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Adventures in the Berkshires and Southern Vermont

Volunteers help an iconic hiking trail keep its status Vermont general stores have everything you need (and more) Pilgrims find â€˜Divine Mercyâ€™ in Stockbridge Preserving the craft of traditional butchery Plus: Get in the mood for comfort food | Lessons of an average fly-tyer | 9 noteworthy women you should know about

MARCH/APRIL 2019

TABLE OF CONTENTS

17 20 30 50

Get in the comfort food mood

5 places with comfort food to warm you, body and soul

Preserving the craft of traditional butchery

Sutter Meats closes the gap between farm and table

Rising above the mud Volunteers help the Appalachian Trail maintain its iconic status

What’s old is new at The Brewmaster’s Tavern Familiar fare in a cozy New England atmosphere

From hunting licenses to chocolate caviar What type of tree is that? 36

Trouble tying that fly? Lessons from an average fly-tyer

From the archive How to be a backyard maple buff

Why pilgrims make the trek to the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy each year

4 From the editor 5 Contributors 39 Up Next

Vermont general stores offer items you need (and those you didn't know you needed 13

We ask the author of ‘A Beginner’s Guide to Recognizing Trees of the Northeast’

Finding ‘Divine Mercy’

Creativity still visible during mud season

54 Divine Intervention 57 Noteworthy Women

9 UpCountry women you should know about

61 UpCountryOnline.com | 3

FROM THE EDITOR

March 20 is the first day of spring. But does it not feel like winter just started? We who live in the UpCountry of the Berkshires and Southern Vermont know that a calendar is a calendar. The weather is the weather. What will be will be: Snow in April is entirely possible, if not probable. Yet at this time of year, as we slog through melting ice and mud, a calendar is helpful since it provides odds-on hope that warmer, spring-like weather is around the corner. We can start planning our gardens and thinking about our summer adventure plans, but because winter keeps a tight grip on these parts, we can still enjoy the comfort of a hot meal around a cozy fire to counteract the cold and damp. Thus, we have our theme for this issue of UpCountry, a mix of indoors and outdoors for this seasonal shoulder season. Our writers went hunting for comfort foods from the Berkshires to Brattleboro and in search of a cozy restaurant and a pint of beer in the Pioneer Valley. Others sought out new adventures like how to butcher a pig in Northampton and what you’ll find at venerable country stores in Southern Vermont. This edition of UpCountry also features the unsung volunteers who maintain the Appalachian Trail around these parts, the story of “Divine Mercy Sunday” in Stockbridge, Mass., and the tale of an average fly-tyer. With so much to read, you had best get started. Kevin Moran, Executive Editor kmoran@berkshireeagle.com

Publisher Fredric D. Rutberg

frutberg@berkshireeagle.com

Vice President Jordan Brechenser

jbrechenser@berkshireeagle.com

Executive Editor Kevin Moran

kmoran@berkshireeagle.com

Editor Jennifer L. Huberdeau

jhuberdeau@berkshireeagle.com

Proofreader Tim Jamiolkowski

tjamiolkowski@berkshireeagle.com

Art Director Kimberly Kirchner

kkirchner@berkshireeagle.com

Layout Casey Albert Rob Langsdale Dan Whitee Chief Consumer Sales/ Events Officer Warren Dews Jr.

wdews@berkshireeagle.com

Regional Advertising Managers Berkshire County, Mass.: Kate Teutsch kteutsch@berkshireeagle.com

Bennington County, Vt.: Susan Plaisance

splaisance@manchesterjournal.com

Windham County, Vt.: Josh Unruh jdunruh@reformer.com

UpCountry Magazine is a publication of New England Newspapers Inc.

On the Cover: Jim Pelletier, of the Appalachian Mountain Club, hikes to the Upper Goose Pond Cabin in Lee, Mass. Photo by Gillian Jones. Story, page 30.

ABOVE: Goose Pond in Lee, Mass. Photo by Gillian Jones

4 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | March/April 2019

CONTRIBUTORS

Felix Carroll [“Finding ‘Divine Mercy’,” page 50] is a freelance writer who makes his home with his family in the Berkshires. Benjamin Cassidy [“Rising above the mud,” page 30] is the arts and entertainment reporter for The Berkshire Eagle. A graduate of Columbia Journalism School and the University of Michigan, Benjamin now lives in Dalton, Mass. Stephanie Gravalese [“Get in the comfort food mood,” page 17] is a freelance writer and photographer, writing mostly about food and travel. Her work has been featured in various publications including the Berkshire Eagle and Rural Intelligence. Follow her food adventures on Instagram at @stephanitaeats. When not tracking down the best food spots, she can be found in Pittsfield, Mass. Telly Halkias [“From hunting licenses to chocolate caviar,” page 13] is a national award-winning, independent journalist. He lives and writes from his homes in Southern Vermont and coastal Maine.

Doug Lyons [“Trouble tying that fly?” page 45] is a lifelong New Englander who picked up a fly rod at the age of 13, much to the pleasure of the local worm population. Doug and his family split their time between greater Boston and the tranquility of the Green Mountains. Kevin O’Connor [“What type of tree is that?” page 36] is a Vermont native and Brattleboro Reformer contributor. Elodie Reed [“What’s old is new at The Brewmaster’s Tavern,” page 6] is a freelance journalist living in Williamstown. Hunter Styles [“Preserving the craft of traditional butchery,” page 20] lives in Northampton, Mass., where he has worked as the arts editor of the Valley Advocate and editor of Preview Massachusetts. His column The Beerhunter runs monthly in the Valley Advocate.

Jennifer Huberdeau [“Noteworthy Women,” page 57] is editor of UpCountry magazine. She also pens the column “The Cottager” for Berkshires Week and The Shires of Vermont. UpCountryOnline.com | 5

6 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | March/April 2019

What’s old is new at The Brewmaster’s Tavern Familiar fare served up in a cozy New England atmosphere

Colonial-era clothing stands by the entryway to the dining room at The Brewmaster’s Tavern which emphasizes its wide beer selection and old-style New England food. Photos: Elodie Reed

UpCountryOnline.com | 7

By Elodie Reed

When patrons enter The Brewmaster’s Tavern, in addition to a menu, they receive a list of “The Rules” for the Williamsburg, Mass., restaurant. Among the commandments: “If you Soak bread in the Sauce let it be no more than what you put in your Mouth,” “Drink not too leisurely nor yet too hastily,” and “Smile. A pleasant smile is pleasing to behold.” If these sound a little dated, that’s because they are. From the guest guidelines to the cozy brick walls and the wooden booths, plus the historical photographs and the old-style, New England dishes, The Brewmaster’s Tavern harkens back to its origins as the hotel that Gross Williams first opened in 1812. Since then, the building on the corner of Route 9 and Petticoat Hill Road has been active in one way or another, according to Darin Sullivan, the restaurant’s general manager. It has hosted a livery, a hotel upstairs that served food downstairs, a tavern and a series of different restaurants. Even when it burned down in 1873, the Williams House was rebuilt by the next year, just in time to house those who lost

their homes after a dam broke along the Mill River in 1874. “This is one of the only buildings that withstood the flood,” Sullivan said. “It sort of became a sanctuary for all of the people of Williamsburg.” Nowadays, The Brewmaster’s Tavern is a different kind of sanctuary, one where people come for some classic, New England comfort. The restaurant opened 12 years ago, and it has built a reputation for affordable meals, good beer and a killer roasted turkey dinner. “We cook four 35-pound turkeys every day,” Sullivan said. Even the day after Thanksgiving, he added, the turkey dinner is a customer favorite. Other popular items from the menu, advertising “today’s flavors with a touch of yesteryear,” include a chicken mac and cheese, a turkey pot pie and a shepherd’s pie. “We try and keep it seasonal,” Sullivan said. “We like to change it at least one time a year.” As for drinks, The Brewmaster’s Tavern takes advantage of the brewery next door, Brewmaster Brewing Services, which distributes all kinds of Opa Opa beer: IPAs, stouts, Oktoberfest, the popular Red

TOP: Renee Harvey takes a call at the front desk of The Brewmaster’s Tavern, a Williamsburg, Mass., restaurant specializing in old-style New England food. RIGHT: One of late artist Greta Carey’s four murals of the town of Williamsburg hangs behind the old marble bar countertop.

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Cherylin Romanowski pours Opa-Opa.

The Brewmasterâ€™s Tavern roasted turkey dinner is the most popular dish the restaurant serves.

UpCountryOnline.com | 9

The Brewmaster’s Tavern is a popular destination for Berkshire residents.

Rock Amber Ale, as well as seasonal brews like its summertime watermelon ale. Sullivan said everything served is priced “for family.” Every Tuesday and Saturday, The Brewmaster’s Tavern offers its “Colonial Plate Menu” for $5.99. On Sundays, it serves a breakfast buffet for the same price, and ditto for a burger and Opa Opa beer on Wednesdays. Perhaps because of the tavern’s prices, or because of the food familiar to their past, Sullivan said the restaurant is popular among the older generation as well as Berkshire residents. “We get a lot of people from Pittsfield, Dalton, the Berkshire area,” he said. “It’s New England comfort food — it’s the stuff you grew up with.” On a recent Friday evening, preschool teacher Mary Ann Manning and her fiance, youth football coach Brian Carlow, both of Savoy, sat at the bar and perused the menu together.

