Keystone College Sugar Shack hosting open house Sunday
FACTORYVILLE, WYOMING COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)— It’s three weeks into maple sugaring season and students at one local college are hard at work producing delicious syrup.
28/22 News Reporter Sydney Kostus checked out Keystone College’s sugar shack ahead of its open house this weekend.
Follow the smell of maple syrup at Keystone College, it’ll lead you to the sugar shack.
Smoke coming from the shop is all from stoking the fire and creating tasty maple syrup.
“We are one out of three colleges or universities in the state that produce maple syrup, that has a sugar shack so that’s kind of unique!” said Kelley Stewart, Director of Woodlands Campus/KCEEI, Keystone College.
Students get the chance to take the skills they learn in the classroom and put it to the test.
The tedious process of creating the syrup has the students busy all season long. Hundreds of buckets and tubes start the process from the trees.
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“If you see a line, it’s a maple sugaring line. It’s going through the woods, it’s going through those tubes, it’s going to a holding container and then once it’s in a holding container, we’re pumping it up into our sugar shack right here and we’re putting it through the boiler… and it’s always constantly boiling,” said Abigail Hayford, Graduate Assistant Wildlife Biology, Keystone College.
The recent fluctuating temperatures and rainy weather are a paradise for this group as sap needs it warm during the day and freezing at night.
“The worst weather that Pennsylvanians can imagine is a maple syrup producer’s dream, so it brings joy to the time of year that sometimes is pretty miserable otherwise,” said Alexandra Thornton, an environmental biology student at Keystone College.
As the sugar shack helps students become experts at the trade, It also has them teaching at open houses like one this Sunday. Hundreds stop by asking tons of questions about the process.
“What shocks a lot of people and like got me was just how much work it takes and how much sap it takes. Most trees are only between two to four percent sugar content, and we have to boil it up to about 67,” explained Megan Meyers, an environmental biology major at Keystone College.
The open house runs from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Sunday.
In addition to Sunday’s open house, they’re also holding a 5K Sugar Run and Walk. Participants will get a boost of energy from a shot of maple syrup during the race.
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