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Syrupmaking planned at Rikard's Mill Nov. 4 A 19th century restored mule-driven cane mill and furnace will again be making syrup as in the olden days at Rikard's Mill Saturday, Nov. 4. The syrup-making will begin at 9 a.m., with Monroe County Heritage Museum Volunteers manning the furnace and the Museum Mule, " Mac," will be grinding. Rikard's Mill, an 1845 operating grist mill, at one time included a cane syrup mill. The addition of this cane mill to the park in 1995 was another step toward authenticity, says Jane Ellen Clark, Director for the Monroe County Heritage Museums in Monroeville. The cane will be donated to the museums by the late Ernest L. Dyess of Camden, who restored the abandoned cane mill which he found on his property. More than a year of research and work went into the restoration before the mill was operational. Danny Averitt and his wife, Mabel donated the all-important syrup pan for the mill. The pan belonged to her father, the late W.J. Campbell, a well-known syrup-maker in the Pine Hill area. Syrup-making time was a social event which brought families together. They helped each other strip, cut and transport the cane to the mill, then grind it into juice for cooking for the furnace. Each community had its own grist mill, and there was usually a cane mill and a syrupmaker close at hand until well into the 20th century. This long-time tradition will continue at beautiful Rikard's Mill Park, located between Monroeville and Camden on Highway 265, five miles north of Beatrice. Admission to the event is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors and children and free for museum members. For more information, call the Monroe County Heritage Museum at 251-575-7433. "We'll be making syrup from sugar cane all day," says Ms. Clark. "Come on out. It'll be a real treat for all our visitors. We'll see how most Alabamians fed their sweet tooth for 150 years, and we'll all get a taste! There will be biscuits and sausage, to go along with it, as well as BBQ and hamburgers.
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