“Usually, I’m in my pajamas by 5 p.m. on a Friday night,” Manning said. But, she added, “This is my favorite place.” Carlow called the Opa Opa A-10 Warthog beer “the best beer going” and already knew he’d be ordering the roasted turkey dinner. “We come down here all the time,” he said. Sullivan said he’d like to see the business continue to grow as a place where more people come to dine, drink and find comfort. In addition to its restaurant and bar, The Brewmaster’s Tavern hosts events in its private dining rooms twice a week, and it’s also tapping into the craft beer craze by offering growlers and tasting flights. “We have a beer garden outside that can seat up to 50 people,” Sullivan said. In the summer, The Brewmaster’s Tavern brings out the grill and hosts live music every Thursday night. “I would love to attract a younger crowd,” Sullivan said. “To make it a home for them.” •

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The Brewmaster’s Tavern serves Opa-Opa beer, which is brewed right next door to the restaurant.

Wine, Food & Spirits

Celebration Please join us for a night of celebration to officially kick off the Berkshire cultural season. Your ticket includes an array of delightful bites from some of the Berkshires’ ﬁnest food artisans. You’ll taste Wine & Spirits from the Berkshires and beyond while live jazz plays in the background. You will receive a Signature

When:

6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

UpCountry Magazine Wine Glass, Wine Lanyard and Tote Bag. Each ticket gets you placed into a raffle to have the chance to win $1,000 worth of prizes. A portion of the ticket proceeds will be donated to Kids 4 Harmony.

Thursday, May 2

Where:

Hancock Shaker Village, 1843 W. Housatonic St., Pittsﬁeld

Tickets: $17.50 at http://bit.ly/upcowinefood2019

FROM HUNTING LICENSES TO CHOCOLATE SARDINES

Driving tour of 5 Southern Vermont general stores reveals history and quirkiness By Telly Halkias

They have been part of the Green Mountain landscape for almost two centuries, ready to welcome a traveler in need of provisions or a local for anything from winter wear to a lug wrench. They are known as purveyors of everything from the necessary to the useless but fun, from the grassroots to the upscale.

Welcome to the general stores of Southern Vermont, also known as “country stores,” as this state is about as far into the country as a city dweller might find themselves. Heading north on famed Vermont Scenic Route 100, the byway also known as the state’s spine, you pass through the Mount Snow area, and a bit north of that in Wards-

boro, where the unmissable red and blue stripes and the huge American flag on the roof slates reveal the Wardsboro Country Store, built and operating at the same corner since 1882. Today, along with a number of gas pumps, the simple refreshments of a cold soda or a cup of hot coffee and an array of ready-made meals that any traveler can enjoy, you also can

find two things that make this rustic country store stand out. One is a salivating specialty meats section that would rival anything you see in a big-city deli, just in a smaller package. The other, if you hit the store at the right times of the year, is that it serves as the area’s fishing/hunting licensing agent and big game weighing/documenting station.

ABOVE: The annual Fourth of July parade passes the Wardsboro Country Store. Brattleboro Reformer file photo.

UpCountryOnline.com | 13

Luxury meats in one corner, hunting licenses in another, and tagged deer in a third. And little Wardsboro makes it happen. Moving a few miles to the north to pick up Route 30, about another 35 minutes through winding mountain forests brings you just short of the Bromley Mountain ski resort, and a quick right at the sign for Peru takes you to J.J. Hapgood General Store and Eatery. Known in these parts for appearing in the 1987 Diane Keaton and Sam Shepard movie “Baby Boom,” as well as for Sir Paul McCartney’s apresski lunch visit a few years ago, in true Vermont fashion, local denizens will smile and tell you about it, but not divulge what the legendary Beatle ate or drank during his stopover in Peru. J.J. Hapgood underwent a full update and rebuild in 2013, a renovation that brought the original 1827 provisions store into the 21st century with just about every amenity known. People aren’t bringing their hunting kill here to be weighed, they are coming here to see and be seen, a fine blend of country and urban chic in an establishment that’s a cutting-edge source of basic provisions, dry goods, Vermont produce, meat and dairy, local cheese, charcuterie, gourmet wood-fired pizzas, prepared meals, penny candy, fine wine and beer. And its brand new outdoor patio provides alfresco dining with beautiful views. Think of J.J Hapgood as the country store for the next 100 years. Continuing your drive west down from the mountains and into the Vermont Valley below,

the first half-hour of that next century finds not one, but two Vermont general stores, both in the picturesque hamlet of Dorset. Passing through the outlet Mecca known as Manchester, continue the drive on Route 30 until passing the Dorset Farmer’s Market on the right. Then just look for the H.N. Williams Store, a Dorset mainstay since 1840, and pull over to go back into time and into a realm of apparel, food, grocery, lawn, garden, hardware, and, seriously, is there anything you can’t find in the corners of this store? Well, there is indeed: cash registers. Yep, you can use your credit card here, but you won’t find anyone ringing you up in the usual manner. Instead, those behind the point-of-sale terminals who can swipe your plastic all sport old-fashioned shoulder-strapped cash-andchange pouches. Only in a Vermont outpost like H.N. Williams, which sells hunting gear as well as decadent sandwiches, will the proprietors proudly boast you through diagrams of an upcoming mega store renovation and expansion, all the while counting back nickels and dimes in change, the oldschool way. If that seems too quirky, you don’t have to go far for more — not even a mile, actually — heading west on Route 30. Take a quick left at the village green to find the cozy, inviting yet bright provisions mainstay, Dorset Union Store, or, as the local vernacular would have it: DUS. The store, which looks pretty much the same from the

TOP: J.J. Hapgood General Store and Eatery’s executive chef, Vanessa Davis, and owner, Juliette Davis. Photo by Luv Lens CENTER: Pizza is a popular item on the J.J. Hapgood menu. Photo by Luv Lens. TOP: At H.N. Williams, you won’t find a traditional cash register. Sales clerks check you out with oldfashioned shoulder-strapped cash-and-change pouches. Photo provided by H.N. Williams.

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If you go... Dorset Union Store

31 Church St., Dorset, Vt. 802-867-4400 dorsetunionstore.com

H.N. Williams Store 2732 VT Route 30, Dorset, Vt. 802-867-5353 hnwilliams.com

J.J. Hapgood General Store and Eatery

Powers Market

9 Main St., North Bennington, Vt. 802-442-6821 powersmarket.com

Wardsboro Country Store

23 Main St., Wardsboro, Vt. 802-896-6411 wardsborocountrystore.com

305 Main St., Peru, Vt. 802-824-4800 jjhapgood.com

outside as it did when it opened its doors in 1816 as a village market, went through several decades in the last century as Peltier’s, but the current owners restored the original name in 2007, and history marches on. Like all the other stores on your trip, DUS is the hub of a small community, but also welcoming to visitors in town — and beautiful Dorset gets many, all four seasons. The store carries a little bit of everything, from necessities to frivolities. The latter, you ask? Try blue champagne, wind-up walking llamas and chocolate sardines. Locals know the eatery for its food — made from scratch and freshly baked. Tap a few of them on the shoulder, and you’ll find that most choose not to cook, as they just pay a visit to DUS. Apparently, a festive holiday spirit exists here, no matter what time of year, though regulars know that Fridays are the day when they can come in for the famous DUS mac and cheese. Next and final stop: backtrack to Manchester and pick up Historic Route 7A south, for yet another scenic drive, and in about 25 minutes, follow the signs to North Bennington, where you’ll learn that all such markers eventually lead you to the village green and Powers Market. Known for the distinctive four Greek columns gracing

its front porch, Powers Market was built in 1840 and claims to be the state’s “oldest operating country store,” though today your journey has shown that the term itself has a very broad definition. Still, the store strives to live up to it, touting its staff as being 100 percent Vermonters born locally. Here, you can find basic food and drink provisions for sale on-site — the majority locally sourced — and a bakery/ cafe churning out fresh-fromscratch specialties all day, including chocolate chip cookies that customers travel across state lines from New York and Massachusetts to munch on. In fact, the Powers Market bakery also does a steady business supplying other cafes and eating establishments in the Bennington area. As you head back to your car downing yet another cookie, one thing on this odyssey of Southern Vermont general stores becomes clear. Each in their own way is a magnet for its community: a local hangout, yet warm and welcoming to all visitors. And just think: you can find everything from a hunting license to chocolate sardines in a realm where a former Beatle once enjoyed a meal after a good day on the slopes. That story alone is worth taking home with you. Along with the cookies, if they make it that far. •

TOP: Abigail Martin, owner of Powers Market in North Bennington, Vt., wrote in a Facebook post: “When baking, pink spatulas and ruffles are a must.” Photo provided by Powers Market. CENTER: Powers Market claims to be the “oldest operating country store” in Vermont. Photo provided by Powers Market. BOTTOM: The Dorset Union Store carries blue champagne, wind-up llamas and chocolate sardines. Photo provided by DUS.

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Get in the Comfort Food Mood

Eggplant parmigiana from Mazzeo’s Ristorante in Pittsfield, Mass. Photos by Stephanie Gravalese

5 places with comfort food to warm you, body and soul By Stephanie Gravalese

This time of year, I think about the flavors and textures of food that nourish the body and mind. I’m talking about comfort food! What exactly makes a dish comfort food material? After reviewing many defini-

tions of the term, I landed on one by Merriam-Webster, it was concise and hit the spot, “comfort food: food prepared in a traditional style having a usually nostalgic or sentimental appeal.” What I love about comfort food is that the definition

is so broad, we can pull from our food memories to find foods that bring us comfort. Is comfort food always warm and decadent American staples like mac and cheese? For some. For others, such as myself, the salty brine of feta cheese or the messy exercise of eating

a ripe mango in the summer bring me back to childhood memories that live long after I finished my plate. The following picks are ones that do comfort food right and dishes that provide a stick-to-yourribs comfort all year round. UpCountryOnline.com | 17

FROM TOP: A classic grilled cheese sandwich from Rubi’s Cafe in Great Barrington, Mass.; Buttermilkfried chicken and waffles served by J.J. Hapgood General Store in Peru, Vt.

