The Loveliest Village

Most fall Saturdays in Auburn, Ala. are characterized by one thing. Football. But this Saturday, Oct. 28, as Auburn prepared to play Ole Miss away, students and residents of Lee county and surrounding areas flocked to a different kind of fall ritual, the Syrup Sop.

According to the official website, every fall (usually on an away game weekend in October) since 1972, the Loachapoka Ruritan Club, the Ladies Improvement Club and the Lee County Historical Society sponsor the Syrup Sopping Day and Historical Fair in Loachapoka, Ala. Located just west of Auburn University, Loachapoka is a tiny rural town that exists mostly for the purpose of Syrup Soppin Day. Loachapoka ’s official population is a dwindling 135 citizens, but on Syrup Soppin’ Day, the town comes alive with more than 15,000 visitors. In fact, Auburn student and first time attendee, Doug Anderson was surprised that so many people got up so early for the festival this year.

The festival starts at sunrise, and the syrup is made on-site right before vistors eyes. Workers peel the husks off the sorghum cane and feed the shoots into the mill. A horse or mule is attached to the sweep (a long pole) and walks around the mill in circles to “juice” the sugar cane. The green colored juice is strained and boilded for three to five hours until thick and syrupy. The sweet caramely syrup is served over Hardees buscuits with a steaming cup of coffee.

But syrup is not the only thing you’ll find at the Syrup Sop. Covering the grassy fields beside the railroad tracks like a blanket are numerous tents and booths filled with novelty items, arts and crafts, homemade baked goods and preserves, t-shirts and antiques. After a morning of eating and shopping, festival attendees can relax on a bail of hay and listen to the harmonious sound of live bluegrass music. Children can take a ride on the “party train” or on the horse that turns the sweep for the syrup.

On the other side of the road, on the museum property, is the separate but similar Historical Fair run by museum staff and volunteers. In these boths, volunteers dressed in period clothing demostrate long-lost trades like soap making, weaving and cooking over open fires. Visitors can tour the museum, take photographs in the old jail cell, and have a hot lunch of stew and cornbread. Visitors to the historical fair may learn, for example, that Loachapoka was founded by Creek indians. And that the word Loachapoka comes actually means “turtle burial ground.”

With no stop lights and a mainstreet lineup consisting of the Rattling Gourd gallery, Fred’s Feen-n-Seed, a museum and a post office, passing through Loachapoka feels like stepping back in time. People in Loachapoka live a slow-paced, simple life. They value family and community, some good bluegrass music and, of course, their thick and sweet homemade syrup. Chris Patterson, a senior in industrial and systems engineering at Auburn, attended the festival for the second time this year, and came back for that very reason. “It feels like you’re stepping through a time warp when you go to Loachapoka. That’s why I like to come here. You get to take a break from the stressful, fast-paced college life and enjoy the simple things like fried apple pies and syrup and people playing the mandolin,” he explains

“I love to tailgate and watch football,” says Patterson, “but when we don’t have a game, it’s fun to experience the atmosphere of the festival; it’s a nice change. Everyone loves good country cooking and there’s never a lack of interesting things to see.”  Patterson recommends that every Auburn student attend the Syrup Sop at least once while they are here.

Photos by Amy A. Walker.

Listen to the podcast to hear more about Doug Anderson’s first impression of the Syrup Sop.

 

 Doug Anderson interview [6:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (2)

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