Mar 23

Mar 23 In the Sugarhouse

In the far northwestern Vermont town of Enosburg Falls, Dave and Jess Gaudette, with the help of their friend Ed Lidster, run Gaudette Maple. What began in 1988 as a low-tech sugaring operation of buckets and horses, has become a heftier production of 4,500 taps on vacuum lines, webbing 110 acres of land. Photographer, James Chandler spent the day with his uncle Ed and the Gaudettes, documenting the process.

They try to maintain 26-27 inches of mercury of pressure in the lines and often go out to check for leaks.

The evaporator is wood fired and uses about 30 cords of wood each year.

Ed loads the filter pads into in the pressurized filter system. This is the last step in the process before the syrup flows into the barrels.

Gaudette Maple produces barrels of syrup and does not bottle their own, except for about 100 gallons that Jess Gaudette sells at her kitchen supply store in St. Albans.

From left to right: Jess Gaudette, Ed Lidster and Dave Gaudette.

This photo essay was first published in 2018.

James Chandler

I moved to Vermont in 1999 to start the second grade at a small school in Southern Vermont. Growing up where the Taconic Range meets the Green Mountains meant that there were always new trails, new summits, and new adventures to be had. I fell in love with the old woods of Vermont and developed an ever present need to explore. I love learning about new ideas and learning from other people. Through photography, I have the opportunity to explore, document, and create stories of people and places to share with the world. I have spent time living and traveling in Southeast Asia as well as the western United States, and I am always drawn back to the people and mountains that make Vermont, Vermont.