Mazzeo’s Ristorante

1015 South St., Pittsfield, Mass.

Rubi’s Cafe

264 Main St., Great Barrington, Mass.

413-448-2095 | mazzeosristorante.com Open: Monday-Thursday, 4 to 9 p.m.; Friday-Saturday , 4 to 10 p.m.; closed Sunday.

413-584-9613 | rubiners.com/rubis/ Open: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Mazzeo family has been serving Italian-American food to the Berkshire community for decades. At Mazzeo’s, located near the Pittsfield/Lenox town line, you can dine for date night or call in for takeout and everything in between. Specializing in Italian-American fare, the menu at Mazzeo’s offers many comfort food options. My pick is the eggplant parmigiana ($10 for an appetizer size or $20 for an entree). Slices of peeled and breaded eggplant are thinly layered between sheets of pasta with marinara and mozzarella. Topped with Parmesan cheese, each bite is perfectly balanced.

Rubi’s Cafe, located in downtown Great Barrington, is the cozy cafe arm of Rubiner’s Cheesemongers and Grocers. In addition to high-quality coffee and pastries in a relaxed atmosphere, at Rubi’s even a grilled cheese isn’t just a grilled cheese! Rubi’s grilled cheese menu offers a half-dozen options that are inspired by a cheesemonger’s palate and full of flavor. The classic grilled cheese is a comfort food win: Comtè with Maldon sea salt on white Pullman bread for $5.50. If you are looking for a surprise, opt for the Fondue grilled cheese: cheesemonger’s selection, white wine on Pullman white for $9.50.

18 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | March/April 2019

J.J. Hapgood General Store & Eatery

305 Main St., Peru, Vt.

802-824-4800 | jjhapgood.com Lunch: Wednesday-Saturday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.; brunch: Sunday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.; dinner: Thursday-Sunday, 5 to 9 p.m.

Just down the road from Bromley Mountain, J.J. Hapgood General Store & Eatery is for ski bums, locals and travelers alike. Part general store, part restaurant, it’s the perfect spot to shake off the winter doldrums and enjoy a filling meal, and stock up on provisions. Comfort food picks here are the buttermilk-fried chicken and waffles with herb butter, fresh greens and, of course, Vermont maple syrup for $14.95, or the Monte Cristo French toast with grilled ham, Vermont cheddar and Vermont maple syrup for $14.95.

Twin Flames Taqueria

97 Main St., Brattleboro, Vt.

802-258-6393 | facebook.com/pg/twinflamestaqueria Open: Monday-Thursday, noon to 9 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, noon to 10 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 8 p.m.

Twin Flames Taqueria, located in downtown Brattleboro, is the newest location on the list. Open since last June, this

fast-casual spot offers Southern California fusion. With an extensive and affordable menu featuring Mexican classics such as enchiladas de mole and barbacoa tacos, there’s sure to be something for everyone. While there are many dishes to choose from, I found the comforting bowl of Pozole — a soup of slow-cooked pork, hominy, purple cabbage in ancho chili broth — to hit the comfort food spot. If you are looking for another option, the carne asada fries with hand-cut fries, chorizo-cheddar gravy and carne asada for $12 is the perfect pick.

The Publyk House

Historic Route 7A, 782 Harwood Hill, Bennington, Vt.

802-442-7500 | thepublykhouse.com Open: Monday-Saturday, 5 to 9 p.m.; Sunday, 4 to 8 p.m.

The Publyk House, just a short drive from downtown Bennington, has been offering traditional New England food for over 40 years. A steakhouse with dishes such as French onion soup, and New York strip steak, there are many comfort food favorites on the menu. My comfort food pick here is the lobster mac and cheese, a cavatappi pasta with fresh mozzarella, Brie and cheddar cheese and lobster ($21.95). Cheesy, and decadent, it hits the spot on a cold winter day. •

FROM LEFT: A comforting bowl of Pozole at Twin Flames Taqueria in Brattleboro, Vt.; Lobster mac and cheese at The Publyk House in Bennington, Vt.

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Narrowing the gap between farm and table Preserving the craft of traditional butchery at Sutter Meats

ABOVE: Sutter Meats butcher and owner Terry Ragasa, center, works with a 210-pound pig from Sage Farm in Montague, Mass., during a pork fabrication class at the Northampton business. Class attendees Abby VanderLinden of Sunderland, left, Sam Reed of Sunderland and Nolan Southard, Andy Smith and Ben Boehm, all of Pittsfield, follow along.

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By Hunter Styles

Terry Ragasa takes a deep breath before he lifts the pig from its hook. It has been hanging in a walk-in cooler at Sutter Meats in Northampton, Mass., kept company in the dark by its sustainably raised, locally slaughtered kin. The inside of the cooler doesn’t allow Ragasa much room to maneuver an animal nearly as big as himself, but this isn’t his first rodeo. He checks and tightens his grip, then hefts the pig high enough to carry it down a short corridor, without touching hoof to floor. His six students for the day, myself included, follow him to the broad wooden table in the sunny front room of the butcher shop, where customers

browse the fridges and cases. Anyone can peer past the main counter, if they like, and watch it all play out: this job of breaking down a large animal, turning it into wrapped cuts of meat under glass. The pig in Ragasa’s arms used to live a 25-minute drive north of here, on a 90-acre plot in Montague, Mass., called Sage Farm, which produces pastured heritage breed pork. This sow, a mix of Berkshire and Tamworth breeds, foraged and grazed her way to 200 pounds over about eight months. Today, we are only fabricating one side of the pig, following the grain of the meat fiber and breaking down the carcass into specific cuts, guided by

thick versus thin and tender versus tough. This is a traditional technique called “seam butchery,” in which a butcher works by separating whole muscles and muscle groups, maintaining much of the anatomy and integrity of the animal as it comes apart. Ragasa has been leading this demonstration since 2014 when he opened Sutter Meats on King Street with his wife and business partner Susan (the word “Sutter” is a combination of the couple’s first names). This two-hour pork butchering class is held twice a month year-round on Saturday afternoons. Students at the six-person class, which costs $100 to at-

tend, each take home a small bag filled with mixed pork cuts. But the demonstration itself is a real treat: an interactive opportunity to meet your local butcher, see where your meat comes from, ask questions and collect a few culinary pointers. While the class draws many visitors unfamiliar with Sutter Meats, it points clearly to the ethos of this shop, which prides itself on small-scale quality control, and strong local relationships with family farms and restaurants in the Pioneer Valley. It is telling that the Sutter Meats webpage describing the shop begins with a quote from the farmer-poet and activist Wendell Berry. “I dislike the thought that some animal has UpCountryOnline.com | 21

“

It takes such skill to do this in a usable way. I just wanted to see the process. What does it involve when you’re trying to do it deliberately, and take good care?” — Abby VanderLinden, mammal anatomist and class participant

been made miserable to feed me,” Berry wrote in “What Are People For?” “If I am going to eat meat, I want it to be from an animal that has lived a pleasant, uncrowded life outdoors, on bountiful pasture, with good water nearby and trees for shade.” When Terry Ragasa lays this pig down, it lands with a heavy slap on the butcher block, and the class seems to instinctively pause for a moment, reflecting on the sacred and somewhat mysterious task in front of us. Then Ragasa gets to work, methodically pointing out the bones and joints, tendons and ligaments, fat deposits and muscle groups — the architecture of this feast. Using a boning knife and a hacksaw, Ragasa spends two hours leading us through a process that typically takes him 15 minutes. As he detaches each cut, from pork shoulder to ribs to loin to legs, conversation shifts from the history of livestock to international butchering styles to standards in the restaurant industry. Some of Ragasa’s notes are specific, such as grilling and cooking tips for certain cuts. Other thoughts are broad but equally helpful, like the observation that a cut of pork or beef is usually less tender the further forward on the animal it is found, and the closer it is to the ground. Students are here to observe, since working hands-on with these tools is a liability issue — something Terry and Susan Rasaga are discussing for their next insurance plan. Sutter Meats also offers private classes for anyone interested in purchasing a pig, then working side by side at this table to learn butchering firsthand.

TOP: A model pig displays the different cuts of pork. LEFT: Ragasa seams the spare ribs from the pork belly of a 210-pound pig during a pork fabrication class.

After the class, Ben Boehm tells me that his wife signed him up as a Father’s Day gift. Boehm lives in Pittsfield and has spent half his life managing restaurants, including seven years at Bistro Zinc in Lenox. Now, he’s at home, raising his kids. “But I cook at home, so this is great,” he says. “You learn a lot just being in the restaurant business, but to do something like this is instructive and informative.” Nolan Southard, also from Pittsfield, says he grew up hunting and that “as he’s talking about cuts, I’m thinking about what I would do with a deer or a moose. It’s helped me to see things differently. And it’s such a great model — he’s just performing his job, and everyone else benefits by watching.” Abby VanderLinden is a graduate student in Biology at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. She signed up immediately once the fall pork classes were announced in the Sutter Meats newsletter. VanderLinden is a mammal anatomist, and works on animal specimen prep for labs and museums. “It takes such skill to do this in a usable way,” she says. “I just wanted to see the process. What does it involve when you’re trying to do it deliberately, and take good care?” In all endeavors, from sausage to deli meats to charcuterie to bone broth and stocks, Sutter Meats hopes to narrow the gap between eater

Sutter Meats

and food source. Classes are part of that mission, and Terry Ragasa doesn’t seem surprised by the varied backgrounds of those who sign up. “We get curious foodies, but a third of the people who take the class are small farmers or homesteaders who want to get the most out of their animal,” he says. “This helps them talk to their processors, so they can make more profit from what they’re raising.” “We also get people who work in restaurants, either on the line or as a chef,” he says, “who want to change or augment their existing meat program to make it more sustainable.” “Our whole process is about transparency,” says Susan. “Terry and I take care when we’re selecting and working with the farms, and that leads into our customer service. It’s something that people can’t really get from a large grocery store. We talk with our customers and answer questions, and we always see light bulbs going off in their heads.” “This business requires knowledge on the part of our customers,” says Terry, “but it also requires patience from us. We offer some unusual cuts, and people see things in the cases they’re not familiar with. We help them understand what we’re selling. If you understand the sacrifices being made by farmers and animals that leads to the food on your plate, you become a better and more conscious eater.” •

ABOVE: Ragasa, left, teaches Abby VanderLinden, front, and Sam Reed, both of Sunderland, Mass., how to debone the ham, or rear leg. BELOW: Ragasa, left, splits a pork shoulder into the Boston butt and picnic shoulder cut. Class attendees Nolan Southard, back left, and Andy Smith, both of Pittsfield, watch closely as Ragasa works.

