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'. est Oxford Women‘s Institute in Oxford County had plenty of practice, this was their sixth Festiâ€" I the Sweaburg area involving the whole commu- Mrs. Henry Van Dorp. President. was general ener. eorge Jakeman‘s sugar bush was the centre for .. aple syrup boiling. The sugar shanty wasn‘t -. back in the bush. miles from the house and in- _cnient to get to; neither was the fire stoked with . n which always seemed to take a master mind to a just enough. and not too much fuel. to finish ofi" YT'JP- i is modern sugar shanty was near the house. 7- the lane on the front lawn were lovely old les. these were the very trees that George's grand- er first tapped over l00 years ago. With the bush .. the road many of the trees were tapped into i" plastic tubing and with the aid of a pumping de- the sap flowed without having to be gathered by d. This insures. as well. no debris or foreign objects i g into the sap. owever. depending on the layout ofthe bush. this est method does not always work. so about [.500 a are Still tapped with the spiles and the sap drips ‘3 the pails. The cylindrical evaporator has a capacity of 24 gal- i of furnace oil an hour and approximately 10 gal- of syrup can be taken ofi' in the hour. Amazingly ugh, in this changing world. it still takes 40 gallons .-: for a gallon of syrup. With its built-in thermometers. at the correct lem» rature the partially cooked syrup flows out and is a ined through felt and two layers of special paper. en placed in another part run by propane. for easy anoeuvrability. When the proper consistency is ched the burner can be turned down or off and the Yup poured into the containers, Free samples were nded out which only encouraged all to buy the ely calorie laden stufi'. Maple Syrup Festival The Jakeman's carry on a large mixed farming op eration. dairy, hogs. seed barley and corn. so it is easy to see that at the end of lhr.‘ maple syrup season the Jakcman's will be on the land. A ride on the tractorâ€"drawn wagon to the Keith Hammerton Farm for the pancake festival. Mrs. Leon~ ard Cafi'yn and all the W]. members were busy Lll. this particular stop. As we drove in this lane the maples were also tapped. and the sap carried by plastic tub- ing. The huge drive shed had been cleared out and long rows of plastic covered tublcs awaited the LSOU visitors. This area was manned by Women‘s institute members. but the husbands were doing more than their share to make the whole efi'ort it success. The pancake making area was well orgritii/ed. and the re- sponsibility of lloyd Alma: and committee. certainly not ti first time ell'ort. Huge pancakes and jugs of maple syrup. all you could exit. was a treat for c\’ct‘_\'- body. We sat beside a tobacco farmer and his family from Delhi and he told us it was important to him lltlll his children see the maple syrup operation. He said. “It was time we got itch: to see this. when our youngest expressed his opinion that maple syrup L‘lllTlC from it bottle." Beyond the Hammertoit barn were many griiiii storage tanks. elevators and fl dryer. towering symbols on the skyline. representing another phase of agricul- ture, The visitors were transported in style. [he wagons. with the bales of hay to sit on, were pulled by newly washed and shiny tractors. At each stop-point young men helped till oil and on the wagons. An enjoyable way to travel for all. James Brown convened the tram- ptarttilttin. Back in the Sweziburg school the null show was in full swing and about l.l[)fl people viewed the eighteen exhibits. The displays in the majority ol'cuws were lhc rcsulLs ofthc accomplishments of individuals who took a course. The hobby grew, and eventually when they had made more things than they needed. hlid given away articles to everyone they knew. they decided to sell their wares. The displays included beautiful hand work, rut-:5. wall hangings. ceramics, leather craft. bottle cutting. mobiles, copper enamcljewellery. batik. and other in- teresting crafts. Those in charge of the ('r.i|t exhibits. Convener. Mrs. Howard Budd and Mrs. I'rctl Shelton. Mrs. C'arl Reeves. Mrs, Wilbert (‘ulhbert West Oxford Women's Institute advertised lhc event as a money making project. What Will they do with their money? Women‘s Institute projects will ben‘ ctit by: Sponsoring, live 4â€"” Homemaking Clubs. do- nating to Institutes in the North West Territories. and to Save Sight for ACWW, Two hospitals wrll rceeiw assistance. Alexandra tn lngersoll for a Fatal Heart Monitor; Woodstock General for an Oxygen Monitor for the newborn Wllh an alarm system. Funds will con- tinue for the adopted child in (jrcecc. and the ball teams in f’oldens' and Sweaburg will receive assistance. 2|