By Alexa Gaskill, via Community News Service, a University of Vermont internship
As a child, Jake Shattuck would walk through the woods to his grandparents’ farm in East Montpelier, seeing the sweet steam of boiling maple syrup settle over the sugarhouse. Inside the farm store, large wheels of cheese were stacked for sale. His grandmother would sit in a chair near the counter, offering samples as Shattuck and his sister stopped in for a slice before running back outside.
“This is home. I grew up right here,” Shattuck, now 54, said.
Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks was founded in the 1960s by Shattuck’s grandfather, Harry Morse Sr., and later carried on by his uncle, Harry “Burr” Morse Jr., who was often called the “the godfather of maple syrup.”
For decades, Burr ran the operation, with the help of his son, Tom Morse, who aided in the expansion of production.
Tom Morse’s passion remained rooted in the woods. “He always worked the back 40,” Shattuck said.
However, life shifted unexpectedly. Tom died in November 2021 at the age of 41, and the future of the farm became uncertain. When Burr decided to retire in 2022, he asked Shattuck to step in.
Taking over, Shattuck admitted, was “absolutely nothing” he had imagined doing. He had worked in the store, packing and shipping orders, but leading the business was never part of his plan.
But Shattuck thought about the farm’s legacy.
“I just couldn’t fathom the idea that this would be outside the family,” he said.
Three years into ownership, Shattuck is focused less on expansion and more on preservation.
At its peak, the farm had roughly 2,500 taps. Today, it runs about 500.
The farm has a reverse osmosis machine, which removes a large portion of water from the sap to cut down on boiling time. But with less sap flowing, the farm stopped using the machine and is instead relying on old-fashioned boiling methods.
“If anything, we’re going backwards,” he said.
The slower pace is intentional. Even if it means producing less syrup, Shattuck said he would rather “stick with the lines” and follow the rhythms he remembers from his childhood.
That same philosophy has reshaped how the farm handles tourism.
In past foliage seasons, as many as two-dozen buses would arrive every 15 minutes. But tariffs and an uncertain economy cut into the tourist traffic. About 30 fewer buses came to the farm last fall. Shattuck remade the schedule so that buses now arrive every 45 minutes.
The change was meant to ease pressure inside the small farm store and create a better experience for customers and staff. When multiple buses filled the parking lot, walk-in visitors often turned around. Inside, customers crowded the counters while employees rushed to process large mail-order shipments for tour groups.
The commitment to sustainability over scale also means prioritizing support for the local community.
Nearly every shelf in the store reflects that value. Barre-based businesses 802 Coffee and Butterfly Bakery supply coffee and mustard. Honey is sourced in Montpelier. Bread arrives from Manghi’s Bread, also in the capital city. Jams come from producers in Springfield.
The Montpelier community has sustained the business for generations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, customers called in creemee orders to be picked from the loading dock, and after the floods of 2023 reshaped homes and fields across the region, local support helped keep Morse Farm steady.
For Shattuck, that gratitude shows up when kids line up at the creemee window after an afternoon of swimming, when families return season after season, and when the occasional rider pulls up on horseback.
“We are very thankful for every customer that walks through,” he said.
For Shattuck, it has always been about creating moments, not just selling syrup.
Ultimately, “when you have a hot thing of syrup on your pancakes and waffles, that’s a moment of joy,” he added. “That’s the experience I want people to have.”