65 King St., Northampton, Mass.

Open 10 a.m to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday More information: 413-727-3409, suttermeats.com If you are a local farmer interested in selling meat at the store, email Terry Ragasa at butcher@suttermeats.com.

Upcoming:

Pork Fabrication Class When: Saturday, March 30, 1 to 3 p.m. Classes are limited to six people and fill quickly. Call for general store and class information, or email info@suttermeats.com.

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Sponsored Content

Jim Pelletier, of the Appalachian Mountain Club, hikes to the Upper Goose Pond Cabin in Lee, Mass. Photo by Gillian Jones.

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Rising above the mud Volunteers help the Appalachian Trail maintain its iconic status

By Benjamin Cassidy

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“Everybody’s out, right?” The last boards had just been applied to Upper Goose Pond Cabin’s windows when Cosmo Catalano, the Massachusetts Appalachian Trail Management Committee’s volunteer coordinator, took an informal roll call. On a frigid late-October day, nine other volunteers had assembled to help close the building for the season, venturing into the woods off Route 20 in Lee, Mass. They inventoried cleaning supplies, swept floors, carried canoes, secured the structure’s exterior and, once they were done, exited the cabin before it was locked. “Just wanted to make sure,” Catalano said after accounting for everyone. The Williamstown resident is meticulous and methodical, qualities that his fellow committee leaders tend to share. Working with a roster of about 200 volunteers, they guide efforts to maintain the 90-mile Berkshires portion of the Appalachian Trail so that thousands of hikers don’t encounter unnecessary obstacles and health hazards along the 2,192-mile path’s Massachusetts stretch. In 2018, Massachusetts volunteers logged 6,712 hours. While some of them perform section overseeing and, in shifts, 24-hourper-day cabin caretaking, less-time-intensive tasks such as clearing boundaries and repairing boardwalks are open to all when the 2019 season kicks off in late April or early May. "Anybody who calls us up or emails us or shows up, we'll put 'em to work," Catalano said by phone Jan. 29, four days before the 17th Appalachian Trail Volunteer Gathering in Great Barrington. The Massachusetts Appalachian Trail Management Committee is part of the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Berkshire chapter, one of 31 clubs affiliated with the Ap-

ABOVE AND RIGHT: Volunteers meet at the Upper Goose Pond Cabin in Lee, Mass., to prepare the Appalachian Trail shelter for the winter. Photos by Benjamin Cassidy.

palachian Trail Conservancy. “These groups represent the living promise of ordinary citizens toward a cause greater than self — to foster a place that offers reprieve to those who seek time in nature in our continually industrialized nation,” the Appalachian Trail Conservancy says of volunteers. For Catalano, serving that cause has become more complex recently because the amount of thru-hikers has rapidly increased. In 2011, an estimated 1,700 hikers began the northbound from Georgia to Maine. In 2018, that number was 3,862, a figure that doesn’t include increasing numbers of hikers who take southbound or “flip flop” (noncontiguous) courses,

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section hikers and day hikers. Meanwhile, trail completion rates have dropped. In 2011, 467 northbound hikers finished within 12 months, about 27 percent of those leaving from Springer Mountain. In 2018, 669 hikers accomplished this feat (as of late January 2019), a 17 percent rate. It isn’t the wear and tear on the trail that has committee members examining increased visitorship; it’s the potentially shifting expectations surrounding the hike. While safety is paramount, where is the line between maintaining and altering an iconic trail? “When people go hiking on the trail, are they looking for a backcountry, primitive-type

experience, or are they now expecting to see more people, to have more developed facilities for overnight use?” Catalano said. “Are they expecting more signage, help with navigating, and things like that? We're wrestling with that as a committee. We've made it better to the point where it's just not quite a rugged trail anymore.” In preparation for the 2018 season, groups added more tenting to multiple Berkshire campsites, which drew large crowds over the summer. "We timed that pretty well,” Catalano said. Maintainers also made the usual repairs to structures that allow hikers to safely pass over damp areas.

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“We put large stones in there for people to walk on instead of slogging through the mud, and if it's a longer stretch, sometimes we'll split trees in half lengthwise, called bog bridges, and lay those down on boards,” Catalano said. Sometimes, replacements can feel like additions. In late spring, volunteers installed a new dock at Upper Goose Pond, expediting camp operations and creating an appealing hiker hangout. "That was an early accomplishment,” Catalano said. Shuttering Upper Goose Pond Cabin was the final one. On this fall morning, the group of volunteers trekked up a wellgroomed access trail. As always, a sign-in sheet had been distributed among the bundled, backpack-toting bunch. (A signature is required for participation.) Newcomers Sara Bedford and Maggie Whitehead walked with committee chair Jim Pelletier. Even in sub-40degree weather, the Pittsfield resident was relishing the hike. “We’ve been having fun for

a good, long time,” he said of his time with AMC Berkshire. Pelletier was soon pulling labeled red planks from a shed by the cabin, handing them to volunteers to place below their corresponding windows. Along with Catalano, who has been involved with AMC since 1999, Pelletier, Upper Goose Pond maintenance coordinator Pete Rentz and shelter coordinator Don Fairbanks are trail management veterans. “We need people to commit to the trail like they do,” Great Barrington’s Joanne Sheron said. Sheron was sorting through silverware in the cabin’s kitchen. She is a long-timer herself; her grandfather and father, George Osgood, were involved with the cabin, — it hosted 2,222 overnight visitors from mid-May to mid-October 2018 — from its earliest days. “I’ve seen how thru-hiking has changed,” she said, explaining that she notices that hikers are often leaning on their phones for help instead of making weeks of prepara-

tions in advance. Bedford and Whitehead were kneeling on the floor behind Sheron, checking for food and other supplies. Outside, Rentz lined sanitizing jugs on a long table. He has been a caretaker at the cabin for more than a decade. “I’ve been the go-to guy for the nuts and bolts of Goose Pond Cabin,” he said. Rentz’s aim is to make hikers’ experiences safe and memorable during their respites. He has been successful. “Pete is such a great guy and can make some bomb blueberry pancakes!” one hiker wrote on June 1 in the cabin’s register book, a first draft of history that Fairbanks manages. When Monica Aguilar hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2018, her time at the building was a break from the elements. “This was a very nice reprieve from the rain,” she recalled before lunch. Aguilar began participating in trail maintenance work after the conclusion of her thru-hike Sept. 16. After lunch, the Had-

ley resident helped affix some of the final boards to the cabin. “I just wanted to give back to the trail because it’s pretty amazing that you can walk 2,200 miles consecutively,” Aguilar said. The committee also has tapped her to help with public communications work in the coming year. "She's active and interested and can provide the older folks, like myself, a little glimpse of the reality that's out there these days,” Catalano said. Unlike Aguilar, Catalano has never hiked the whole trail. He traverses sections outside Massachusetts for about a week every year, he said. He’s always struck by their maintenance. "A footpath that's continuous for 2,000 miles is an amazing concept, but what's more amazing, and what amazes me every time I go out there is that volunteers are the reason that it's there,” he said. “Volunteers had the original concept and got it started, and they continue to make it happen on the ground.” •

LEFT: The Upper Goose Pond Cabin register book holds notes from hikers. BELOW: Volunteers move a canoe into storage for the winter. Photos by Benjamin Cassidy.

