Circle of Friends Sugar Bush Visit - 2025

Our annual sugar bush visit to Fortune Farms took place on April 5. Comprising some 45 participants, including many Matthew House residents, the group was the largest assembled since we began visiting 10 years ago.

The Circle of Friends braved the rain on the annual sugar bush visit

The Fortune family welcomed us all with their usual grace and warmth. Sherry gave an excellent impromptu presentation on the overall syrup making process, the different colour varieties produced, the need for patience (trees planted 30 years ago are being tapped for the first time this year), and the work performed year-round to keep the forest healthy. Jamie explained the extensive sap gathering system, how maples can be tapped safely and sustainably and walked people through the operations of the large-scale evaporator unit. The Fortune family have produced maple syrup at the Wolf Grove site since the early 1970s; the site itself had been an active producer for at least a century before acquisition. Fortune family members have been making maple syrup in Eastern Ontario since the 1840s.

Thanks to the generosity of our corporate sponsor, Gilas Management & Maintenance Ltd. all participants were invited to sample maple sugar taffy, a traditional Canadian treat, made before our eyes by pouring warm maple syrup over ice. Virtually everyone accepted, and many went back for more.

A highlight of the visit was meeting and watching the Kettle Boys, a volunteer group dedicated to keeping alive the old ways of converting sap to syrup. Dressed in period clothing, tending large, iron kettles over open fires the Kettle Boys could have stepped out of an earlier century. We were given a welcome opportunity to sample the smoky flavoured products of their work.

The Irish maintain that there is no such thing as bad weather; only inappropriate clothing. So it was with our visit. We did experience considerable rain but participants had prepared well and shrugged it off. The “liquid sunshine” dampened neither our spirits nor the campfire the Fortunes had thoughtfully prepared for us. After sharing food around the campfire we packed up to return to the city. A sweet ending was provided by another generous gift from Gilas, individual bottles of fresh warm maple syrup.

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