The Maple Dude, Six Generations

of Maple Syrup Goodness

By Nancy Curtin

 

While most of us are looking forward to sunshine and warmer temperatures, local maple syrup producers prefer night temperatures in the mid-20s and daytime temperatures in the mid-40s for the best sap production.

The Maple Dude, Tim Sternitzky of Granton, started tinkering in the maple syrup business when he was a kid growing up on the family dairy farm on Granton Road.

The Frederick Sternitzky family arrived in the U. S. from Germany roughly in 1850, settling in the Buffalo, NY area.

The following year, the family moved west to Milwaukee.  In 1856, the family took all their possessions and set out for Clark County.

The trip took three weeks, with the last three miles were spent cutting their way through the woods.  They arrived in what is known today as the village of Lynn and were the first settlers in the area.

Frederick Sternitzky was the original Maple Dude.  Tim is a sixth-generation descendent.

Sternitzky helped his grandfather and father with the family hobby of making maple syrup while using the traditional method of tapping trees, collecting, and boiling sap into syrup.

As new technology made the process more efficient, Sternitzky’s interest in producing maple syrup grew.  In 2008, he started his business out of a small building on the family farm.

In 2014, he built a new building on USH 10.

“Being right on the highway was a good location, with high visibility and easy access,” said Sternitzky.

The building is big enough to produce and sell his products.  While maple syrup is the main item on the shelves, one can also find granulated maple sugar, maple sugar seasoning, maple candy, maple cookies, maple cream, and the newest item – maple cotton candy.

Sternitzky also offers maple syrup equipment and supplies and logo wear for sale.

zTim Sternitzky

Tim Sternitzky, owner of The Maple Dude, Granton, is a sixth-generation maple syrup producer who turned a hobby into a small business. 
The store offers maple syrup equipment and supplies. Maple-flavored products and logo wear.
(Nancy Curtin/Clark County Press)

Maple Dude Products can also be found at area locations, including Festival Foods, Pick-n-save, Copps, Trig’s and other specialty grocery stores, plus retail outlets in other states and directly from his website.

At the end of December, a pallet of this syrupy goodness was shipped to Brazil to be sold mainly to restaurants and a variety of other businesses.

“I look forward to finding more stores willing to sell my products and expanding into more locations with stores currently carrying my products,” said Sternitzky.  “I’m also hoping to grow online sales.”

While the 15 acres of maple trees produced a sufficient amount of sap for the first few years, Sternitzky strives to increase production and sales in the coming years.

To accomplish this, he has been buying sap from local landowners and is looking to purchase more this season.

The maple syrup season generally lasts four to six weeks.  Sternitzky used vacuum tubing for collection of sap and reverse osmosis before the concentrated sap is evaporated into syrup.

The process is much more efficient than when I was a kid,” Sternitzky chuckles. “But it’s still a lot of work.”

During the rest of the year, his time is spent raising a herd of bison and selling different cuts of bison meat at his store.  He also is self-employed in auto body-work.

This past year, Sternitzky found himself spending increasingly more time growing his maple syrup business and developing different maple products.  He anticipates needing to devote even more time in the future.

“This really started as a hobby.  I enjoy the maple syrup business and hope to continue to build my business while supporting others doing this as a hobby or those wanting to get started as a small business,” Sternitzky said.

“2016 was a really good year for sales.  I put a lot of hard work building the business, finding outlets to sell products and making phone calls.”

The Maple Dude store is located at W1417 USH 10, Granton.  For more information, call 715.571.3329, visit www.themapledude.com or “like” him on Facebook at the Maple Dude.

Maple Dude Store

Locally produced maple syrup can be purchased at The Maple Dude located at W1417 USH 10, Granton. 
Owner Tim Sternitzky also produces granulated maple sugar, maple cream and Maple cotton candy. 
Store hours during the month of February are Wednesday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
 
(Nancy Curtin/Clark County Press)

 Webmaster's note:  see the Biography of Frederick Sternitzky (1806-1901).

 

From the Clark County Press, Neillsville, WI

February 8, 2017 Page 11

Transcribed by Dolores Mohr Kenyon, February 9, 2017

Web page by James W. Sternitzky PhD, February 10, 2017

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