Fifth grade students from Julien Elementary School in Turlock got a taste of history with maple syrup, a common source of sugar and water during colonial America. Students in fifth grade learn about early U.S. history and pioneers. Julien parent Christina Hemming volunteered to give students a taste of what early Americans did for sugar. She explained that pioneers in New England would tap trees for sap.

“It took 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup, after it was boiled,” she explained. “They would have celebrations and festivities around the maple; it was kind of a way to mark the end of winter and the beginning of spring.”