Union County - Westfield - Maple Sugar Sunday
Open 2:00 to 4:00; presentations at 2:30 and 3:30
Maple Sugar Sunday
Miller-Cory House Museum, 614 Mountain Avenue, Westfield
The production of syrup and sugar from the sap of the maple tree was known in America long before the first European colonists arrived. The Native Americans taught the settlers how to collect the sap, and sugar making became one of the most important seasonal tasks of farm life.
The museum’s presenter will talk about the technique of maple sugaring, explaining how the maple sap rises and flows, how it is collected using wooden buckets and handmade spiles, and how sugar and syrup are made from the sap. (Please note that no tree will actually be tapped.) Two presentations are scheduled, one at 2:30 and one at 3:30, each lasting about one-half hour.
The museum will be open from 2:00 to 4:00 and will also offer tours of the restored, 1740 farmhouse and authentic open-hearth cooking demonstrations. Members of the cooking committee will use early American recipes, colonial-era cooking tools and seasonal foods.
Admission is $4 ages 13 and older; $3 ages 3-12 and free age 2 and younger. No reservations are necessary. For more information, please call the office weekday mornings at 908-232-1776. The museum's email address is millercorymuseum@gmail.com, and the website is www.millercoryhouse.org.