A state grant adding new technology to the age-old New England tradition of turning sap into maple syrup is what Stephen Holt calls “a win, win and win” at the sugar shack he owns in Westhampton.
He showed off his new wood-fired evaporator, the Tornado, for family, friends and customers during a test boiling Sept. 17 at his restaurant at 34 North Road. The new machine, which Holt got in April, burns wood in an air-tight container that is both safer and more efficient than his previous equipment. Holt has made maple syrup for four decades — when he started in 1976, he used little more than a bucket above a fire.
Holt received a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources to pay for the new equipment, which takes up about 30 square feet of space. It is more efficient and burns less wood while speeding up the process of converting sap to syrup.
“I used to add wood every seven minutes,” Holt says. “Now I only need to do it every 35 minutes, and it’s the same amount of wood I’m putting in each time.
“The energy savings are huge, which is why I was able to get this. Twenty-two cords of wood putting smoke up in the air is now eight cords of wood, and the smoke is much cleaner.”
The evaporator is at work in Steve’s Sugar Shack, the restaurant that serves breakfast and brunch on weekends during sugaring season, typically from late February to early April. Holt hopes that customers will notice the machine, talk about it and inspire others to buy the more environmentally friendly equipment.
Holt adds that because the Tornado is more efficient in processing large amounts of sap, he expects to double the 1,000 taps he now places on his maple trees. He looks forward to increasing production from about 250 gallons of maple syrup every season.
“All of us who make syrup have problems making enough product,” Holt says. “People come and eat and say, ‘Wow, it tastes so much better than what I’m used to.’ Then they’ll buy another three bottles of it on their way out to the door. With this machine, if I can satisfy more people with our syrup we make here, great.”
No doubt, that will be sweet success.
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The iconic fountain at the entrance to Look Park since it opened 87 years ago is getting refurbished, thanks to the efforts of the Berkshire Design Group and Keiter Builders, both of Northampton.
The fountain had been in disrepair for years, but the needed work was too expensive. “It was definitely falling apart,” says Shawn Porter, the park’s executive director since 2013. “The walls were starting to crack, and the old fountain rained water all over the brick wall of the fountain, causing further damage to the structure.
“Berkshire Design Group and Keiter understood and appreciated that we are nonprofit and independently run. So they worked hard to find areas of the project where we could cut costs.”
The new fountain will cost about $350,000 and be safer and more environmentally sound than the one it is replacing. The fountain’s pool will be just 4 inches deep, instead of several feet that posed a danger to small children. The new pool and pump system also will recycle more water.
Completion of the project is expected by December, and the new fountain will be turned on next spring. That will be a reassuring sight for visitors and passersby, even if the water’s spray is no longer quite as high.
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Kudos to the MANNA Soup Kitchen for stepping up to prepare the free, hot meals that Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish used to serve at noon Tuesdays and Thursdays on Hawley Street. It was forced to shut down its meal program in August because of code compliance concerns.
Hardly missing a beat, MANNA shifted it to St. John’s Church at 48 Elm St., where the nonprofit, volunteer program already served meals Mondays at noon. MANNA also provides meals at the Edwards Church, 297 Main St., at 6 p.m. Wednesdays and noon on Saturdays.
Since 1986, MANNA has provided “hot, nutritious meals to hungry people in the local community in a safe, and hospitable setting where guests can find warmth and fellowship and be treated with respect.”
MANNA is one example of why Northampton is a welcoming community.