- I'm Jake, and this is the Chardon Polka Band.

Since I was 16, polka music has been my job, Since I was 16, polka music has been my job, and at that job, I get into some pretty crazy stuff.

There's Mitch, Mike, Brian and Bob.

You never know what we're gonna do or who we might run into, but we're gonna share it all with you on "The World According to Polka".

(bright tuba tune) (brakes screeching) For over 400 years, people have been turning the sap from maple trees into maple syrup.

Though the process and tools have changed a bit over the years, it remains both an art and a science.

So today we'll be exploring maple syrup production and seeing if it has anything to do with polka music.

Which brings us here.

I am with my superb friend, Aggie.

We are at Sperry Farm- - [Aggie] In Parkman Township, Geauga County, Ohio.

And we've had this sugar house and this property in the Sperry Farm since 1844.

It's never been out of the Sperry family.

- Oh wow, that's amazing.

And now going on behind us, let's just jump into maple syrup.

And to make maple syrup, you have to gather sap from trees?

- Correct, maple trees and that's all we tap.

- And when the weather's right, that sap comes through all these tubes- - [Aggie] Correct.

- [Jake] In that room over there.

- [Aggie] And that's the sap house.

- [Jake] And you got big vats of it.

Now, it's not like, back in the old day, they hammered into the trees.

- [Aggie] They still drill and put the tubing into the tree just like they would have.

Instead of doing it with a bucket, they're doing it with tubing.

- [Jake] How many trees do you have tapped here?

- Well, we had 5,600, but a storm hit last year and took out 200 trees.

Not necessarily all maple, but it did destroy other trees.

- [Jake] So that's a lot of sap flowing through these tubes.

- [Aggie] Right.

- Well, before we figure out what happens to that sap next, we are gonna get you started with a little music on the program, so we'll be right back.

(upbeat merry polka music) (upbeat merry polka music continues) ♪ One two three ♪ Won't you polka with me ♪ I'll turn your sad into a smile ♪ ♪ Four five six ♪ A polka will fix ♪ A broken heart in just a little while ♪ ♪ Seven eight nine ♪ Gonna have a good time ♪ Dancing the whole evening through ♪ ♪ I'd like to spend ♪ The rest of my life ♪ Dancing the polka with you (upbeat merry polka music) (upbeat merry polka music continues) (upbeat merry polka music continues) ♪ One two three ♪ Won't you polka with me ♪ I'll turn your sad into a smile ♪ ♪ Four five six ♪ A polka will fix ♪ A broken heart in just a little while ♪ ♪ Seven eight nine ♪ Gonna have a good time ♪ Dancing the whole evening through ♪ ♪ I'd like to spend ♪ The rest of my life ♪ Dancing the polka with you All right, so before we went to our song, we were talking about gathering all this sap with the tubes out there.

Now, that sap is used to create maple syrup, but you gotta get rid of all the water, correct?

- [Aggie] That's right.

- And that's where this building comes in.

It's amazing, it's groovy and there's cool stuff happening in here, but I don't really know exactly what it is.

They're getting the water out of the sap?

- And you use the technology of the osmosis machine just to remove 10% because they still want to boil it so that they get the flavor and all of it's good that makes syrup.

- Aggie's team uses a reverse osmosis system to remove up to 8% of the water from their sap.

This means they can save a whole lot of boiling hours.

What's going on in this big thing up here?

- This tank is holding all of the sap that has been run through the osmosis machine.

And if you touch it, you'll even notice that you can even taste the sugar in the water already.

- [Jake] Oh.

- Go ahead.

See, you can actually tell that it has changed from just that sap to more of a sugar concentrate.

- [Jake] The osmosis machine takes out some of our water.

- [Aggie] Right.

- But then how much maple syrup will this turn into?

- Oh gosh- - Is this one gallon?

Is this two gallons?

- No, I'm thinking that we'll probably make maybe 120 gallons today out of this.

- [Jake] Woo!

- Yeah.

- I love it.