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What type of tree is that? Vermonter Mark Mikolas keeps it simple in ‘A Beginner’s Guide to Recognizing Trees of the Northeast’ By Kevin O’Connor

Vermonter Mark Mikolas says his interest in trees sprouted early. His ability to identify them is another story. The Brattleboro writer would pick up a tree book, only to wonder as he tried to match what he saw in print with what he saw in person. How, for example, is one helped by a picture of the top of a leaf when you’re on the ground looking up at its flip side? Or illustrations of fruit, nuts and flowers when they’ve fallen off for the season? Or specifics like bud scars when you’re far away or overall shape when you’re too close? “I was never satisfied by any guide,” he said. “They left me confused.” Mikolas wished he had the instincts of farmers and foresters. “I noticed they could just glance at a tree and recognize it.” And so Mikolas researched and wrote his own book, “A Beginner’s Guide to Recognizing Trees of the Northeast,” recently released by the Vermont-founded Countryman Press, an imprint of New York publishing powerhouse W.W. Norton & Company. “Why does the world need another tree guide?” he writes in the 208-page paperback’s introduction. “Those who would like to be able to recognize more trees need an easy resource to begin learning about them.” Mikolas says the world has an estimated 3 trillion trees. “They surround us everywhere, but although we learn the names of all the animals

very early in life, nowhere in our culture do we generally assimilate the names of trees.” Although the author appreciates the U.S. Forest Service’s “Checklist of United States Trees,” he notes that it lists more than 150 oaks alone. That made him think of a quote credited to Albert Einstein: “Make things as simple as possible, but not simpler.” Mikolas began by restricting his book’s scope to the Northeast region designated by the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions — from Maine to as far south as West Virginia and as far west as Indiana and Michigan. Then he determined the dozen species of deciduous trees (those that lose their leaves in the winter) that comprise 95 percent of that category, and the eight conifers (those with cones and needles) that represent nearly 100 percent of that type. “Many guide authors like to show off their academic prowess,” he said. “There’s no point in trying to discuss every tree that grows here. I started with the ones that are the most common. If you learn those 20, you’ll be able to recognize most of the trees you will encounter in the Northeast.” For deciduous trees, Mikolas begins with the most prevalent, red maples (“there is something red about red maple year round — red twigs, red buds, red flowers, and, in the fall, red leaves,” he writes in the guide) before moving on to others like ash (“dia-

36 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | March/April 2019

Mark Mikolas, of Brattleboro, Vt., wrote “A Beginner’s Guide to Recognizing Trees of the Northeast.” Photo: Kevin O’Connor

mond-shaped furrowed bark”) beech (“leaves stay on all winter”) and black cherry (“looks as if burnt potato chips have been pasted all over it”). Conifers, for their part, range from pine (“white pine has five needles, pitch pine has three needles, red pine has two needles”) to fir and spruce (“roll the needles between your fingers — spruce is spikey, fir is friendly”). Mikolas shot 8,000 color photos before choosing 400 for his book. “ What ’s the minimum number of elements you need to observe to determine a tree?” he kept thinking. “I boiled it down to the key elements to make it easy.” Attend one of the author’s public talks and he may demonstrate with a PowerPoint presentation. Take the tree seemingly wrapped in peeling paper. “Shagbark hickory!” several people exclaimed at one program. “You only need one feature,” Mikolas nodded, “to recognize a tree.” That said, the author is a

font of facts (“you can’t judge a tree’s age by its diameter,” he offers in one aside) and curious about most everything. He recalls a conversation he had when his son was in first grade. “Dad, how does a chicken breathe when it’s still inside the egg?” the boy asked. “I don’t know,” the father replied, “but I’ll find out.” That drive has led to a writing career for such publications as the Old Farmer’s Almanac and Mother Earth News, as well as contracts to create the Appalachian Mountain Club’s “Nature Walks in Southern Vermont” and now “A Beginner’s Guide to Recognizing Trees of the Northeast.” “I wrote a proposal letter,” he says of his latest book, “and the first sentence was, ‘Every person I’ve told the title of this book has responded by saying, ‘I need that book!’” His editors agreed. “It was not a hard sell at all,” Mikolas said. “Interest has been very strong, affirming my belief that people would really like to get to know more about trees.” •

UP NEXT

CREATIVITY VISIBLE THROUGH THE MUD As winter wanes, this is no time to be stuck in the house

By Benjamin Cassidy

PHOTO: Pexels

By March, winter has long since passed the fluffy and cute stage for arts buffs in the Berkshires and Southern Vermont. At this point, you’ve revisited collections at your favorite local museums, attended your friends’ coffee shop concerts, made some headway on your bookshelf. You’re ready for things to ramp up. While mud season won’t evoke those halcyon days of summer music festivals, major art exhibits and ongoing theater productions, the arts slate in March and April isn’t as bare as the surrounding trees might suggest, especially March 9. That day, the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art hosts funk icon George Clinton, the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center opens a handful of new visual art shows, including Amy Bennett’s paintings of three-dimensional models, and HopRidge Farms and the Bennington Area Chamber of Commerce throw the third annual Southern Vermont Winter HomeBrew Festival. If you’re busy March 9, don’t despair; the exhibitions in Brattleboro will be up for three-plus months, and Mass MoCA has Punch Brothers, the High Mud Comedy Fest and “Fishing” to keep you occupied. This is no time to be stuck in the house. UpCountryOnline.com | 39

GEORGE CLINTON AND PARLIAMENT FUNKADELIC Hunter Center, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art 1040 Mass MoCA Way, North Adams, Mass.

The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art has attracted pioneers in art and music to North Adams, Mass., since it opened in 1999, but it undoubtedly still surprised some to learn that sonic trailblazer George Clinton would be navigating his way to the Berkshires for a Hunter Center show March 9. After all, the 77-year-old funk legend has suggested that he will be retiring from touring in 2019, and the tour dates sandwiching his Mass MoCA appearance — one in Robinsonville, Miss., the other in Pocola, Okla. — don’t exactly signal a Western Massachusetts concert. So, Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic aren’t stopping by out of convenience, which probably bodes well for the show’s quality. And that can mean a whole lot of quality, both sonically and visually.

Influenced by James Brown and Sly Stone, Clinton’s brand of funk has been revered by rockers and rappers over the years; “Atomic Dog” is one of his classics. Meanwhile, Clinton’s stage garb is worthy of its own museum exhibition. Before the High Mud Comedy Fest has Mass MoCA spectators busting their guts, you can bet that Clinton and company will have more than a few of them moving their hips.

• George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, Hunter Center, March 9, 8 p.m.: A funk master makes North Adams one of his final stops on tour. • High Mud Comedy Fest, Mass MoCA, March 29-30: Judah Friedlander headlines the annual laugh bonanza along with Michelle Buteau and Dulcé Sloan. • “Fishing,” Hunter Center, April 6, 8 p.m.: A work-in-progress theater, music and dance project featuring actor Jon Hamm trains its lens on desire.

Photo: Jenny Risher Photography

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“AMY BENNETT: NUCLEAR FAMILY” Brattleboro Museum & Art Center 10 Vernon St., Brattleboro, Vt. • “Amy Bennett: Nuclear Family,” March 9 to June 16: Three-dimensional models serve as inspirations for this painter’s narrative works. • “Joseph Diggs: Proud 2 be American,” March 9 to June 16: Patriotism, baseball and a Cape Cod jazz club are at the fore in this painter’s nod to his roots. • “Sandy Sokoloff: Emanation,” March 9 to June 16: 6-by-9-foot acrylics from the painter’s “Sephirot (The Quabalistic Spheres)” series explore the artist’s relationship to spirituality.

The Brattleboro Museum & Art Center is the type of museum that you can return to in every season. Founded in 1972, the noncollecting institution has made a habit of keeping its contents fresh, presenting a host of new exhibitions every few months. This mud season brings, among other exhibitions, “Amy Bennett: Nuclear Family.” The Cold Spring, N.Y., artist bases her narrative paintings off three-dimensional models. She uses foam, cardboard, paint, wood, glue and model railroad miniatures to build these structures, constructing scenes and playing with light in the process. Sometimes, she generates vast landscapes. Other times, as in “Doghouse,” she offers an aerial view of suburbia. A lake, doctor’s office and church have featured in some of her recent pieces. Probing human relationships and, naturally, awkwardness, Bennett’s works are richly detailed, the kind that require multiple viewings. Nobody said you couldn’t visit twice in one season.

Amy Bennett “Anniversary” (2018), oil on panel, 10 x 14 inches, courtesy of Miles McEnery Gallery, New York, N.Y.

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THIRD ANNUAL SOUTHERN VERMONT WINTER HOMEBREW FESTIVAL HopRidge Farms and Bennington Area Chamber of Commerce 239 Main St., Bennington, Vt. March 9, 1 p.m.: Ticketholders vote on the region’s best homebrewers and wings.

Creativity isn’t just for the page or stage. For cooped-up New Englanders, the kitchen — or the basement — can quickly become a place for experimentation and imagination during the colder months.

Now entering its third year, the Southern Vermont Winter HomeBrew Festival on March 9 in downtown Bennington celebrates the types that aren’t content with just plopping down at their local bars and accepting whatever hoppy offerings are presented to them. The event, which is hosted by HopRidge Farms and the Bennington Area Chamber of Commerce, has requested that some of the area’s best homebrewers submit their top beers, ciders, braggots, meads and wines for a chance to be named “Best Home Brewery.” Restaurants also will vie for “Best Regional Wings,” a title that Ramunto’s has claimed in each of the first two festivals. The competitions present opportunities to indulge for ticketholders, who will vote on the winners. With 100-plus drinks being advertised, it just might be time to leave the house.

Photos and logo provided by The Shires of Vermont

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Conversation Series “A master of suspense” Hank Phillippi Ryan is the on-air investigative reporter for Boston’s WHDH-TV. She’s won 34 Emmys and dozens more journalism honors. The nationally bestselling author of 11 mysteries, Ryan’s also an award-winner in her second profession — with five Agathas, three Anthonys, two Macavitys, the Daphne, and for The Other Woman, the coveted Mary Higgins Clark Award. Critics call her “a master of suspense” and “a superb and gifted storyteller,” and she is the only author to have won the Agatha in four different categories: Best First, Best Novel, Best Short Story and Best Non-Fiction. Her novels have been named Library Journal’s Best of 2014, 2015 and 2016. Hank’s current book is the acclaimed standalone psychological suspense thriller “Trust Me,” which Suspense Magazine’s reviewer calls “By far one of the best thrillers I’ve read in years.” Ryan sits down with Executive Editor Kevin Moran for a conversation about journalism and mysteries.

