I'd been trying to reach the proprietor Neil Ripley with no success for some time but today I talked to his daughter Tracey. One of the reason I've been having difficulty reaching Neil is that he and his wife live off the grid right at the sugar camp, using solar power and a water wheel to power their home and equipment. And the reason I wasn't able to find Ripley maple products for sale in the local stores is that they sell 95% of the product right at the camp and the other 5% at farmer's markets in Halifax. The camp is located on the west side of the road about 2 miles south of the church in Fenwick off Hwy 2. There are actually 3 camps along the road; Tracey says just ask the locals where the water wheel is located. The sugar woods has been in the family for three generations and Tracey lives in the home her grandfather built. Oh...and the cute painted Ripley mailbox we passed on the way to the Fenwick Cemetery...that must have been Heather and Gordon's place. Tracey has relatives in Campbell River where I'm headed tomorrow. It's a small world.
Today I was finally able to make contact with the family that runs the Ripley sugar camp in Fenwick and now I'm seriously considering an invitation to come and help make maple syrup next March. That's something I've never done before. They usually start tapping the trees in February and make the syrup through March, depending on the weather.
I'd been trying to reach the proprietor Neil Ripley with no success for some time but today I talked to his daughter Tracey. One of the reason I've been having difficulty reaching Neil is that he and his wife live off the grid right at the sugar camp, using solar power and a water wheel to power their home and equipment. And the reason I wasn't able to find Ripley maple products for sale in the local stores is that they sell 95% of the product right at the camp and the other 5% at farmer's markets in Halifax. The camp is located on the west side of the road about 2 miles south of the church in Fenwick off Hwy 2. There are actually 3 camps along the road; Tracey says just ask the locals where the water wheel is located. The sugar woods has been in the family for three generations and Tracey lives in the home her grandfather built. Oh...and the cute painted Ripley mailbox we passed on the way to the Fenwick Cemetery...that must have been Heather and Gordon's place. Tracey has relatives in Campbell River where I'm headed tomorrow. It's a small world.
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AuthorHi there! My name is Mallory Burton and I started researching the Ripley family in 2011. I'd describe myself as a careful amateur who's more interested in story than names and dates. I hope you enjoy my website and blog. I also have a public Mallory/Ripley tree on Ancestry with over 4,000 names. To contact me, please comment on any one of my blog posts. Archives
May 2024
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