88-year-old Vermont man keeps splitting wood after decades in maple syrup business
Roger Kennison moved his wood-splitting operation closer to home to stay near his wife during her battle with dementia
WESTFIELD, Vt. (Aging Untold) — Roger Kennison started chopping down trees as part of the process of making maple syrup. While Kennison is no longer in the maple syrup business, he is still splitting wood.
Kennison and his son Bill have a sweet spot for their land and a certain structure the family owns in Westfield. A weatherbeaten relic from the past sits on a bumpy logging road surrounded by sugar maples.
Kennison figures it’s at least a century of making maple syrup with the Kennison clan, with memories flowing like sap on a warm spring day.
“We’ve always burnt firewood at the sugar house. That’s how we boil,” Kennison said.
Roger Kennison’s daughter, Judy Jenne, even made a sign when she was 12 that read “Wood is good.”
Old sugar house abandoned for modern replacement
The old sugar house has been abandoned. A modern replacement is down the hill next to the road. But Roger Kennison says it’s just not the same.
His days of working with trees are far from over. His job is keeping people warm, splitting cords of wood to feed their stoves for the winter.
Word of mouth brings many local customers.
Wood splitter moved to be near wife
Roger Kennison used to split wood at the sugar operation, but he moved it down the road to his home for a very good reason.
“He moved it to the house to be close to my mom so that she could see him,” Jenne said.
Roger Kennison and his wife, Jeanine, met when they were teens. Jeanine developed dementia, and Kennison moved his operation to stay visible to her. The couple was married for 65 years. Jeanine died surrounded by family.
The 88-year-old Roger has no intention of shutting down the splitter.
“I still feel pretty good,” Kennison said.
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