Mule Day, (Calvary, Georgia)

The Lions Club in Calvary, Georgia, sponsors an annual Mule Day. This is a phenomenally successful event, attracting about 600 vendors and tens of thousands of people. A focus of the day is production of sugar-cane syrup, which they do with both horse mill & kettle as well as with power mill and evaporator. Syrup is also produced for several days leading up to the event. Many people favor their syrup, and some purchase it by the case. (My thanks to Mr. Robert Lee for identifying the mills and explaining the process.)

Slides 1, 2, 3, and 4 show the mule-powered set-up and the typical kettle arrangement. Circumstances did not permit me to get the number off the mill, but I believe that it is a Golden No. 4x. 

Slides 5, 6, 7, and 8 show various shots of several men feeding a Chattanooga No. 72, which is rigged to a tractor pto.

Slides 9, 10, 11 are different views of a Golden No.36. Note the beads welded onto the worn rollers.

Slides 12 and 13 are of a second Golden No.36. This one is in operation and feeding juice into a storage vat inside the evaporator shed. Note the safety shield and the conveyor for removing bagasse.

Slides 14 and 15 are of a Columbus No.18 mill that was sold by Roddenbery Hardware Store in Cairo, Georgia.

The warming pan (Slide 16) holds the juice before it goes into the copper evaporator. Slide 17 puts the warming pan in the background and the "syrup end" of the copper evaporator in the foreground. Slides 18 and 19 are full views of the evaporator pan.

Slide 20, shows syrup coming off, and Slide 21, is the bottling station.