Making maple syrup is a beloved New England tradition. Meet a CT couple tapping trees for decades

Connecticut Public Radio | By Tyler Russell

Published April 23, 2026 at 10:00 AM EDT

Bill and Amy Proulx started making maple syrup in 1993 with 20 sap buckets and a lasagna pan in the driveway.

Today, their River’s Edge Sugar House in Ashford, in northeastern Connecticut, cooks up thousands of gallons with taps in over 2,000 trees.

The process of making maple syrup is relatively simple. Tap a tree and collect sap. Then boil that sap down to concentrate the sugar.

“The nice thing about maple syrup is you can do this at any level,” Bill says. “You’re just gonna need bigger toys if you’re gonna make more maple syrup.”

Explore the beloved New England tradition of tapping maple trees in Connecticut Public's latest Mini-Doc.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

Donate

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Federal funding is gone.

Donate