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Peterswell Path

Tom Hutchison, Robert Henry’s grandson, recalls he and his cousin, Lee Stevens, helping their grandfather make syrup in the spring of 1946.  Tom does not remember how many trees were tapped, but assumed somewhere between 50 and 75.  In those days, the trees were tapped by hand, using a hand-auger.  To tap that many trees by hand would have been a big job. 

Around that time, indoor plumbing was installed in the house and the Outhouse was no longer needed.  It was moved to the maple wood and used as a shelter from the elements.

Robert’s grandsons, Gene and Tom, remember that outhouse well.  One summer day, when they were about 10 years old, they went into the maple woods. A big Blow Snake was living in the outhouse and when they opened the outhouse door the snake puffed its face up and hissed at them.  They ran all the way home through the corn field as fast as they could because they thought the snake was chasing them.

 

Robert Henry would have tapped trees along trails Walrath Maple Walk and Peterswell Path. 

His boiling-down cooker (arch) was located where the present day electrical transformer is located by the sap shed.  

His sapping supplies were stored in the loft above the granary of the barn during the off season.

*Trails were formally named in 2018 via a family voting system. This trail name was submitted by Dennis O'Brien.

Written by Gene O'Brien 2018.

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