{"id":6615,"date":"2021-04-09T09:52:08","date_gmt":"2021-04-09T13:52:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/?p=6615"},"modified":"2025-06-27T15:24:35","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T19:24:35","slug":"maple-farm-keeps-up-the-maple-sunday-tradition-for-generations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/2021\/04\/09\/maple-farm-keeps-up-the-maple-sunday-tradition-for-generations\/","title":{"rendered":"Maple Farm Keeps Up the Maple Sunday Tradition for Generations"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The history of maple sugaring and production in Maine goes back far before the Pilgrims had landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620. Native Americans had been making sugar from the sweet sap of maple trees for many years. Up until the 15<\/span>th<\/span> century when sugar cane was brought to the Americas, maple sugar was the primary form of sugar in the United States. Now, pure maple syrup is thought of as a delicacy. In Maine, Maine Maple Sunday is a day for sweet tooth fanatics to enjoy an organic and preservative-free option while supporting small and local businesses.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Kiera Greene pictured in front of her families sugar shack in Sebago, Maine.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Maple Sunday is held annually on the fourth Sunday of March. Kiera Greene\u2019s family lives in Sebago, Maine. Her family is quite familiar with what it takes to get ready for such an exciting annual event. \u201cWe start by tapping trees as soon as the weather cooperates,\u201d she explained. \u201cThe nights have to be below freezing and the days have to be above freezing for sap to run.\u201d Greene\u2019s family owns and operates Greene Maple Farm. The farm was founded in 1969 by Ted and Loretta Greene. \u201cI have been helping out with Maine Maple Sunday ever since I could walk,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve had the same tree that I\u2019ve tapped ever since I was two-years-old.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The process of getting the maple sap from the tree to the bottle and to a maple lover is a lengthy one. \u201cMaking maple syrup is quite long,\u201d Greene said. \u201cYou have to have enough sap to boil and once that has boiled, you put it through filters and put it in the finish pan, where it will be packaged once it is ready.\u201d Then you have to consider the number of taps. \u201cLast year, Greene Maple Farm had around 971 taps,\u201d she said. \u201cBut this year we\u2019ve surpassed 1,000.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Aside from tapping trees and bottling syrup, the family also sells specialty items on Maple Sunday. \u201cTo prepare for Maple Sunday, my mom and I make a bunch of goodies to sell,\u201d Greene said. \u201cI also help my uncle, who now runs the operation. Our top selling products are syrup– either a pint or a quart–maple candies, maple whoopie pies, maple scones and my aunt\u2019s canned goods like maple salsa.\u201d Holli Boyce, a local, attended Greene Maple Farm\u2019s sugar shack on Maple Sunday. \u201cI bought some of the maple salsa,\u201d she said. \u201cI think it\u2019s probably the best salsa I\u2019ve ever tried.\u201d Boyce was also a fan of the baby cow shown at a spot on the farm that sold dairy products. \u201cI went to buy some maple milk with my friend,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd we got out of the car and were so excited to see the baby cow! It definitely made the experience fun.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Holli Boyce waiting in line to buy Greene Maple Farm’s yummy products.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Greene finds her favorite part of her involvement with the tradition of Maple Sunday to be seeing all the people come and support maple producers. \u201cMy favorite memories of past Maple Sundays are the ones where I used to sit in the sugar house with my Paw,\u201d she said. \u201cHe would just smile and socialize with customers as he boiled.\u201d\u00a0 Looking forward, Greene hopes to keep the tradition and her Paw\u2019s legacy alive. \u201cI hope that Maple Sunday continues to be a tradition in Maine, along with Greene Maple Farm,\u201d she said. \u201cI hope that Greene Maple Farm will continue to produce and stay in the family for as long as it can.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Memorial set up in honor of Kiera’s late grandfather, whom she called Paw. Ted Greene founded Green Maple Farm in 1969.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The history of maple sugaring and production in Maine goes back far before the Pilgrims had landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620. Native Americans had been making sugar from the sweet sap of maple trees for many years. Up until the 15th century when sugar cane was brought to the Americas, maple sugar was the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":93,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7381],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archives","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/93"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6615"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8279,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6615\/revisions\/8279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}