This time of year, many of our maple syrup farmers are busy harvesting tree sap.  Making maple syrup is a long and laborious process but for Dawn Drum and her family, co-owners of Oweneco Farms, Lebanon, it’s fun and rewarding.   The history of maple syrup making on the Oweneco Farm dates back to sugar rationing during WWII.   We honor this tradition here.

Congratulations are in order for Keith Fontaine, VP and Chief Communications Officer, Backus Hospital, for being awarded the 60th Annual Citizen of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut.  If you know Keith, you know how dedicated he is to helping various community and civic organizations.  Mark your calendars for May 4th as an award dinner will be held in his honor.  More here.

March 4th was an historical day for the Mohegan Tribe as the Council of Elders announced their unanimous decision to appoint  Mohegan’s first Tribal Chairwoman Lynn Malerba to serve as Chief, a lifetime appointment and highest honor.  This position was vacant since the passing of Chief Ralph Sturges “G’tinemong” in 2007.  Lynn will be the 17th Chief in the Tribe’s history.  Story here.

Let’s salute First Lieutenant Michael Petersen, Mystic resident, here, now working logistical convoy operations at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.  “I have very strong ties to the area that I hope to return to very soon,” says 1LT Petersen, Convoy Commander 1404th Transportation Company.
 
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story & photos
by Alexis Ann

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With her hand to her heart, Lynn Malerba graciously and humbly accepts the appointment of Chief by the Council of Elders. She will be known by the Mohegan name “Mutawi Mutahash” which translates as “Many Hearts.”

Everyone filed into the morning press conference at the Mohegan Congregational Church in Uncasville and took their seats. The atmosphere was of happiness and honor. Chairman Robert F. Soper, Council of Elders, Mohegan Tribe, approached the podium to announce the appointment of Mohegans first Tribal Chairwomen Lynn Malerba to serve as the Chief of the Mohegan Tribe. Both Tribal Elders and Tribal Council members joined Lynn in this celebration.

Robert introduced Lynn by saying, “Because of her excellent character, her exceptional diplomacy, her outstanding leadership and her devotion to the Mohegan Tribe and its people, we have unanimously decided that our next Chief shall be Lynn Malerba.”

Mark Brown, Tribal Ambassador,  agrees that this decision is “All good.” Lynn will be the 17th Chief in the Tribe’s history. She will continue to serve as Mohegan’s first Tribal Chairwoman until her induction as the first female Chief since 1723. The induction is schedule for August 15th during homecoming cermonines at Fort Shantok.

The position of Chief is a lifetime appointment and Lynn will be filling the vacant position, open since the passing of Chief Ralph Sturges in 2007.

With great humility and happiness, Chairwoman Lynn said, “I am extremely grateful to be appointed to this position and remember those who have come before me, beginning with our last Chief Ralph Sturges.”

Lynn will be known by the Mohegan name “Mutawi Mutahash” which translates as “Many Hearts.” She credited Medicine Woman Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel for helping her with her name selection the previous night. Lynn said, “It is a great responsibility, and at the same time, a great honor.”

When Lynn is inducted as Chief in August, she will continue to work for the greater good of all and she made it known that, “Once I am installed as Chief, acting in concert with both elected bodies, the Tribal Council and the Elders [Council]; I will work to be a complement to their efforts.”

Lynn spoke about how it was important to ensure that the Tribal Nation not only endures but thrives in the next generations. To ensure this,  “I will care for this generation of hearts, the ones that I know today and the ones that I will meet in the future.” She felt that this privilege bestowed upon her calls for an understanding of all generations.

Lynn also understands that, “The Chief represents continuity and stability within the Tribal Nation.  Each Chief has historically defined his role, and I say his – there was only one other female Chief and it was for a very brief time in the seventeen hundreds – by the needs of the Tribal Membership and the times they have found themselves in.”

Chairwoman Lynn will define her role as Chief, in these new times, with a woman’s perspective. Her mother, Loretta Mae Fielding Roberge said, “We don’t like to say women, but I think it is a good example for all women to see – if you work hard you can succeed and move forward.”

Chairwoman Lynn has a vast background that will help her as Chief. When it came time to pursue her studies beyond high school, Lynn chose Hartford Hospital School of Nursing where she became a diploma-ed registered nurse. Lynn then continued her studies at St. Joseph’s College.  “I knew that if I didn’t get my Bachelor of Science in Nursing, I wouldn’t be able to progress in the field.” Lynn did just that. Her nursing career includes working at Hartford Hospital for two years and Lawrence & Memorial for 21 years. She currently serves on L&M’s Board of Directors. Her other experience within the Tribe includes serving as Executive Director of the Tribe’s Health and Human Services Department. Lynn later earned a Master’s Degree in Public Administration at the University of Connecticut, 2008.

