A bit of history....

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The Athens Youth Council was formed in 1950 by a group of six  dedicated men with a vision, interested in promoting activities for the
  betterment of youth in the Athens school area. These founding fathers were  Frank Bauer, Frank Kelly, Millard (Doc) Pugh, Les Snyder, Tom Thomlinson and  Elgin Williams. 

A twelve member citizen board now governs the Athens Youth  Council and implements the by-laws of the council. The purpose of the Athens  Youth Council is to promote youth activities and provide funding as needed.  Funds are generated for use by the Athens Youth Council through the annual  processing and selling of Maple Syrup. 

The first entry on the books was made March 3, 1950, borrowing  $650 from the Athens Community Association. The purchase of an evaporator and a  few supplies were made. A building was erected behind Pontoni’s Locker Plant and  we were in business. The first organizational meeting of the Board of Directors  of the Athens Youth Council was held on Sunday, March 19, 1950. 
 
In 1951 we purchased the site of the old stockyards from L.E.  Outman and moved the Sap Shanty to the location where it stands now. 
 
In 1952 the bottling room was added. 
 
We purchased the John Deere H for $300 from Austin (Sam) Converse  (Rowene Snyder’s Father) and a 1946 John Deere Series B tractor was purchased  for $400. Good maintenance has helped us to keep the tractors running today! 
 
Around 1966 we made a big switch from wood to gas.  Consumers  Electric  helped us to accomplish this big task, it was new to  everyone. It was a success and no more wood needed to be cut and the gas  ended up being  more efficient.

A bit of history....

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 In 1968-69 the current  building was built: it is a 21’ x 42’pole building with a cement floor, gas  furnace, hot water heater, kitchen area and  bathroom. A 24’ x 36’ addition  was added to house two Jon Deere tractors and  wagons.

Prior to  having disposable bags to hang on the trees, we use to  wash out the old sap  bags and let them air dry on clothes lines, everyone was  excited when we  were able to purchase disposable bags!

Before we purchased bottles,  the local community would help us by  keeping all kinds of glass bottles to use for production. The local restaurants  and bar would keep the glass bottles and then as a fund raiser, the band members  from the school would  wash out all of the glass bottles so we could use them for  production. 
 
In May 1984, the Athens Youth Council was awarded the  Community  Achievement Award for the State of Michigan by the Greater  Michigan Foundation.  The Community Achievement Award is given annually  during Michigan Week to a city  or village group that has worked to bring  about an improvement or benefit to its  community.

In 1988 a 24’ x  36’ addition was added to house two John Deere  tractors and wagons. 
 
In 1990 we were the recipient of a $5000 Grant from the Federal  Government to reduce full costs and increase productivity. So the Evaporator was  replaced and a Piggyback Unit was implemented to speed up the process (total  cost $6,500).

In 2008 we purchased a new trailer and tank  and custom built the  new sap wagon- all for only $5000. The wagon turned  out  awesome!

In 2009 we replaced the Steam Away and Evaporator Units  costing  approximately $12,000.