WYSO
Ben Hamilton taps a tree to free the syrup inside. Hamilton turned a hobby of making maple syrup into a full-time operation after he retired 12 years ago.
For the 31 years Ben Hamilton worked at Ohio’s Shawnee State Park, he cooked a little maple syrup on the side. Twelve years ago, that changed when he retired to his hometown of Springfield and met next-door neighbor Mitch Workman.
They found out they both hunted turkeys. Workman, a former bee-keeper, then spotted syrup-making equipment in Hamilton’s garage. Hamilton picks up the story just as it devolves into an outtake from Grumpy Old Men.