Mercedes Wilson and Emily Lampa took a road trip to Attica, New York to visit the Merle Maple Farm for Maple Syrup Weekend. They talked with Lyle Merle, and Eileen Downs, partners, Merle Maple Farm. Lyle tells us the next two weekends are Maple Syrup weekends and they are open to the public with tours, samplings and they will explain how the syrup is made. Lyle goes on to say that they also have a lunch menu with maple chili, pulled pork and maple ice cream.
Eileen shared this this event started out as Maple Sunday, then it went to Maple weekend, and it has become Maple Weekends. It started in Wyoming county and has progressed throughout the state. She says you can visit sugar houses all throughout the state and if you go to http://mapleweekend.com it will have the sugar houses that are open, and you can go to different ones because she says everyone does things a little different.
Lyle Merle is the fourth generation to make syrup. He says they had buckets and about 1960 his father started using plastic tubing and they went away from the buckets. Lyle goes on to say they never had more than a thousand buckets and now they are up to 20,000 taps and they are making nine to ten thousand gallons of syrup a year.
Merle Maple is located at 1884 Route 98 in Attica, New York.
For more information on all the locations participating in Maple Weekend visit http://mapleweekend.com
