When the Weed family of Cayuga County in upstate New York began Schoolyard Sugarbush to make pure maple syrup they had already been making pancake mix for 3 generations.   A young Danielle was puzzled at receiving a gift of 25 metal spikes from her grandparents one winter when her mom told her, “You’ll learn to use them this spring.”  

And learn she did.   There in the schoolyard of an old one-room schoolhouse where several aunts and uncles had received their first years of formal education, Danielle and her father began yet another science lesson in her home education.

Having made pancake mix at the family’s New Hope Mills for so many years it was only natural to combine pancakes and maple syrup.   The family’s background gave them a good understanding of the quality, flavor and coloring of pure maple syrup.   For the Weed family the quality of the product is paramount.   Any product that is made at New Hope Mills is produced in the most eco-friendly way; absolutely free from chemical additives and artificial ingredients.

Applying their long held values to the making of maple syrup they began by crafting it from a roaster pan on a pot-bellied stove.   It wasn’t long before that old pan just couldn’t keep up.   A year later their endeavor grew to 100 taps as they produced 23 gallons of syrup from sap carried by hand or pulled across the snow on a toboggan.   Returning from college in 1993, Dan Weed took over the process in the family’s 3rd year of operation. Within 2 years there were 500 taps along the roadways and in the ravines near the sugarhouse.

Methods of collection have changed over the years.   Many of the old maples along the road have been cleared by the local highway department and taps now extend deep into the woods.   One thing remains the same; the Weed family’s pride keeps them working hard to produce the best maple syrup they possibly can.