The Macfie family has made maple syrup in Sunny Slope, Ontario for over a century. 

As many settler families did in the early 20th century, our family originally made maple syrup for themselves and their neighbours to use as a sweetener, as imported sugar was expensive.  Prior to 1939, approximately 80 trees were tapped by Roy Macfie and his children to make maple syrup in the springtime. They gathered sap into a large kettle and boiled it outside, over an open flame, beside a large rock face to cut the wind.  

In the fall of 1939, Roy purchased a large commercial evaporator, 1500 sap buckets, spiles, and gathering tanks. They built a sugar shack in the maple bush, far behind the farmhouse.  Roy’s son, John, wrote:

“Only in the spring of 1940, the day we ran off the first batch of syrup from the commercial-size maple syrup evaporator that my dad had purchased the previous fall, did I realize just how good maple syrup could taste. Pale coloured and pure, the tangy elixir was a treat to the taste buds.”

In the mid-1950s, Roy’s son, Don, took over operation of the farm and the maple syrup production, doubling his father’s efforts.  A new sugar shack was built to accommodate a larger evaporator.  Don worked long hours making maple syrup back in the bush, often sleeping in the sugar shack rather than make the long trek home by tractor in the wee hours of the morning.  Don’s grandchildren have fond memories of him emerging from the steamy shack with a mug of fresh syrup for them to try, as they warmed up at the front of the evaporator.  

With a modern approach to traditional methods, Roy’s grandson, Ritchie, along with his family and friends, work to produce “the tangy elixir” that has been a Sunny Slope staple for generations.  

We pride ourselves on crafting a quality product as previous generations have before us.