Syrup Making with Mr. James Baker in St. Helena Parish

James Baker
Photo Credit: Kris Davidson

There is little history recorded in the African-American community of the Louisiana-Florida Parishes about such things stories as the:  Syrup Makers, Black Cowboys, Midwives, Baseball Teams, Black Ropers, loggers, and the sawmill workers.  The syrup makers of St. Helena Parish meet each Thanksgiving in St. Helena to make syrup from sugarcane according to Michael Daniels, a native of St. Helena Parish.

Having been given the site, I decided to visit the master syrup maker myself. Since I wanted to watch the entire process from beginning to end, I got there really early. James arrive there early to start the fire from fat pine to get the stove going. I noticed that they used natural resources to make the oven. He used red clay dirt to make the container to hold the fire.  

I introduced myself and asked him if it was okay for me to take photographs and video the

process. I was extremely happy that he approved my presence and he assured me that everything was okay. James  is a man with few words but a vast amount of knowledge of his craft. In response to my question about who taught him the craft, he told me Monroe Perry.

Each man arrived with tons of sugarcane, containers for syrup, and helpers, and the trucks with sugarcane started rolling into the yard. In the first step of the process, the sugar cane was fed into a machine that squeezed out all its juice.  When the helpers pours the sugar cane liquid into the metal stove and heated up to a certain level that James monitored often. It was only he who had the ability to cook the syrup at that point. During the boil, he was skimming off the top as it slowly formed a foam. Afterward, he organized the containers where the syrup would be stored.

The next man in line was up next and the steps was repeated the last truck left the yard for the night. I learned a lot that day and was very appreciative of Michael informing of this process of making syrup. I met and interviewed several of the men who came out that day.