Gabrielle Spaulding | Features Editor | gspaulding@mail.smcvt.edu
For the last 58 years, my family has attended the St. Albans Maple Festival every April, but for different reasons than most. To most people, the annual Maple Festival is a way to connect with the community or simply just something fun to do. For the Spaulding family, Maple Fest is a time for us to bond, work as a team and share our award winning maple syrup. Maple sugaring is an involved process and a great way to spend time with family, whether you’re helping or just enjoying time together.
“It’s extra family time when everyone can get together. You’re always doing something with your kids to work towards a better future,” said my grandpa, Hubert Spaulding, co-owner of Sheldon View Beef & Maple. Every year I look forward to a few months of semi-planned family time. I haven’t seen some of the people who help us or come over when we boil in a year, so having a few months where we see them often allows everyone to catch up. The same goes with seeing people at Maple Fest who I don’t normally run into, and being able to chat for a little bit. When talking with my dad, Keith Spaulding, co-owner of Sheldon View Beef & Maple, he mentions what Maple Fest and maple sugaring means to him as a parent. “We started a tradition of entering our products into the Maple Fest contests each year. Going to see if our maple products, or anyone we know, won a ribbon in the judging contest keeps the kids and grandkids involved and excited about it.”
This year’s festival begins Friday, April 25 and runs through Sunday, April 27 in St. Albans, VT. The theme is ‘bringing families together.’ The festival includes many different activities for all ages and has different contests you can join. Don’t sugar or want to participate in the contests? The Maple Festival includes other events where you can just look around or enjoy the community like the parade, rides, and great food at the food stands.
Dave Davis is a trustee for the Maple Festival. “Starting in June, all of the trustees meet once a month to plan the Maple Festival for the following year,” Davis said. “Each trustee has a different department they’re in charge of, and I’m in the electrical department.” Since Davis is in charge of the electrical department, he has to make sure there’s enough power to each machine and all the food trailers in the park, usually about eight. Davis’ wife, Deb Davis, said working in the maple store at the festival also involves preparation. “The week before the festival starts there are about 10 people, including myself, that bottle all of the syrup that will be sold, which ends up being around 150 gallons of syrup. I’m also there days before the festival starts sorting all the products; dressings, seasonings, granola, nuts, sugar, candy, cream, and other things that will be sold.”
Growing up on a fourth generation farm, I’ve learned many valuable life lessons like work ethic, but the biggest thing for me is learning from my family and helping them achieve something they love doing. When my three sisters and I were younger, my dad paid us $.46 a night to help him with chores, which we would save up and use to buy things we wanted. Something my dad and grandparents have always instilled in us is to work for what you want.
Work to be done on the farm is never hard to find, so they took advantage of the help and turned it into a life lesson. My dad said having a farm while raising kids has meant a lot to him. “It’s a hands-on way to teach the kids how to care for animals and where their food comes from,” he said. “Most people, not just kids now, don’t realize what it takes to get their food to the grocery store. Raising kids on a farm opens up a wide range of possibilities for them and most employers will hire a farm kid just because they usually have a good work ethic.”
Now, at 20 years old, I still find myself using the same skills my dad taught me as a kid. College, especially the first year, is extremely hard to navigate and get comfortable with. I often find myself ready to give up on an assignment because I can’t figure it out, but I think of my dad and what he would do. When something doesn’t work he can’t set it off to the side, he has to think of a different plan. I use the same mentality when I’m having trouble with something I’m doing and instead of giving up, I keep going until I’m able to figure it out. Another lesson from my dad I continue to use is to work for what you want. Nothing on the farm has been easy to do, but the outcome is the most rewarding feeling, once you’re done. At home, school, and work I keep this in mind to remind myself to put full effort into what I’m doing. If I half-ass it I don’t feel as accomplished as I would if I put a lot of effort into something I can take pride in.
Farming and maple sugaring is a demanding but rewarding job, and I have been able to see this first hand through my dad. Something my family always quotes when thinking of my dad is, “If you can’t tie a knot, tie a lot.” At the surface this is just one of his silly phrases, but for me it quickly changed into him teaching me determination.
“Farming is 24/7/365, whether it’s livestock or maple, you’re always thinking of what needs to be done or how I can do something differently to be easier and more effective,” my dad said. “When you’re a farmer you’re also a builder, electrician, plumber, welder, and many other things; basically a jack of all trades, master of none.”
Jokes aside, when it comes to farming and maple sugaring you have to get inventive and be able to think on your feet. I’ve seen countless times when my dad has tried doing something in the barn one way and has to qui ckly change directions and think of another way to do it, even if it’s not the most visually pleasing. No matter how many times his plan doesn’t work out, he can’t just give up. Whether it be the decades of experience or knowing you won’t get it right on the first try, my dad has shown me and my siblings persistence will always help you achieve your goals.
As we grew up, we started participating in the contests at the festival, where we got to show off the many skills we learned from our family. One of the most popular events at the festival is the youth baking contest. Every year, we entered different maple baked goods like cookies, donuts and pies into the youth cooking contest. My younger sister, Addison Spaulding, won ‘Best Youth Cook’ in 2018. “I didn’t think I’d win,” she said laughing, “Going to check all our things to see if we won anything made it so much better; it was like a grand reveal.” Along with winning, she got the opportunity to ride in a car in the Maple Festival parade.
Even if your family isn’t from Vermont or you don’t sugar, Maple Festival is a great way to experience some parts of the maple process and stay connected with the community. Along with parades and cooking contests, Maple Festival also has art shows (including chainsaw art), photo contests, sap run, sugarhouse tours, and so much more. Bring your family, or just yourself, and come meet my family and taste our maple syrup at the festival in downtown St.
Albans. For more information you can visit vt.maplefestival.org.