PORT JERVIS, NY — The Hub @ The Port Jervis Free Library, 138 Pike St., will be presenting a program for beginners who want to experiment with producing maple syrup on Thursday, February 23 at 7 p.m. The presenter will be Dr. Frank Simpson, a local veterinarian for 50 years, a former Town of Deerpark historian, and one of the founders of the Neversink Valley Area Museum in Cuddebackville, where his maple syrup production demonstrations have educated museum visitors for many years.

Maple syrup is among the oldest food products in North America. Folklore credits Native Americans with the discovery of this natural sweetener and European settlers with adopting and refining the practice. There are no authenticated accounts of how maple syrup production and consumption began, but various legends exist. One of the most popular involves maple sap being used in place of water to cook venison served to a chief. Other stories credit the development of maple syrup production to the spirit Nanabozho, or mythical cultural hero Glooskap, or even the squirrel.

Register at thehub@portjervislibrary.org or 845/772-7586.