Presented by Brattleboro Reformer

Wednesday, March 13

Robert H. Gibson - River Garden 157 Main St., Brattleboro, VT 05301 Doors open at 5:30 pm; program begins at 6pm General Admission $5

purchase tickets at reformer.com/hank & Presented by Bennington Banner & Manchester Journal

Thursaday, March 14

Northshire Bookstore 4869 Main St., Manchester Center, VT 05255 Doors open at 6pm; program begins at 6:30pm This event is free, but registration is suggested

purchase tickets at benningtonbanner.com/ryan Presented by

Event sponsored by:

Friday, March 15

Barrington Stage Company, The Blatt Center 36 Linden St., Pittsfield, MA 01201 Doors open at 6pm; program begins at 6:30pm Tickets: $10, $8 for subscribers, $6 with valid student ID

purchase tickets at berkshireeagle.com/masterofsuspense

For more information, call 800-245-0254 or email events@berkshireeagle.com

The lessons of an average fly-tyer By Doug Lyons

The fly that was “good enough” to land a 15-inch trout during Doug Lyons’ formative years as a tier and angler. Photo by Doug Lyons

The memories of the first good trout that I caught on a fly of my own making are as fresh today as they were on that bright June day when I brought to net a beautiful wild brown trout of perhaps 15 inches. It was a seminal moment in my education as a fly angler, and I felt that I had truly entered the upper echelon of fly anglers (which, I learned quickly, was far from true). The whole scene played out in the most satisfying of ways. I could see the tail of the trout underneath an overhanging tree. Deciding that now was the time to cinch to the end of my leader, the Atherton No. 4 nymph that had emerged from the jaws of my vise only the week before, I laid out a cast

that allowed for a perfect drift into the trout’s lair. To my amazement, I saw the fish move to intercept my fly and, for once, I struck at the right time. The fight was everything one could hope for, and after a few minutes, the vermillion spotted fish came to hand. The fish was released; the memories remain. As I walked back to my car, it was then that I decided that I should use flies of my own making as frequently as possible. After all, if I could catch a fish like this on my home-tied fly, why couldn’t I do it again and again? Assuming you, the reader, are interested in picking up the tying bug (so to speak), please allow this decidedly average lasher of feathers and fur to hook to offer a few suggestions. Like any hobby, fly tying can seem bewilderingly complex, overly expensive and frustratingly inaccessible to the beginner. But there

are options aplenty. One can visit a local fly shop to take classes, go to a Trout Unlimited meeting to see the process in action, or do a quick search on the internet for numerous instructional videos (Tim Flagler being perhaps the best out there). Putting aside the basic equipment for a moment, the best advice I can give is to not be shy about asking experienced tiers questions, showing them your efforts and spending as much time at the vise as you are able. I have gained valuable lessons and tips just by showing others my own creations. And the more time you spend at the vise, the more comfortable you will become. For the beginning tier, I am a firm believer in the KIS principle (keep it simple). The modern tier has more tools and materials available than at any other time in history. While this is great, it can also be confusing and intimidating. The best way to overcome this is to start simply and build up from there. While there are a variety of synthetic materials available to the tier, I would focus on a few basic items, such as thread, hackle (rooster UpCountryOnline.com | 45

ABOVE AND RIGHT: Courtesy of MetroCreative

Before the days of YouTube, this book was a constant companion that Lyons still refers to from time to time. Photo by Doug Lyons

46 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | March/April 2019

for dry flies; hen or grouse for wet and nymphs) chenille and rabbit furs dyed in a couple of colors, and a skin of elk or deer hair. The best flies to start tying are a basic wooly bugger, a wet fly such as the partridge and orange, a hares ear nymph, a Catskill-style dry fly and an elk hair caddis. These five types of flies will introduce you to a variety of materials and techniques, and you can fill up your fly box quickly with useful counterfeits that will catch fish and bring a smile to oneâ€™s face. There are plenty of online videos showing how to tie all these flies. As for the tools of the trade, there are surprisingly few that are truly necessary.

The fly tying vise is, of course, critical to the whole operation, and I would definitely spend time at a shop getting the feel for a variety of options. Scissors are important, and if you are going to spend a little more, this is an item where quality matters. If you can, get two scissors â€” one for snipping threads and quills, and another for cutting rougher materials such as deer hair or tinsels and wire. A bobbin is also required, and here again, there are a variety of options. Get a feel for what you like and purchase a couple of these to hold your tying threads. A hackle plier is also something you will want. Mine is ver y simple and cheap. Finally, one will need

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a whip finish to tie off the fly. Some tiers do this by hand by triangulating the thread and forming a finishing knot. The whip finish does this for you. One other item that is needed is a good lamp. Any

number of reading lamps will do the trick, and this will really help with eye strain. I was able to find a very good one at a local discount store for short dollars, so there is really no need to spend a lot here. But next

Tools of the trade. Fly-tying vise surrounded by bobbins (top), hackle player and whip finish (left and right), scissors. Photo by Doug Lyons

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to the tying vice and scissors, I believe a lamp is the most important tool one can have. Finally, have no worries about the fish-catching qualities of even your most rudimentary early efforts. An ex-

pert tier that I know has looked at many a fly that resembles something the cat coughed up and looked at the person that tied the fly, smiled, and said in all sincerity that, yes indeed, that fly will catch a fish. â€˘

Finding ‘Divine Mercy’ in Stockbridge Annual pilgrimage brings thousands to National Shrine of The Divine Mercy each year By Felix Carroll As reliable as robins, each spring they come from points throughout North America. By car, by bus, by foot, by the thousands, they make their way up a high point overlooking downtown Stockbridge, Mass., to have a word or two with the Lord. You might wonder: What

in heaven’s name is this all about, anyway? And why in the world Stockbridge? Fair questions. The e vent is Divine Mercy Sunday, a veritable Catholicpalooza of music, worship and celebration. Held each year at the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy on the Sunday after Easter, this year, on April 28

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and hosted by the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception, Divine Mercy Sunday draws upward of 23,000 people seeking to give thanks to God, to ask him for favors, and to pray for this broken-down, messed-up world. For the 29th year in a row, the event will be broadcast around the world on the Eternal World Television Network

(EWTN). No kidding — people in Africa and Asia watch it. Folks in South America and Europe, too. What exactly is “Divine Mercy”? We begin with a pretty, redheaded farm girl from Poland who had a playful disposition and an extraordinary interior spiritual life that she recorded in a diary in the 1930s.

If you go …

2019 Divine Mercy Sunday Weekend Saturday, April 27 9 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.: Exposition and Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: Mercy Weekend Conference 3 p.m.: Solemn Novena of The Divine Mercy & Benediction at the Mother of Mercy Outdoor Shrine 4 p.m.: Divine Mercy Vigil Mass at the Mother of Mercy Outdoor Shrine

Divine Mercy Sunday, April 28 9 a.m.: Exposition and Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament 1 p.m.: Divine Mercy Solemn Liturgy 3 p.m.: Solemn Celebration of the “Hour of Great Mercy”: Novena and Chaplet of The Divine Mercy, Exposition and Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Blessings of Religious Articles More information: 413-298-3931, shrineofdivinemercy.org LEFT: Celebrations at Eden Hill in Stockbridge, Mass., are seen from above. Photos by Felix Carroll.

Her name was Helen Kowalska. She is known today as St. Faustina Kowalska, one of the Catholic Church’s most popular modern saints. She claimed to have conversations with Jesus on the mystery of suffering, redemption and mercy. Despite having only a couple of years of formal education, she wrote with authority and, after her death in 1938, her diary would eventually speak volumes to even the crankiest, most discerning Catholic theologians. Pope John Paul II canonized her a saint in 2000 and declared that spreading her

spiritual revelations — known as the Divine Mercy message and devotion — was the special task of his pontificate. Pope Francis considers her diary required reading. And the Marian Fathers in Stockbridge happen to be the publishers of said diary, “Divine Mercy in My Soul,” in a whole bunch of languages.

Why the Marians? Upon Faustina’s death, her spiritual director, the Blessed Father Michael Sopocko, became the de facto bearer of

her revelations. With World War II raging — and squeezed between the atheist regimes of the Nazis and Soviets, for whom the Lord’s name was to be used in vain or not at all — Sopocko made perhaps the most consequential handoffs in Catholic history, giving key materials concerning Faustina’s revelations to a Marian priest who was trying to get out of Europe. That priest, the Rev. Joseph Jarzebowski, vowed that if he made it to America, he would promote Divine Mercy for the rest of his life. After a harrowing journey

across Asia, he eventually landed on American shores in May 1941. With the Divine Mercy materials in hand (though not the diary itself; that would come later), he joined his fellow Marian clergymen in Washington. They supported his efforts to spread Faustina’s mystical messages. By 1944, the Marians’ congregation was growing, and so was its nascent printing ministry. That year, a Marian priest from Adams, Mass., the Rev. Walter Pelczynski, was visiting the Berkshires and scouting for new digs for the Marians UpCountryOnline.com | 51

“

Divine Mercy is a call, an invitation, to turn from sin, ask for God’s mercy and in turn to be merciful to our neighbors.” — The Rev. Seraphim Michalenko

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when he came upon an old Stockbridge estate named, providentially, Eden Hill. The Marians bought it. Eden Hill has since become the world epicenter for the spread of Divine Mercy, and Divine Mercy is widely considered the greatest grassroots movement in the history of the Catholic Church. Just put your ear against the wall of the old carriage barn at Eden Hill and you’ll hear the manic ka-plunking of printing presses pumping out pamphlets, prayer cards, magazines, book-

lets and appeals — some 50 million pieces of literature a year. Eden Hill even has its own ZIP code: 01263. So, what is meant by “Divine Mercy”? In short, Faustina’s revelations are considered a reassertion of the Gospel message — that God is loving, not vengeful, that he seeks to save, not condemn. Through St. Faustina, God “wants us in the modern world to recognize that his mercy is greater than our sins,” says the Rev. Seraphim Michalenko, a Marian priest also from Adams. “Di-

vine Mercy is a call, an invitation, to turn from sin, ask for God’s mercy and in turn to be merciful to our neighbors.” Incidentally, Michalenko was the man responsible for ducking behind the Iron Curtain into Poland in the 1970s, clandestinely photographing each page of St. Faustina’s diary and smuggling out the film. As for Divine Mercy Sunday itself, it’s now a feast day of the entire Catholic Church centered on the theme of forgiveness and the merciful love of God. The reason so many

people choose to celebrate the day in Stockbridge is that Eden Hill is home to the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy, built by the Marians in the 1950s, and the spiritual home in North America of St. Faustina’s revelations. As for all these people who come each year, mostly they’re a joyful lot. Why else would so many of them choose to cram themselves into stuffy tour buses for several hours to worship outdoors in the seasonally schizophrenic weather of April in the Berkshires?

