Scene from this year's cane syrup demonstration. Rosebud the mule is powering the mill. Sugarcane is fed into the mill from the front. The juice is squeezed out and collected in a barrel. The flattened cane comes out the back and is hauled off. We squeezed 1200 stalks of cane. 600 stalks of cane yield 80 gallons of juice.


The 80 gallons of juice is poured into an 80 gallon cast iron kettle and cooked by fire for about 4-5 hours. The water evaporates into sweet smelling steam. The metal rims are used to keep the foam from rolling out of the kettle. Back in the day, old ox cart wheel rims were used for this purpose.


The juice gradually thickens to become syrup and is carefully strained and bottled. 80 gallons of cane juice makes 8 gallons of syrup. We made 2 batches of syrup that day.

The Blacksmith shop was open as well.
People watched blacksmiths pound hot metal into tools throughout the day.