Sweet Taste of Success

When walking around Historic St. Agnes Cemetery in Menands, Luke McGarry had a pretty sweet idea.

You see McGarry, a cemetery director for Albany Diocesan Cemeteries, is serious about making syrup. Serious enough to drop the terms maple-syrup hydrometer and wood-fired evaporator when talking about the craft. 

And the Founders Hill section of the cemetery, the oldest part of the historic cemetery, just happens to have maple trees that are over 100 years old.

McGarry, who has been making syrup with his brother for over five years, brought up the idea of tapping the maple trees to Rick Touchette, the executive director of Albany Diocesan Cemeteries. 

“I said (to Rick) we should tap these trees,” McGarry said. “And he said, ‘Yeah, go for it.’”

It was a perfect match and has become a sugary success.

In his off hours, McGarry used Tree Saver Taps, which did not harm or shorten the tree’s lifespan, and ended with 42 gallons of sap from six trees, which equated to one gallon of syrup. He then bottled the syrup in four ounce jars and gave it to the employees.

“I got some wows, and wow that is dynamite (from the staff),” McGarry said. “It’s a really cool thing to give to the employees. People said ‘I had pancakes last night.’ All right, Tuesday night pancakes.”

Next year, McGarry, who oversees 12 out of the 18 cemeteries, celebrates his 20th anniversary on the job and plans an even bigger haul.