I-69 Heritage Corridor - Delaware County
Ken Shipley inspects his bottles of maple syrup
 
  Ken Shipley inspects his bottles of maple syrup, each representing a different batch -- Photo by Lynn Hadley
Listen to the Audio File
Previous Slide
Next Slide
Ken Shipley --
Maple syrup maker


Ken Shipley says that the darker the syrup the better the taste. The lightness and darkness depends upon the season and the weather. Fresh, new sap and cold weather is what makes a syrup lighter.

Ken has made up to 200 gallons of syrup a year. He doesn't like sugar very much himself, so he only eats a little of the syrup that he makes.

Part of Ken's love for making syrup is his love of the woords. "You get in the woods in early spring and hear the first bluejay squabbling at you and hear the first cardinals out there having a fit because you're in the woods... the squirrels are already trying to hunt a mate and thinking about building a nest..."

Ken laments that he has nobody to pass his skill on to, because he doesn't have a family. He hires children from the neighborhood to help him.