In a statement released to the Resident, Senator Chris Dodd said, “It is fitting that the Mohegan Tribe has appointed Lynn Malerba to be the first female Chief in almost three centuries during Women’s History Month. The duties of the Tribe’s Chief are great, and I have no doubt that Lynn will do an excellent job as its new leader, as she has done as the Tribal Council Chairwoman and previously as the Executive Director of the Tribe’s Health and Human Services Department.”

Lynn draws from and finds inspiration in her family. Lynn is one of seven children – five sisters and one brother – to parents Albert and Loretta Roberge.  Her mother served on the Tribal Council for 30 years and assisted with the Tribe’s petition for Federal Recognition.

Loretta, said of her daughter, “I know in my heart that Lynn will follow in the footsteps of many great Chiefs and continue the strong leadership role of women in the Mohegan Tribe as we move forward together into the 21st Century.”

Lynn grew up with an awareness of the Mohegans’ struggle for Federal Recognition and teared up as she acknowledged the spiritual guidance of her mother. It is all of the combined experiences that bring Lynn to say, “I am but one leader in a long line of very respected leaders in our Mohegan Nation and I will always seek to honor my Tribal Family by my actions and words, and not just this family but those that are yet to come.”

Lynn is the great-granddaughter of Matahga (Burrill Fielding), who served as the Tribe’s Chief from 1937-1952.

Lynn is married to Paul Malerba, and they have two daughters, Elizabeth, 26, and Angela, 23.

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story & photo
by Crystal Harpstreit

Even though, Oweneco Farms Sugar Shack, Lebanon, opened in 1991, Dawn Drum and her family have been making maple syrup since sugar rationing during World War II. The farm is more than 300-years old.

Dawn says that in the 1940s, “We made it [maple syrup] for ourselves.” When people found out that the family was making their own maple syrup, in the 1970s, they asked if they could have some too. Interest grew until Dawn decided to go into business with her husband, John, her brother Frank Spafford Grabber and his wife, Evelyn. Although Frank passed away in 2008, his family continues making maple syrup to honor him.

Making maple syrup is hard work and the family’s dedication to the process is what keeps the sugar shack going. John says, “It’s a lot of work, but a lot of fun.”

In February, with cold nights and sunny days, the weather is ideal for maple syrup making. Dawn says, “We need the temperature to go down to the 20s at night and to be in the 40s during the day.” During the winter, the sap stays in the roots of the trees and the warmer temperature during the day causes it to run.

In January, the family puts up about 100 taps.  Thin blue pipes run from tree to tree in the sugar bush. These are beginning to replace the buckets that everyone is used to seeing. “We use pipe lines because they’re cleaner and easier for us,” says Dawn.

 “No more than three taps are put on one tree at a time,” says John and if a tree isn’t healthy looking, it will not be tapped. Once the sap flows out of the trees, it all ends up in a single tank. From there, it goes to the sugar shack to be boiled down. Sometimes extra tanks are used if there is an especially high volume of sap flowing.

At Oweneco Farms, Dawn and her family always use pine slabs to make their fires because pine burns hot and fast. The high temperature is important because, most of the water in the sap needs to be boiled off and, as Dawn says, “Sap is 98% water and 2% sugar.”

After the sap is boiled down, the syrup is filtered. In the beginning, Dawn’s family used paper and wool filtering cones. Now, they use a filtering press with paper filters because less syrup is lost.  The filtration process gets rid of any particles left in the maple syrup, but is mostly for looks since nothing in the syrup is harmful.

At the beginning of the season, the sap that is collected creates light, golden colored syrup, known as Grade A Light or Fancy. As the season goes on, the syrup becomes darker and is called Grade B. Grade B syrup can be bitter, but the strong flavor is good for cooking. It’s often used to make food such as maple flavored ice cream.

Once in a while, Dawn and her family make maple sugar candy. To do this, the finished maple syrup needs to be heated again, this time to 238 degrees Fahrenheit and stirred. When it’s the right consistency, it is poured into molds and left to set. The family usually saves candymaking for kids that come to visit with school and Girl Scout and Boy Scout trips. Though, anytime visitors come to the farm they can get a tour, John says, “If we’re here and you’re here, we give a tour.”

Oweneco Farms is named after Oweneco, the son of Uncas, the first Mohegan sachem. Dawn’s ancestor, Thomas Spafford purchased the land from Oweneco in 1701. The name means black drake and this is represented through the farm’s logo which is an Indian with black ducks flying by.

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