Since 1984, The Geauga County Maple Syrup Hall of Fame has been recognizing those who have been a part of the maple syrup industry here in Geauga County with an annual induction ceremony. The 2014 inductee chosen for this honor is Tom Blair, who has been involved in just about every aspect of the production of our highly prized maple syrup. The Geauga County Maple Syrup Hall of Fame officially welcomed him on April 19 at Mary Yoder’s Amish Kitchen in Middlefield.
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Tom Blair was 8 years old when he first made maple syrup, and he admits that “there’s maple syrup running in my veins.” He was a teenager when he began gathering sap for the Chamber of Commerce, which has been instrumental in marketing the maple syrup industry since it started in 1936. Looking back in history, the Burton Log Cabin, built by the Chamber of Commerce, was opened for the maple syrup season of 1931.
It was 1960 when Tom began tapping trees and helping to make syrup at the log cabin. As time went by and others moved on, he took on more responsibility for cabin operations. Then in 1980, he took over the role of the chair of the log cabin committee, and 54 years later he is still actively involved, helping in any way he can at the log cabin.
Tom took over the demanding aspect of cabin operations when he became the official buyer of syrup. All of the producers that he deals with know him as an honest, fair person as they sell the fruit of their hard work. Only those who have made maple syrup can appreciate the hard work involved. Tom understands the effort involved in sugaring and respects all the individuals he deals with as he purchases their crop.
Working with producers requires that he delivers clean barrels to them in early spring; drives his own personal truck back out to pick up the product; grades the syrup in front of the producer for color and brix; loads the syrup on his truck; returns to the cabin to weigh the syrup carefully; writes a check for the syrup; then drives the check back to the producer.
Managing the syrup throughout the year requires transfer from barrels (canning) into containers of all sizes. Tom oversees this process carefully. Besides starting the heating process at 5:30 a.m., so it is hot enough for the others to help can, it requires blending of various barrels with various qualities of color and brix to make the best product to be sold in the cabin. He also chooses barrels from producers to be used as candy and then sets these barrels (400 lbs each) up in racks. The cabin takes great pride in its candy.
Tom has been a dependable, dedicated overseer of cabin operations without whom the cabin could not function. No job is too big or too small for Tom. Along with the more serious buying, grading, and canning of syrup, he has also repaired and sealed the roof many times, changed light fixtures, fixed drains and toilets, insulated and built the “cool” barrel storage room, on and on. He says his favorite job is canning the syrup and least favorite is cleaning up.
Tom serves on many Chamber of Commerce committees and, in particular, the Oxtoberfest Committee, and is involved in many other community organizations. He continues to this day flipping pancakes for the Rotary from his earlier years of participation at the fire station. Tom was Mayor of Burton Village from 2008 – 2011 and is currently on the Burton Village Council. He is a member of the Geauga County Historical Society, the NFIB, and the NRA. Tom has worked for Cleveland Fireliner and Geauga Truck and since 1985, has owned Geauga Door.
Tom says that he made a promise to himself that he would keep the tradition of those who walked ahead of him. And that he is doing!
Here are some Past Maple Syrup Hall of Fame Honorees
Front row (l to r) Alice Armstrong (wife, of Hall of Famer Bud Armstrong) , Linnie Lausin, Vicki Blair (wife of 2014 HOF inductee Tom Blair), Debbie Richards, Nancy Patterson and Aggie Sojka-Sperry.
Back row (l to r) Burton Armstrong, Jim Freeman; Jim Timmons, Penny Timmons, Chuck Lausin, Tom Blair, Les Ober, Jim Patterson and JR Blanchard.