You can deliver it right to my house.

- Okay.

- I got twin boys, they'll eat it.

- And they probably love maple syrup.

- They do love maple syrup.

- That's good.

- Pancakes, waffles.

Weekly occurrence.

- [Aggie] Oh, that's so much fun, that's how it should be.

- [Jake] It is, yeah.

- And that's what we want.

We want our kids to know this wonderful, wonderful product, I love it.

- All right, I love it too, thank you.

Woo, it sure is fun inside that steamy sugar shack, but I took a step outside to get some fresh air.

And speaking of fresh air, ladies and gentlemen, look who I ran into out here.

Accordion maestro, Mr. Bobby Buzecan.

- It's me.

- What are you doing here?

- Well, I decided to get out and get a breath of fresh air before it gets too warm here, and I happened to bring my accordion along.

- Of course, he happens to bring his accordion.

Let me ask you this, do you happen to have a song that would fit in an episode about maple syrup?

- Hmm, let's try an adaptation of the "Maple Leaf Rag".

- The "Maple Leaf Rag".

Well, you know what?

This adaptation sounds great.

And you know what I think would sound great with it?

Not only are we gonna have Bob Buzecan again play for you, we're gonna have our cameraman, Mr. Jeff Graw, playing as well, and we're going to see how it goes.

Ladies and gentlemen, let's make some magic maple syrup music.

- Three.

(polka rendition of "Maple Lead Rag") (polka rendition of "Maple Leaf Rag" continues) (polka rendition of "Maple Leaf Rag" continues) (polka rendition of "Maple Leaf Rag" continues) (polka rendition of "Maple Leaf Rag" continues) (music winds down dramatically) - We are so fortunate on this show that our friends will randomly stop by with coincidentally topical tunes like that one.

Thank you, Bob, and thank you, Jeff.

Back inside, the next step Aggie is going to show us is the boil.

This is quintessential maple syruping!

So then after it runs through the osmosis machine and y'all filter it and do all that, then you start boiling it, right?

- Yes, come and see.

We're boiling!

- Oh my goodness, it's a boiling day here at the farm.

I love it.

Maple syrup producers like our friend Aggie, use various systems to boil their sap at temperatures of about 219 degrees.

Sap from the tree is about 98% water.

With the reverse osmosis system and the boil, it becomes maple syrup, which is only about 33% water.

There's a gold mine here, it's just pouring out.

- [Aggie] Oh, it's just like liquid gold coming off.

- You see that?

This is a wonderful place.

This is the boiler?

- Yep.

- This is the boiler.

- [Aggie] It's called really an evaporator.

- Okay.

- That's the technical name, we can't call it a boiler.

- Oh no, we wouldn't do that.

(Aggie chuckles) - Not you and I.

- Not cultured people like us.

(Aggie chuckles) - So it's going back and forth through various channels in that evaporator.

We'll come around the back here.

There.

- Woo!

You know, Aggie's got a whole crew working here at the sugar house.

They know the ins and outs of making maple syrup.

Just like when our band goes in the recording studio, we're counting on technicians that know how to make our ideas a reality.

Just like on this next song, "Song for a Winter's Night".

(drumsticks tapping time) (upbeat polka rendition of "Song for a Winter's Night") ♪ The lamp is burning low up on my tabletop ♪ ♪ The snow is softly falling ♪ The air is still in the silence of my room ♪ ♪ I hear your voice softly calling ♪ ♪ If I could only have you near ♪ ♪ To breathe a sigh or two ♪ I would be happy just to hold the hands I love ♪ ♪ On this winter night with you ♪ ♪ The smoke is rising in the shadows overhead ♪ ♪ My glass is almost empty ♪ I read again between the lines upon the page ♪ ♪ The words of love you sent me ♪ ♪ If I could know within my heart ♪ ♪ That you were lonely too ♪ I would be happy just to hold the hands I love ♪ ♪ On this winter night with you ♪ (upbeat polka rendition of "Song for a Winter's Night") ♪ My fire is dying now ♪ My lamp is growing dim ♪ The shades of night they are lifting ♪ ♪ The morning light steals across my window pane ♪ ♪ Where webs of snow are drifting ♪ ♪ If I could only have you near ♪ ♪ To breathe a sigh or two ♪ I would be happy just to hold the hands I love ♪ ♪ And to be once again with you ♪ ♪ And to be once again with you ♪ That tune, originally by Gordon Lightfoot, is one we picked specifically for this episode, thinking it was the perfect one as we ourselves are out here on a winter's night, watching the crew make maple syrup.

