The Somerset County Maple Producers’ annual tree-tapping ceremony heralding the coming of spring will be held at 2 p.m. Feb. 28 at Wagner’s Sugar Camp, 152 Sugar Kamp Lane, Salisbury.
This year’s special guest and speaker will be veterinarian Scott Bastian.
Maple Queen LXXVIII Kiran Wiedner and this year’s queen’s court will attend. The 2026 maple princesses are Addison Barto of Rockwood, Saige Boyce of Berlin, Emily Broadwater of Meyersdale, Alexis Fairman of Berlin, Kylee Haer of Meyersdale, Trinity Hoover of Meyersdale, Emma Klahre of Berlin, Destinne Manuel of Meyersdale, Jayna Nieves of Confluence, Eva Sanzi of Friedens, Riley Shaffer of Berlin, and Natalie Trowbridge of Meyersdale.
Maple King Kyle Hillegas will officially tap the tree to begin the 2026 sugar season. Free maple candy and baked goods will be available to visitors.
Queen Maple LXXVII Gracie Paulman drills a hole into the sugar maple tree to signal the official 2025 sugar maple season. Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding (left) also got to try the hand drill technique.
Some producers have already tapped trees and started boiling the sugar water into maple syrup, while others just started tapping trees.
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“It’s a throw of the dice every year when you should drill. It depends on where you are, when the sun hits the woods,” said Everett Sechler, president of the Somerset County Maple Producers Association. “But the tree tapping ceremony is always held on the last Saturday in February.
“Most of the camps will allow visitors to come in when they’re boiling to let them see the process.”
Wagners Camp hosting ceremony
Wagner’s Camp was originally a farm owned by Christian Wilhelm that was purchased in 1882 by William Wagner, according to the website. Many of the original sugar maple trees in the large tree stands are still there. Some trees are more than 200 years old.
Wagner decided to start the sugar camp. Being a cooper by trade, he made wooden spiles, keelers, hauling casks, storage tanks, sugar troughs, sugar molds, sugar storage chests, shipping crates and barrels, mauls, paddles, and many other items used in the production of maple syrup. His handmade kettle crane for lifting the iron kettles of syrup off the fire remains in the original camp.
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Host Baer Bros Maple Camp owner Mike Lynch talks to a group including Russell Redding, (center) Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture, along with Queen Maple LXXVII Gracie Paulman (left) at his maple sugar camp in 2025 during the annual tree tapping ceremony.
The camp has added a new collection of maple syrup-collecting antiques, said owner Jeremy Walters.
“That’s a nice attraction for people to see,” he said.
Maple production as a business
William’s son, Joseph, purchased the farm in 1919. Joe and his wife, Jennie, continued the family tradition of producing maple products. Some of the maple syrup was taken to the Tableland Fair, which was sponsored by Gimbels in Pittsburgh and attracted the attention of the Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce and the Pittsburgh Press. Representatives of those organizations began coming to the sugar camp to see how the syrup was made, according to the website. Their interest helped start the growth of the maple industry in the area.
The farm was purchased by Leona and Dorothy from their father in 1949. The old building with hand-hewn timber became the subject of a painting by artist Tom Schenck. A reproduction of the painting decorates some of the maple syrup containers still used today.
The Walters family, a second-generation maple producer, purchased the camp in 2018. The camp has 24,000 taps on multiple vacuum tubing systems, according to the website. They tap a mixture of sugar and red maple trees.
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Somerset County maple producers to tap trees, kick off 2026 season
