CHARDON, Ohio — Jen Freeman is a fourth generation maple syrup maker, carrying on the legacy her great-grandparents Will and Rena Richards began in 1910.

“I was born into a maple family, during maple festival. I knew growing up that this is what I was going to do,” said Freeman. 

What You Need To Know

  • The Geauga Maple Festival was established in 1926

  • Thousands gather each year to sample the best maple products in the state of Ohio 

  • The Richards family has operated a maple products variety store in Chardon since 1910 

Freeman is currently the president of Richards Maple Products. 

Although many faces have come and gone over the years, her great-grandparents' formula for success remains the same. 

“It’s the tradition of boiling the water out of sap to make syrup. There have been advancements in technologies to make it go faster, but as far as the recipe goes, it’s still the same,” said Freeman. 

Also remaining the same, the city of Chardon’s love for its annual maple syrup festival, which began in 1926. 

Over four days, more than 50,000 people and hundreds of maple syrup producers gather in Chardon’s town square to compete, sell, and sample a maple stir.

The stir is boiled to perfection at 234 degrees Fahrenheit. 

“Maple stir and food, and the parade. The parade is wonderful. I mean you can eat it like this, but once it starts getting solid, it’s like eating a piece of candy,” said Chardon resident Cindy Broussseau. 

“People have been cooped up for the winter. This is an opportunity to get out with the rides, the food. It is a staple of Geauga County. We sell about 10,000 of these stirs a year,” said festival board member Brad Sekas. 

Freeman says it’s been a great season for maple syrup producers in Ohio. 

Besides working at the festival, she also runs the lumberjack competition. 

The fourth-generation syrup maker said she couldn’t help but think what her great-grandparents would say, knowing the company and festival remain in good hands. 

“Men wore suits, they wore hats, ladies wore dresses. It was extremely formal. But they had sheep shearing contests, and they had oxen pulls, horse pulls, and it was very agriculture based. So I think he’d be amazed to where it is today,” said Freeman. 

Richards currently produces nearly 150 varieties of maple products. The yearly maple festival runs through Sunday at Chardon Square.