Burton's Tom Blair inducted into Maple HOF
Marking one of the best syrup making seasons on record, the 2014 sugaring season boiled down to two weeks and a lot of syrup.
Marking one of the best syrup making seasons on record, the 2014 sugaring season boiled down to two weeks and a lot of syrup.
That was the sweet message delivered during the annual Geauga County Maple Syrup Hall of Fame luncheon at Mary Yoder’s Amish Kitchen in Middlefield.
Every year since 1984, local maple syrup producers, hobby sugar makers and candy makers have gathered to pay homage to a new hall of fame inductee and to earn bragging rights in the judged maple syrup contest.
This year’s inductee is Tom Blair, who has been involved in the maple industry in the Burton community for more than 50 years.
Since 1980, he has been responsible for the Burton Log Cabin operations. Those producers who sell their syrup to the chamber know Blair as an honest and fair person.
“I’m honored and humbled to be standing here today, standing in the shadow of great men and women of Geauga County and the maple industry,” said Blair, who first made maple syrup at age 8 and in 1960, began gathering sap for the Burton Chamber of Commerce.
“It is fitting that we honor the maple industry for it embodies the very essence of Geauga County,” he said.
Those values include hard work, preservation of land and forests, families working together and “giving the world the very best maple products,” he said.
Blair said the maple industry has and will continue to have a profound impact on Geauga County’s economy and development.
“Through the efforts of the Chardon Maple Festival board, the Burton Chamber of Commerce, the Geauga County fair and many other organizations and individuals, the maple industry has not only promoted the sale of maple products, but tourism and awareness of our great space to live and work in, thus promoting industry to locate here,” he said.
He added, “When it gets down to it, we have something no one else has: the pride, the spirit, the value — and maple in our souls.”
Hall-of-famer Jim Patterson, de facto president of the ad hoc group of maple producers who created the hall in the early 1980s, recalled standing with Blair outside the Burton Log Cabin last week talking about his involvement in the maple industry and the log cabin.
“He was looking around at the trees and the woods, and the buckets … and he said he does it because of all those who have gone ahead of him and have done this,” Patterson said. “And I thought … that really is inspirational. He is doing it for all of those who have led the way in the maple syrup industry with the Burton Chamber of Commerce, all those who have put the effort in with the Burton Log Cabin.”
Congressman Dave Joyce presented Blair with a certificate of recognition and achievement, remarking that no one has done more for Geauga County maple syrup in the Burton area than Blair.
Likewise, state Sen. John Eklund presented Blair with a proclamation from the Ohio Senate congratulating him on his hall of fame induction and recognizing his legacy of dedication, hard work, selflessness, conscientious attitude and giving on behalf of the Burton community.
In addition to his chamber work, Blair served as mayor of Burton Village from 2008 through 2011 and currently serves on village council.
Hall-of-famer Chuck Lausin delivered the invocation and asked for God’s blessing on those involved in the maple syrup industry and those yet to come.
“Let us never take for granted the maple tree, for without the maple tree we wouldn’t be here today,” said Lausin.
History and Heritage
Chardon Mayor Phil King, who said he has attended 62 maple festivals, talked about the importance of the Geauga County Maple Festival to the City of Chardon and the need to preserve maple’s heritage and history.
He said Pilgrim Christian Church had asked Chardon to allow it to restore the old Chardon Rube Band horse-drawn wagon.
“It was all about preserving history and heritage,” King said. “There are people who are going to be putting the band back together.”
It will make an appearance in the festival parade on Sunday.
“You’ll see something every year, hopefully, that brings back memories and maintains history and the story for our young adults as time goes on,” King said.
The mayor also said the Chardon Heritage House is still alive.
“Unbelievable, when you think it’s not going to fly and it’s not going anywhere, somebody comes out and helps you,” he said, adding the city was struggling with the project.
State Sen. John Eklund called King one day and offered to up the state’s $100,000 contribution to the Heritage House to help defray the cost.
“Lo and behold, John Eklund and (state Rep.) John Patterson, and (state Sen.) Capri Cafaro all supported it. The City of Chardon and the Heritage House project are going to get $200,000 of infused cash,” King said.
He added, “I believe very strongly, with 99.9 percent certainty, you’ll see the Heritage House completed and constructed on the square in the fall of 2015.”
Jen Freeman, president of the 2014 Maple Festival, invited everyone to the 85th Geauga County Maple Festival, which runs April 25-27 on Chardon Square.
Freeman she was destined to be in the maple industry, having been born during the Maple Festival and into the Richards family.
Years later, her husband, Ken Freeman, proposed to her during the Maple Festival.
“So, the maple theme just keeps coming up in my life and I hope to pass that on,” she said. “I hope to keep perpetuating the love of maple forward.”
2014 Maple Report
Ohio State University Extension agent Les Ober thanked those involved in the Maple Syrup Hall of Fame event for keeping the tradition alive.
“It’s really a valuable part of what we do in Geauga County as maple producers,” he said.
Ober called the 2014 maple syruping season “crazy.”
“If you’d have asked me on St. Patrick’s Day if we’d have a season, I could have gone either way,” he said. “Somebody turned the spigot on, right about the 18th day of March, and we ended up having a real good season.”
For many producers, this season was almost as good as last year’s “outstanding” season, he said.
Last year, 155,000 gallons of maple syrup was produced throughout the state, a near record, Ober said.
“But this year … that one run we had on the 21st day of March that followed seven inches of snow, was probably one of the largest runs I’ve ever seen,” he said. “It was outstanding.”
That single run saved the season across the state because a lot of producers “down state” reported they didn’t think they would have anything, Ober said.
“There was a lot of hard work those last two weeks of the season … and when it was all over, I got to thinking what my dad told me. He said, ‘Son, you can make a lot of syrup in two weeks,’” Ober said. “And we made a lot of syrup in two weeks.”
