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The Quinte Local Hall of Fame
The Quinte Local Maple Hall of Fame was started in the summer of 1994. This display includes photos of the previous inductees, being Ken Holland who was the first President of the Quinte Local in 1966, Burton Hubble who was the first Secretary of the Quinte Local in 1966, Ross & Lois Steed of Sugarvalley Maple in Keene, George & Alice Potter of SandyFlat Sugarbush in Warkworth, also 5 time World Champion Producers, and Odie & Una Grimm, last owners of the Grimm Manufacturing Company in Montreal. This is where the Grimm name for the sap shanty came from.   More

Maple Implements

Spiles or Spiggots -Long before European settlers arrived, Canada's Native peoples were making a dark sugar from the sap of maple trees. In the spring, they made a diagonal incision in the trunk and inserted a strip of bark at the lower end of the cut to serve as a spile.

Early spouts were made of cedar wood. They were called “spiggots” or “spiles”. First they were beveled, then inserted into the tap. Maple farmers had to put on their snowshoes to collect the maple water from the buckets. Once they had accumulated enough water, they would head back to the “sugar shack” where the maple water was boiled.

 

Maple Tree Cross Cut showing spile/spiggot marks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Firkin - Maple Sap Bucket - 1820 - 1860 Early settlers learned from the Aboriginals and began making maple syrup to supplement their diets. They used spiles and wooden pails to collect the sap, which was boiled in the open in iron kettles.

 

 

 

 

Depression Sap Bucket - The Pennzoil Motor Oil tin was used as in the WWII metal was scare. There was a demand for maple syrup so the government expropriated metal from the oil companies to be used by the maple syrup producer.

During food rationing in World War II, people were encouraged to stretch their sugar rations by sweetening foods with maple syrup and maple sugar, and recipe books were printed to help housewives employ this alternate source.

 

 

 

 

Sweetheart Sap Bucket - A maple syrup producer from the Ottawa Valley had a sweetheart who when collecting sap could never remember which buckets she had emptied. So…this kind hearted soul painted hearts on all the buckets so that when a bucket was emptied it was turned around. One day you would see a maple forest full of hearts and the next it would be plain.

 

 

Grimm's Personal Sales Kit for Maple Syrup Evaporators - Gustave Henry Grimm started his business in Hudson Ohio and patented the dropped flue evaporator in 1882 which allowed for faster evaporation of sap into maple syrup. His Champion evaporator was marketed worldwide and propelled his business into becoming the leading manufacturer of maple equipment for well over 100 years. Odie & Una Grimm, were the last owners of the Grimm Manufacturing Company in Montreal. They enjoyed retirement in the Rednersville area of prince Edward County for over 30 years.

Maple syrup skimmer made by the Grimm Company between 1880 - 1950 Skimmers are an essential tool when boiling down maple sap to maple syrup.  As soon as the sap exits the tree, bacteria start to develop.  The longer that sap is held before boiling the more the bacteria is allowed to grow.  As sap is boiled down the heat kills the bacteria and we see this change as white, yellow or gray foam that floats on top of the sweet or sap.  The skimmer was designed to scoop up the foam and leave the sap behind for further boiling. 

 

Sugar Mould - Sugar moulds generally take the form of a long, solid block with a series of depressions into which raw sugar cane syrup could be poured. Once it dried, the syrup formed raw brown sugar cones, which was how sugar was once sold to consumers. The cones were easy to transport and store, and more refined sugar processing methods had not yet been developed. Maple syrup was used to create the local sugar, today known as maple sugar. Sugar moulds hand-carved out of hardwood were used to make the sugar. They were passed down from generation to generation and today form part of Quebec’s historical heritage.

 

Sugar Shaver for hard maple sugar- replaced the Sugar Devil

Hard Maple Sugar - The syrup is boiled to a temperature of 121°-124°C (250°-256°F), a few degrees higher than for soft sugar and cooled to 93°C (200°F). It is stirred until it becomes cloudy and begins to thicken. Then it is poured into molds. The resulting hard block of sugar may be broken into chunks, crushed or grated.

 

 

Sugar Nippers - Until Victorian inventors figured out a way to get sugar to the grocer's shop in ready-to-use granulated form, it was always transported in large cone-shaped sugar loaves. Households could buy a whole sugar loaf or a lump broken off and sold by weight. But then what? How did people prepare it for kitchen and dining table? Sugar nippers were an important part of the answer.

 

 

Pancake Form

 

Quilled Maple Sugar Gift Box - made by Native Canadians Porcupine quills often adorned rawhide and tanned hides, but during the 19th century, quilled birch bark boxes were a popular trade item to sell to European-Americans among Eastern and Great Lakes tribes. A gift might include maple sugar.

 

 

 

Maple Candy Machine - Making maple candy is a simple process. When the syrup is heated, it changes from a dark brown to a lighter brown. The syrup's consistency becomes firmer as it boils. The syrup cools and is poured into molds. Making maple candy requires patience and an attentive mind.