SHEPHERD – More than 7,000 pancake meals were served this past weekend at Shepherd’s 51st Annual Maple Syrup Festival.

The event brought people from across Michigan and out of state who were craving Michigan-made maple syrup.

The all-you-can-eat pancakes, sausage and syrup meal, held at Shepherd High School, 100 E. Hall St., brought in crowds as usual, said Pete Alexander, Shepherd fire chief and chair of Shepherd’s Maple Syrup Committee. The festival served 1,500 meals on Friday and 5,500 meals on Saturday afternoon, Alexander said.

Another popular event for visitors was the tractor pull.

Saturday’s event featured tractors made in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.

Ron Ackels, an Owosso native, brought his tractor made of “good junk” to compete. He has been coming to the festival for 30 years.

“Last night, (my tractor) pulled five times its weight,” Ackels said.

His tractor pulled the concrete slabs 3.5 inches.

Clayton Lyon, the event announcer and a Shepherd resident, said the tractors were pulling 15,000 to 18,000 pounds of concrete. A garden tractor pull was organized on Sunday for the kids, he said.

Other events included a carnival, children’s activities, garage sales and camping.

Oxford resident Lee Prain came with friends from Oxford and Troy to camp out for the weekend.

Prain said the group has a long history of coming to the Maple Syrup Festival.

“We’ve been (camping at the festival) for 20 years,” he said.

Kim Beedle, a Potterville resident, participated in the arts and crafts show. She said she enjoys the festival because of community and visitors.

“Some vendors have done this for over twenty years,” Beedle said. “They all know each other; it’s a community.”

Allissa Gross, a Shepherd junior, was one of the volunteers at the pancake tent on Saturday. She said she enjoys volunteering and running into old friends at the festival.

“I get to see lots of people (I know,)” she said. “Lots of community members. It’s a great community.”

People showed up from all over, Alexander said.

“I was just talking to a guy who was selling tickets, from Colorado,” he said. “He grew up here, and came back to help. (Volunteering) is just a tradition.”

The Isabella County Sheriff’s Department also set up a booth at the festival. Sheriff Leo Mioduszewski said the department wanted to reach out to the community.

“It’s a way for us to get out in the public,” he said. “(This is) the best place to see everybody.”

Shepherd resident Betty Gimmey ran the maple syrup merchandise booth. The booth sold homemade maple syrup, maple candy, maple sugar and other maple treats.

“We’re usually busy all weekend,” she said.

Gimmey said Shepherd has a lot of maple trees, and the community began processing the syrup for the festival months ago.

Volunteers turned out in droves to work booths, serve guests, collect tickets and make pancakes.

Alexander said the event takes about 550 to 600 volunteer shifts to make the event successful. Many volunteers return year after year, he said.

Alexander, like many residents, began volunteering at a young age.

Fourteen grills were set up for cooking, Alexander said, and as many as 12 pancakes can fit on each.

“We can make a lot of pancakes,” he said.

metro@cm-life.com

E-mail the author: Hilary Farrell