Hello, My name is Matthew. I'm 23 and single, live at home yet with mom and dad. We live in south central Pennsylvania, in Somerset county, near and little town called Wellersburg.
I am a 3rd generation sugar maker. It all stared with a great uncle who tapped 600 buckets. And when my dad was little he would go and help gather. Then in 1974 my dad purchased the equipment and took over sugaring at the age of 18.
I have been invloved in sugaring since I was old enough to help. My father let me start to boil on my own at the age of 14, on our 3x12 oil fired evaporator. At that point we were tapping 4000. In 2000 I went out on my own and rented a woods to set up to tap and with the help of my father, set out 1600 taps on tubing and sold the water. Since then we lost one woods and now we haul the sap home from the woods I aquired in 2000. We are currenty running 4500, with 2300 on vac.
We only own 6 trees of our own, and we rent the rest. My father and I both work for CSX transportation in the track mantaince dept. Luckily I get laid off every winter in Dec and usually get called back at the end of March. What luck!!!
In the off season we like to fish and hunt. And go the Vermont Maplerama every summer to see old friends and make new ones.