Published: October 03, 2008 10:44 am            

Making molasses: Good things take time

PRINCETON — In today’s world of cell phones, instant messaging and e-mail, many people have come to believe that the old-time community gathering is a forgotten thing of the past.

Those people haven’t been on Hall’s Ridge for one of Allen and Paula Dunagan’s annual molasses-making days. The couple hosted their fifth such event Sept. 27, and the united spirit of community fellowship was an undeniable ingredient of the unique affair.

“We do this for the friendship, the fellowship and the togetherness,” said Allen. “My wife and I wanted to start something that would get a lot of people involved. Years ago, people would do stuff like this just to get together. Anymore, people don’t gather together like that, so we decided to start something where they would.”

That something became an old-fashioned molasses making. Allen said the idea stemmed from cherished memories of his childhood, when family and friends would gather to make the product that was then considered to be a necessity.

“This is an old tradition,” said Allen. “If it hadn’t been for our fathers, we wouldn’t know how to do this. Years ago, you couldn’t get sugar, so all you had to sweeten things with was molasses. Everyone tried to grow a patch of cane to get their sugar content. So making molasses was kind of a community thing.”

The sense of necessity might be gone, but the Dunagans’ annual event proves that people still enjoy the type of communal affair that was a common occurrence in years gone by. Friends from as far away as New York came this year to participate in the traditional molasses making process.

“I come do this every year because I enjoy being with all of my friends, and because I think that this type of thing is something that we should all take into consideration,” said Rondel Shrewsbury, of Lashmeet. “This is something that is dying, but personally, I think that someday we might have to go back to this type of living. We need to teach it to our children, because the day may come when they can’t just go to Wal-Mart and buy whatever they need.”

Several children were on hand this year for the rare opportunity to witness the strictly conventional method of molasses making.

“Everything we do here is how it used to be; there’s nothing modernized,” said Allen. “We try to keep it original.”

It’s not that Allen doesn’t know how modern molasses are made; it’s just that his belief still lies firmly in the time-honored process that he learned from his father all those years ago.

For the uninitiated, that process begins with the stripping of the sugar cane in the Dunagans’ own cane patches. Once the leaves are stripped off of the cane stalks, they are cut down and transplanted to the cane press area, where the tops are cut off. These tops are later used for seed for future cane. The topped cane is then placed in the cane mill, a horse-powered press that squeezes it and strains the juice into a bucket, sending the remainder of the stalk out the other side.

The juice is then poured into a large pan for boiling. Each pan holds 100 gallons of juice, which boils down to approximately 15 gallons of molasses. About 20 people were involved in carrying out this year’s process, which includes canning the cooked product. From start to finish, Allen says, one run of molasses takes about 24 hours to make.

“Today, they don’t strip the cane, they just run it through a press with blades,” said Allen. “They have an electric motor on the press instead of using horses. They use evaporating pans for boiling, and they just keep pouring it in all the time. A lot of times, they cut it with Karo syrup. Their process is a whole lot faster, but their product isn’t the same.”

Steve Brooks, of Princeton, a first-time attendee at this year’s event, agreed.

“The proof is in the tasting, and these molasses are delicious,” he said. “It’s much better than store-bought.”

Brooks, like many who ventured to the top of Halls Ridge for their first molasses making, enjoyed the combination of nostalgic flavor and education provided by the event.

“I am really impressed by the molasses making, itself,” he said. “It’s really an ingenious process, and it’s really efficient. I think this whole thing is amazing; it’s so good to see things like this passed on. I’m 60 years old, and I’ve never seen it, so I’m sure there are a lot of kids who have never seen it before. It’s just a nice community thing to bring people together.”

In the past, the Dunagans’ molasses makings have drawn up to 150 people. A rainy day lessened this year’s crowd, but several still gathered to help with the process or just to take in the old-fashioned appeal of the day. In addition to the molasses, a dinner, musical entertainment and children’s games were a part of the day’s activities.

“One of the things that I enjoy almost as much as anything is watching the kids here,” said Paula. “They just love the molasses. When we get done making it, we turn the kids loose, and they’ve got molasses all over their faces. They use anything they can to get it out and eat it.”

The nostalgia of one of the Dunagans’ favorite times of the year doesn’t end when the last of the molasses are canned away. On the Sunday following the molasses making, many of the attendees take part in an Old-Fashioned Sunday, hosted by members of the Hall’s Ridge community. Community members travel to Hatcher United Methodist Church, located 4 miles down the ridge from the Dunagan farm, where they spend a day filled with the feeling of an era long gone.

“We go to the country church by horse and wagon, and we dress in old-fashioned clothes,” said Paula. “We all go together, and when you go down the hill, you can look back and see all the other wagons and outriders coming behind you. It’s so beautiful to see. We have a good service there, then have fellowship and a meal there.”

It’s almost certain that freshly made molasses are a part of that country meal. The health of the cane patches determines the amount of molasses produced each year. This year, the Dunagans and their friends produced more than 19 gallons, with plans to make more the following weekend.

“That was gone before we even finished making it,” said Paula.

— Contact CharLy Markwart at cmarkwart@ptonline.net.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.