People like Gene Trause, of North Arlington, N.J., who drives eight hours round trip each year with his wife and two daughters. “This is our check-out-ofthe-world, check-into-heaven zone,” he says. He’ll be here April 28 — God willing. •

PREVIOUS PAGE: A procession of celebrants on Divine Mercy Sunday at Eden Hill, 2018. From right: Deacon Gabriel Cillo, followed by the Most Rev. Joseph Kurtz, archbishop of Louisville, Ky., the Rev. Kaz Chwalek, and members of the Knights of Columbus. ABOVE: Thousands of onlookers gather to watch the procession.

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‘Divine Intervention’ in Adams Image of ‘The Divine Mercy’ said to play role in reopening of St. Stanislaus Kostka Church By Jennifer Huberdeau

There is at least one man who believes that the reopening of St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in Adams, Mass., was an act of “divine intervention.” On Feb. 15, 2011, the Rev. Seraphim Michalenko, a world-renowned teacher of the message of the Divine Mercy and a leading expert on the messages divulged to St. Faustina Kowalska, expressed this belief from the pulpit of his home parish. Then 80, Michalenko had just recently retired as head of the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Stockbridge. The church, he said, would not close as long as the sacred image of “The Divine Mercy” remained hanging within its walls. “Today is the feast day of the Blessed Father Michael Sopocko, confessor of Saint Sister Faustina and the man who commissioned the original image of The Divine Mercy. The Lord wants his divine mercy to be known,” said Michalenko, the image hanging behind him as he spoke. “There is significance to the image of The Divine Mercy here, in this church. This image was the first image of The Divine Mercy to be publicly exhibited and enshrined in the entire Western Hemisphere.” The day was one for celebration. An around-the-clock vigil had been kept by parishioners for 782 days. At long last, a four-page decree had arrived from the Vatican in Rome and it called for the reopening of the church. “I believe the Lord wants people to know of his divine mercy through this intervention,” Michalenko said. The Polish-American church, founded in 1902, was

one of two in the town closed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield on Jan. 1, 2009, as part of a plan to consolidate parishes in areas of dwindling population and economic hardship. Parishioners had taken up residence in the church after its last Mass on Dec. 25, 2008, and appealed the decision to close their church. The diocese claimed that it was necessary to merge the town’s three parishes and close two of the three building for financial reasons. St. Stan’s parishioners appealed on the grounds that their parish was the most financially solvent of the three. The diocese would appeal the Vatican decree, and the vigil would carry on for another year, officially ending after 1,500 days, on Feb. 18, 2012. On that day, the diocese announced that it would reopen St. Stanislaus as a mission church of what is now known as St. John Paul II Parish.

‘The Divine Mercy’ painting The image Michalenko referred to, a painting of Jesus Christ with red and white light spreading from his chest, first came to the church in the mid-1940s. According to reports, it was to remain at the church until it could be transferred to its permanent home with the Marians of the Immaculate Conception, who were building their home at Eden Hill in Stockbridge, home of the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy. The painting was never moved. Michalenko, then an altar boy at St. Stan’s, was charged with caring for the painting and was tapped to help clean

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ABOVE: In this 2014 file photo, flowers adorn the altar of St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in Adams for the Divine Mercy Novena of Chaplets, a series of public prayers held at the same time for the nine days leading up to Mercy Sunday. Photo by Stephanie Zollshan. RIGHT: The Rev. Seraphim Michalenko speaks at St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in Adams, Mass., on Feb. 15, 2011.

the residence in Stockbridge. He would later join the Marian order. In 1979, he was appointed vice postulator in North America for Sister Faustina’s canonization. St. Faustina, a Polish nun, had visions of Jesus Christ from 1931 until her death in 1938. She said he asked her to have the image of The Divine Mercy painted, and promised to grant special protection and mercy to any city that venerates the image, any home that displays it and any person who prays before it.

The image arrived in the United States in 1941, with the Rev. Joseph Jarzebowski, a Marian priest, and the order began disseminating pamphlets about the Divine Mercy across the country. A copy of her diary would not reach the United States until photos of it were smuggled out of Poland in 1979 by Michalenko, who would later witness the miracles that led up to her sainthood. Kowalska was canonized on April 30, 2000, by Pope John Paul II. •

9 Noteworthy Women from the Berkshires and Southern Vermont

Elizabeth Freeman (Mum Bett)

Freedom fighter

In 1781, a Great Barrington, Mass., jury ruled in favor of a slave who sued for her freedom from her master, Col. John Ashley, of Sheffield. Born into slavery, Mum Bett, who would later take the name Elizabeth Freeman, ran away from her master of 30 years after being burnt by a hot fire iron. Believing the newly ratified Massachusetts Constitution guaranteed her freedom, Mum Bett enlisted the aid of a young lawyer, Theodore Sedgwick. After winning her case, Freeman stayed on at the Sedgwick household. She served as the family housekeeper until the time of her death and is buried in the family plot in Stockbridge.

UpCountry is full of women who have made history. In honor of Women’s History Month, we’ve highlighted nine noteworthy women who have, at one time or another, called our area home.

Susan B. Anthony

Stephanie Wilson

One of the most recognized leaders of the women’s suffrage movement was born in a rural, Federal-style home in Adams, Mass., and lived there until she was 6. Today, you can visit her family’s homestead, now the Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum. But long before Susan B. was leading the charge for a woman’s right to vote, this Quaker activist was at the forefront of many other movements. Among her causes were abolition, education reform, labor reform and temperance.

This Pittsfield, Mass., native was the second African-American woman to travel into space as a NASA astronaut. She completed her first mission in 2006 as part of the STS-120 mission. She has completed three space flight missions. A 1984 graduate of Taconic High School, Wilson earned a bachelor’s in engineering science in 1988 from Harvard University. She earned her master’s in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas in 1992. In 1996, she joined NASA as an astronaut candidate and has remained with the space program ever since.

Suffragist /activist

Photo: Library of Congress

Astronaut

Photo: Berkshire Eagle File photo

Painting by Susan Anne Ridley Sedgwick [Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons

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Addie Card

The face of child labor

In August 1910, photographer Lewis Hine visited the North Pownal Manufacturing Company as part of his mission to document child laborers for the National Child Labor Committee. He photographed many children working in the mill that day, including a 12-year-old girl named Addie Card. The photograph, “Anemic Little Spinner in North Pownal Cotton Mill,” would become one of the most iconic photographs associated with child labor in America. In 1998, Card’s image graced a U.S. Postal stamp. It was also featured in a Reebok commercial. The image inspired author Elizabeth Winthrop to write the novel, “Counting on Grace,” in 2006. Prior to the book being published, the author, along with historian Joe Manning, using historical records, tracked down the descendants of Addie Card LaVigne. From them, they learned “the anemic little spinner” had died in Cohoes, N.Y., in July 1993 at the age of 94.

Photo: Library of Congress

Myra Colby Bradwell

First female lawyer born in Vermont

Born in Manchester, Vt., in 1831, Myra Colby Bradwell would become the first woman born in Vermont to become a lawyer. Her fight to be accepted by the Illinois Bar went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Bardwell founded the Chicago Legal News in 1868. She helped to craft the legislation that allowed her, a woman, to legally serve as both its publisher and editor. In 1869, she was deemed qualified to be accepted by the Illinois Bar, but the Illinois Supreme Court denied her application to practice law based on the fact that married women could not enter into legal contracts. It denied her application again in 1870 and her case eventually moved to the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court upheld the ruling in 1873 based on her gender. In 1890, the Illinois Supreme Court reversed its decision and granted Bardwell her law license. In 1892, Bardwell was granted permission to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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Shirley Jackson

Author

Author Shirley Jackson first achieved literary fame after her short story, “The Lottery,” was published in The New Yorker on June 26, 1948. She would publish six novels, two memoirs and 200 short stories prior to her death in 1965. Although she was born in California and raised in New York, Jackson did not begin writing until 1940 when she and her husband, Stanley Hyman, settled in North Bennington, Vt. Hyman, a literary critic, had accepted a position at Bennington College. There, Jackson raised the couple’s four children and wrote horror and mystery novels and stories, including “The Haunting of Hill House.”

Photo: The Associated Press

Lucy Terry Prince

Poet/orator

Lucy Terry was taken from Africa and sold into slavery as an infant. In 1746, she composed the poem “Bars Fight” after witnessing an attack on two white families by a group of French soldiers and American Indians, in Deerfield, Mass. The poem was preserved orally until 1855, when it was printed in Josiah Gilbert Holland’s “History of Western Massachusetts.” She is the second African-American poet to be published, following Phillis Wheatley, and credited as the first African-American poet. In 1756, Abijah Prince bought Lucy Terry’s freedom and the couple was married. The couple moved to Guilford, Vt., where they raised six children. She successfully defended the couple’s land rights in court on three separate occasions, including in front of the Vermont Supreme Court. Samuel Chase, the presiding justice of the Court, said that her argument was better than he had heard from any Vermont lawyer.

