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And the winner is...

... the entire Sugar Grove community.

On Friday, the ninth annual Sugar Grove Maple Competition and pancake supper brought competitors, judges, volunteers, and hungry people to the Sugar Grove Fire Hall.

The event raises funds for the Sugar Grove Volunteer Fire Department and the Sugar Grove Community Development Council and was hosted by the Sugar Grove Volunteer Fire Department Auxiliary.

Three judges, Borough Council Member Kevin Nicklas, Sugar Grove Elementary School Principal Marcia Madigan, and local businessman John Schuyler, rated the color and taste of 27 entries in three categories.

They had a grading kit, including vials of industry standard benchmark syrup to compare the color of the entries. After holding the kit, with the sample syrup and the local entry side by side, up to sunlight, the judges rated the color. According to Schuyler, the goal for the entries was to be "as close to (the color of the sample) but not darker."

Several entries were a little darker than they should have been, according to the judges. Other entries were so much lighter they could have qualified in lighter divisions.

After checking the color, each judge poured a bit of each syrup into a spoon and checked the taste.

Some syrups were the correct combination of maple flavor and sweetness. The judges said other entries were too sugary, or had a slightly burned taste to them.

Both color and taste were judged on a ten point scale, with higher scores better. The color and taste scores were tallied and added to the other judges' scoring to determine a total.

David Bauer took first place in both the Supreme Light Amber and Supreme Dark Amber divisions.

Bauer's total score in all three categories earned him the year's John Hood Award for superior syrup.

According to information from the Development Council, Hood was the operator of the first grist mill in Warren County. In 1810, he brought a copper kettle from Pittsburgh to Sugar Grove "in which to boil maple sap into syrup. Since then, this region of Warren County has maintained a tradition of sugaring."

George Sanders took first in the Supreme Medium Amber category.

Bill Gourley and Loren Cable took second and third, respectively, in the light; Cable and Dean Morton were second and third in medium; and Bill Knisley and Morton took second and third in dark.

Any local syrup producer was welcome to enter, free of charge. An entry included one pint of syrup in a clear jar. Entrants were provided space in the fire hall entry from which to sell the products.

When the judging was complete, the remaining syrup was poured into containers and set out at the tables in the fire hall for the pancake supper.

"It's nice to see people come out to a community event," Sue Yovich said.

Sanders said he would like to see more people and more events. "We're trying to get back to the fire department as a community center," he said. "We're hoping with our Main Street program to have more events" and raise more money for the department.

In conjunction with the event were contests at Sugar Grove Elementary School.

Students in grades one through three participated in a picture contest while there was an essay or poetry contest for students in grades four through six.

Award winners in the Maple Syrup Picture Contest were: first place - Kody Passinger; second place - Caleb Eyler; third place - Zach Shults. In the Maple Syrup Essay-Poem Contest, the top three were: first - Holly Chapman; second - Julia Bauer; and third - Meghan Hagberg.