Meet the Sugar Makers
We’re James and Danielle Howarth, the founders and owners of M.C. Maple. Sugaring is a tradition that’s been in our families, and in our region, for many generations.
When our ancestors originally settled in Vermont, maple sugaring was still a horse-drawn operation. We both grew up skiing and sledding in the woods in the winter, and sipping the first taste of early spring – pure maple syrup – from a paper cup in a warm, steamy sugarhouse.
After graduating college in Vermont, we married and built successful careers -- James in corporate management, and Danielle traveling the country doing sales and marketing for a healthcare company. We lived in New York, San Diego and Boston – but we always loved coming back home.
Eventually, we felt the pull to move back to Vermont, to be closer to family and to raise our son Will in the place where we had made our own childhood memories. Since we always enjoyed being in the woods, we looked for a home with a sugarbush – a grove of woods populated with sap-producing maple trees – and we found one, in the quaint little town of Montgomery Center (hence the “M.C.” in our name).
Charleston works diligently to inspect each maple tree.
We started out thinking we would dabble. In our first year, we set up 5,000 taps, and we boiled our first season’s sap at a nearby sugarhouse, with seasoned neighbors lending a hand.
But by 2018, M.C. Maple had become a full-time operation. Now, with our own sugarhouse and 20,000 taps over 365 acres, M.C. Maple produces 9,000 to 10,000 gallons of maple syrup every season. James does most of the tapping, maintains the equipment, and manages the land to ensure the health of the woods.
Meanwhile, Danielle is the sales and marketing operation. She still travels often for work, and she brings the lore of Vermont with her wherever she goes – recommending Vermont regions and towns for clients and co-workers to discover on future vacations, and of course, educating everyone she meets about real Vermont maple syrup.
Now, you can buy M.C. Maple direct from the sugarbush, and have real, pure maple syrup – the taste of Vermont – delivered directly to your table.
CLICK HERE TO