People around the world make maple syrup as winter gives way to spring.

And 71% of the planet's maple syrup comes from our northern neighbors in Canada, which is why we're excited to share some music from one of those neighbors: Michael Smith in Muskoka, Ontario, where his family's syrup operation is all about sharing time with family and friends.

(gentle guitar music) ♪ It's maple sugar time in Muskoka ♪ ♪ We're tapping the maple sugar trees ♪ ♪ Yes it's maple sugar time ♪ In the Republic of Muskoka ♪ A place that we are strong and free ♪ (gentle guitar music) ♪ It's maple sugar time in Muskoka ♪ ♪ We're tapping the maple sugar trees ♪ ♪ Yes it's maple sugar time ♪ In the Republic of Muskoka ♪ A place that we are strong and free ♪ Friends and neighbors, we've shown you some of the modern methods for producing maple syrup, but this is an art form that dates back centuries.

And now we wanna focus on some of the more historic practices involved in producing maple syrup, which has brought us here to Hale Farm in Bath Township, Ohio, run by the Western Reserve Historical Society where they still make maple syrup the same way it was produced in the 1800s.

Alright, so now I'm with my friend, Obadiah, and this is your sugar camp?

- [Obadiah] This is my sugar camp, yes, sir.

- [Jake] Tell me what's going on here.

I see a fire, I see a trough over here.

What's going on?

- Well, people that come back and ask me about maple products, I tell 'em how the Native Americans had collected sap from these trees for thousands and thousands of years.

Maple syrup didn't mean that much to 'em because they couldn't store it, they couldn't keep it, they didn't have glass bottles or jars.

They wanted sugar.

- And the Native Americans would have boiled their sap by adding hot rocks warmed on a fire to a dugout log, which is a process our buddy Obadiah is showing folks right here.

Whether it's maple syrup, history or polka music, we love sharing stories about people who are passionate about their craft.

Now it's time to catch back up with Aggie at Sperry Farm.

We got to see how her maple syrup turned out.

How long have you been doing maple syrup?

- Since I was a child with the neighbors.

- So a couple years ago?

- Yes.

- A couple years ago.

- Oh, it wasn't very long ago at all.

- No, not at all.

And this is part of what you do?

You mentioned some awards?

- [Aggie] We've won international three times for our syrup.

Not just locally, internationally.

- The best maple syrup?

- That's competing against Canada and all of the states in the United States that produce.

- [Jake] Wait, you beat Canada at syrup?

- [Aggie] We beat Canada.

We beat Vermont.

(Jake laughs) That's special.

- [Jake] I love it, that is.

- Yeah, yes.

- That's some impressive stuff being grown out there.

What is your favorite part of maple syruping?

- Being out here and working with these wonderful people.

They're so enthusiastic.

They can hardly wait to get out in the woods and neither can I.

- [Jake] Probably 'cause they wanna taste it.

- Yes, and you saw all of the young men that are in here.

- Yeah.

- Everybody's tasting that syrup.

All of 'em are over here hiding behind the evaporator, drinking syrup.

(Jake laughs) - I love it.

Aggie's right, of course.

We all can't wait to get a taste of that fresh maple syrup, still steaming from the boil.

(machinery humming in background) Oh!

Oh my gosh.

- Good flavor, wonderful flavor.

- That's amazing, and it's still so hot.

Like, it's hot and it's fresh and it just tastes like a miracle.