Sarah Alden Derby Gannett

Mollie H. Beattie Activist

A granddaughter of President Theodore Roosevelt, Sarah Alden Derby Gannett moved to Brattleboro, Vt., in 1946 after marrying Robert Gannett, a lawyer and later a state senator. She hiked the entire length of the Long Trail, a total of 273 miles between 1970 and 1976 while leading the Green Mountain Club’s efforts to acquire land titles or permanent easements along the trail. She helped found the Brattleboro Music Center. She was an ardent supporter of the Winston Prouty Center for Child and Family Development, the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center, Planned Parenthood and the Vermont Folklife Center.

Photo: The Associated Press

First female director of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Mollie H. Beattie, of Grafton, Vt., became the first female director of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in 1993. She remained in the position until her death in 1996. Prior to taking the position, she served as the Vermont Commissioner of Parks, Forests and Recreation and deputy secretary of Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources. During her tenure, Beattie oversaw 7,000 employees and a budget of $501 million; added 15 national wildlife refuges and established 140 habitat conservation plans. She also supported having gray wolves in Yellowstone National Park. The Mollie Beattie Coastal Habitat Community on Mustang Island and the Mollie Beattie Wilderness Area, 8 million acres in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge were named posthumously in her honor.

Photo: The Associated Press

Original artwork by Louise Minks; used with permission.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES ACRES AT LARGE

How to be a backyard maple buff Editor’s note: In the UpCountry, we get the chance to celebrate the maple sugaring season over two weekends. This year, in the Berkshires, maple producers will open their sugarhouses on Maple Weekend, March 16 and 17. The following weekend, our Southern Vermont maple producers will follow suit during Vermont Maple Open House Weekend on March 23 and 24. More information on these events can be found at massmaple.org and vermontmaple.org. For our list of must-visit sugarhouses, visit upcountrymagazine.com The following column, “Acres at Large,” first appeared in the March 1975 edition of UpCountry with the title “Maple Sugaring.” The column has been edited for length.

mont. The other is Jim’s place. When Jim says he isn’t going to sugar again, he also notes that the only reason he sugared last time was that “sugaring is in my blood.” Passers-by have noted the shed full of firewood, waiting to heat the evaporator, in the maples stretching 2,000 buckets up the hill and along the kill. But it’s the “sugaring in the blood” that tells when the sap starts flowing. We suspected that the maple content of Jim’s blood qualifies him to be an expert on the sugar shortage.

Being a true Vermonter, he’s apt to do more than complain about it. What’s more, we figure he must have read about New York state beating out Vermont on maple production by a whisker last year, and he may decide he is that whisker. No true Vermont sugarmaker will admit that New York ever made a decent gallon of maple syrup. Should they succeed sometime, there’s still no way that they could ever make a gallon of good Vermont maple

syrup. Some New Yorkers have been known to buy Vermont labels and slip their inferior syrup into trade channels. For some unknown reason, Vermonters are a bit more tolerant of Massachusetts and New Hampshire producers, probably because they’re such a minority. We shouldn’t, but will mention the fact that Quebec makes more syrup than all of us put together and is beginning to make a little good syrup. People who produce maple syrup are a breed apart. There

By John C. Page

Smart money says that Jim Edgerton, who lives beside the Battenkill in West Arlington, Vt., doesn’t really mean it when he says he has sugared for the last time. Jim lives in the big white house that hits you in the eye when you go through the covered bridge over the kill from Route 313. In case two big white houses hit you in the eye, and they will, the one on the right is where Norman Rockwell lived when he was in Ver-

RIGHT: Sap drips from a maple tree at Lilac Ridge Farm in West Brattleboro, Vt. Brattleboro Reformer file photo.

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A tapped tree at the Ball Brook Sugarhouse in Pownal, Vt. Photo by Holly Pelczynski

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are a few jobs on earth that are more demanding than gathering sap in deep snow, and if the snow goes, then it is replaced with mud. Though you might not think so by watching, the person doing the boiling has about all he or she can do to keep up with the job. You handle a lot of the bulk in the form of sap and wood. The product that comes out of the spigot doesn’t take up much space and it’s pretty valuable. The economics of sugaring could be best stated by the old Vermont belief: “You make money sugaring and you earn every cent you get.” The fact that only one out of 10 of Vermont’s maples is tapped each spring is some indication of how hard the job is and how few people want to make an investment in the needed equipment. Going into the business on a commercial scale means you have got to stick with it year after year in order to get your investment back and have something to jingle. People who are going into it commercially, and we generally consider 300 taps and up in this category, would do well to spend a year or two working with an established operator and learning the ropes before plunging in on their own. Folks who have just a few trees can get rigged up fairly easily. Here you should start with a couple of dozen taps and then expand if your ambition and enthusiasm get whetted sufficiently by the end product. Where the object of large-scale operation is to make a good product that will result in a decent return for your efforts, backyard sugaring should be made a fun thing, a family project, that gives you a little golden syrup at the end of a rainbow of effort. Kids take to sugaring in the backyard like a duck to water. There is something about it that sustains enthusiasm. If you don’t think so, wait till your neighbors’ kids appear to help. They’ll come again and again. Their reward obviously isn’t getting the syrup them-

ABOVE: Crews at Deer Ridge Farm in Guilford, Vt., collect sap to make maple syrup. Brattleboro Reformer file photo

selves, but to take part in the goings-on. Here is how you go about being a backyard maple buff: The trees to tap should be hard maple, sometimes called sugar maple or rock maple. The other maples will produce sap, but their sugar content is lower and it will take more boiling to get syrup. You can tap any healthy tree, even your ornamentals. Tapping in a sensible way does not hurt a healthy tree. Many have been tapped annually for 100 years. If a tree is under 10 inches in diameter belt high, don’t tap it. For trees 10 to 14 inches,

make one tap. For trees 15 to 19 inches, two taps, and for the larger ones three taps. Sap will run after freezing weather when the temperature gets up to 40 degrees or so. It will run, with alternate freezing and thawing, depending on where you live. For a few trees, you can tap with a regular 7/16inch wood-bit, though special tapping bits are available. Drill a 3-inch hole in good live wood. You slant the bit slightly upward as you drill so that the sap will run down out of the hole. Get the shavings out of the hole before driving in the spout. You then drive the iron

or galvanized spout with a couple good taps of a hammer. If you drive it in too far, you’ll split the bark and wood around the hole. The spout should be in just tight enough to support the bucket full of sap. For buckets, you can use galvanized sap buckets, plastic bags or any clean container. If containers are too small, you’ll have to gather often, as they fill up quickly in the good run. The buckets should be covered to keep out rain. An average tap will give you 15 to 25 gallons of sap, depending on how good a maple year it is. It takes about 40 gallons of UpCountryOnline.com | 63

ABOVE: Vermont maple syrup is displayed at Harlow’s Sugar House in Putney, Vt. Brattleboro Reformer file photo

sap to make a gallon of syrup, so the expected yield per tap is 3 to 4 pints. Sap must be gathered and boiled down as soon as possible. Allowing it to get warm prior to boiling results in dark, poor-quality syrup. The object of boiling, or evaporating, is to get rid of the sap’s water, leaving the syrup. There are several methods of going about this on a small scale. You can boil it down on the kitchen stove, but this will in time, cause discoloration or worse of your ceiling and walls. You can make an outdoor arch of bricks, blocks or stone and place a pan over the arch and use a wood fire under the pan. The larger the flat bottom of the pan, the faster you will be able to drive off the water. Some folks use a hot plate or a gas-burning stove on the back porch. Of course, we have the ancient method of hanging an iron kettle on a tripod and building a fire under it. In this case, a stone

wall to confine the fire and direct heat up or against the kettle is desirable, leaving a space in the wall to chuck in the wood. If you want to get a little bigger and have 100 or so taps, you can utilize small evaporators, 2 x 6 or 2 x 8 feet in size, made commercially. In these cases, you generally have to build a small sugarhouse for the evaporator and some wood storage. When you have driven off the water and as the syrup point is near, foaming occurs. It can be stopped by hanging a piece of bacon or salt pork from a string over your pan. When the foam touches the pork, the surface tension of the bubbles is broken and it will settle down. A candy thermometer will tell you when you have syrup. Continue boiling until the temperature reaches 7 degrees above the boiling point of the water. If the candy thermometer shows water boiling at 210

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degrees at your location on that day, then the syrup point is reached at 217 degrees. Keep a little extra sap on hand to dump in just in case you get syrup quicker than you expected. Backyard sugarmakers may find it helpful to boil the sap down to where it starts getting thick and then finish it up on the kitchen stove, where it can be removed easily when the syrup point is reached. You can get severely burned with sticky maple syrup, so you must handle it with extreme care and the kids must be made aware of this danger, too. Maple syrup has a natural grittiness which can be filtered out. Strain it through several layers of cloth or let it settle out and pour off the top. Commercial filters are used by large producers. Syrup can be stored in canning jars or any jar that can be closed tightly. If the syrup is too thin, it can sour on you. If it is too thick, sugar crystals

will form in the jar. You can restore sour syrup simply by bringing it to a boil and skimming the surface. Refrigerating also slows the spoiling process. The process of boiling requires fairly constant attention. You will end up with precious little syrup in the bottom of your pan at the end. If the pan isn’t level, you’ll have an inch of syrup on one side and none on the other — you’ll burn up the rig and spoil both the pan and the syrup. More than one commercial-sized evaporator has been ruined when the frost heaves unleveled the evaporator, and the same can happen in the backyard. I won’t guarantee any rising backyard sugarmaker that he’ll be able to get the “sugar in the blood” level as high as Jim Edgerton, but I will guarantee you that you’ll think your own syrup is the best you ever tasted. Jim knows his is. •