweetener. The address of the sugarhouse is 5967 Appletree Point Road in Moravia; within 300 feet of corner at 41A and Appletree Point Road.

If you can’t make it to the sugarhouse but would like to purchase some of the Weed family’s fine syrup go to:
100% Pure Organic Maple Syrup