- It is, and it is a miracle, that's all it is.

Maple syrup is a miracle.

(machinery humming in background) - Thank you so much for this experience, Aggie, thank you.

- I'm glad you wanted to come to the sugar house.

It really is a fun place.

There's always activities going on.

Everyone's welcome to come into our sugar house anytime we're boiling.

It's an open door policy.

- [Jake] Will they get the syrup?

- Everyone.

Why do you think all those cups are sitting there?

(Jake chuckles) - [Jake] At Sperry Farm, there's an open door policy with plenty of love and maple syrup to go around.

(upbeat polka rendition of "Let My Love Open the Door") ♪ People keep repeating ♪ That you will never fall in love ♪ ♪ Everybody keeps retreating ♪ But you can't seem to get enough ♪ ♪ Let my love open the door ♪ Let my love open the door ♪ Let my love open the door ♪ To your heart ♪ To your heart (upbeat polka rendition of "Let My Love Open the Door") ♪ When everything seems over ♪ If everybody seems unkind ♪ I'll be your four leaf clover ♪ ♪ Take all the worry out of your mind ♪ ♪ Let my love open the door ♪ Let my love open the door ♪ Let my love open the door ♪ To your heart (upbeat polka rendition of "Let My Love Open the Door") ♪ I've got the only key to your heart and ♪ ♪ I can stop you falling apart ♪ So try today and you'll find this way ♪ ♪ Come on and give me the chance to say ♪ ♪ Let my love open the door ♪ You're all I'm living for ♪ Release yourself from that misery ♪ ♪ I'm gonna be the one that sets you free ♪ ♪ And it's my love ♪ It's my love ♪ It's my love ♪ It's my love (upbeat polka rendition of "Let My Love Open the Door") ♪ When tragedy befalls you ♪ Don't let it drag you down ♪ Love can cure your problems ♪ You're so lucky that I'm around ♪ ♪ Let my love open the door ♪ Let my love open the door ♪ Let my love open the door ♪ To your heart ♪ To your heart ♪ To your heart On today's program we've been discussing maple syrup production, the kind of operation that happens out in the woods when the seasons are changing and the timing is just right.

Well, another type of production has also been going on for the program today, and that's music production.

And it just so happens that it's been happening out in the woods as well, because today we are at Suma Recording Studio where artists have been producing their music since the 1970s.

Whether you're making maple syrup or music, you gotta have the right place, the right people, the right tools, and you gotta love it.

And then when the conditions are perfect, you can make a little bit of magic.

(mellow polka rendition of "Ripple") ♪ If my words did glow ♪ With the gold of sunshine ♪ And my tunes were played ♪ On the harp unstrung ♪ Would you hear my voice ♪ Come through the music ♪ Would you hold it near ♪ As it were your own ♪ It's a hand-me-down ♪ The thoughts are broken ♪ Perhaps they're better ♪ Left unsung ♪ Well I don't know ♪ Don't really care ♪ Let there be songs ♪ To fill the air ♪ Ripple in still water ♪ Where there is no pebble tossed ♪ ♪ Or wind to blow ♪ Reach out your hand ♪ If your cup be empty ♪ If your cup is full ♪ May it be again ♪ Let it be known ♪ There is a fountain ♪ That was not made ♪ By the hands of men ♪ There is a road ♪ No simple highway ♪ Between the dawn ♪ And the dark of night ♪ And if you go ♪ No one may follow ♪ That path is for ♪ Your steps alone ♪ Ripple in still water ♪ Where there is no pebble tossed ♪ ♪ Or wind to blow ♪ You who choose ♪ To lead must follow ♪ But if you fall ♪ You will fall alone ♪ If you should stand ♪ Then who's to guide you ♪ If I knew the way ♪ I would take you home (mellow polka rendition of "Ripple") (Jake scatting) (Jake continues scatting) (Jake continues scatting) ♪ If I knew the way ♪ I would take you home (music slowly winds down to silence)