“Shiny toys for the big boys”
Stone’s Maple Syrup,
644 Cty. Rd. 5, Picton, Ontario
613.476.6134
This year, come and see antique tractors—shiny toys for the big boys. Free wagon rides through the sugar bush to the sap shanty. Watch maple syrup being made the time-honoured way: in open pans over a wood-fired evaporator. Maple syrup, maple butter and other maple products available for purchase along with complimentary coffee.
Doug Stone
Doug Stone grew up on a dairy farm. He bought his own farm in 1979, choosing one with an established sugarbush. When he began tapping trees in 1980 he would hang 500 sap buckets then drive around on his tractor emptying each bucket into a big tank to take back to the sugar shack. He built an addition onto the
farm’s original sugar shack and in 1985 bought a new wood-fired evaporator that takes full advantage of the abundance of fallen trees as fuel. (Doug heats his home with wood, too.)
Twenty years on, Doug no longer hangs buckets. Now he drills tap holes and connects each tree to a sturdy plastic line that runs straight to the evaporator.
Doug and his family welcome about 900 visitors for the Maple in the County event. Their antique tractors are a huge attraction, but everybody enjoys the maple butter and maple sugar treats. They can also enjoy a special coffee, made with raw sap instead of water for a very distinctive taste.
Doug says maple producers are a great bunch of people, hard working, supportive and dedicated to the art. They have traveled around Canada to see how other producers work and are active in promoting County maple syrup at events like TASTE! a celebration of regional cuisine.
Trevor Stone
Stone’s Maple Products
- 1979 – started with a few taps and a flat pan
- 1980 – built sugarhouse, first evaporator was a Grimm
- 1985 – new Waterloo evaporator
- 1988 – installed tubing
- 2010 – new welded pans
Wagon Rides