MEMBER PROFILE
BY TERRY COLEMAN

Rod and Diane Lowe

Rod and Diane Lowe joined MMSA in 1997, but have a total of fourteen years experience with maple sugaring. They got their start in the back yard with just a few taps. Back then they were boiling in a small flat pan and made just enough for the family to eat. In 1995, Rod built his own wood-fired arch and put a 45"x5' flat pan (with sections) on it. It is behind the house in what he calls "our shack with a tarp cover". They have about 200 taps; 150 are buckets and the rest is tubing with which he is experimenting. Production is around 30 gallons per year.

The Lowes have two daughters, aged 11 and 13, who help with the gathering, and a friend who starts the boiling before Rod gets home from work. A tractor is used to gather plastic barrels, which are also used for storage of sap.

The Lowes' operation is located in Rapid City, MI., near Kalkaska. The bush consists of 40 acres of property, with a good share being hard maple. Currently, Rod is planning a new building for this fall, and he plans to build a new and improved arch to go in it.

Plans for tap expansion are "To grow slowly and not get so big that the fun is gone". Rod says his greatest joys in sugaring are the great tradition behind syrup making and the many neighbors it brings to visit in such a sparsely populated area.