Visit the Whisnant family, who reside in Union Mills, North Carolina, and share their story of a cane harvest and molasses-making season. The family has been making and selling molasses in the valley known as Cane Creek for three generations, taking part in a way of life that is gradually disappearing.

The way the molasses is made each autumn hasn't changed much since tractors replaced mules and horses in the 1940's. Cane is grown and cut. The stalks, stripped of their leaves, are taken to the mill where the juice is squeezed and collected. Then the juice is boiled until it becomes thick and the molasses ready. This harvest continues until frost when the juice in the stalks becomes too bitter for making.

The film documents the last year the Whisnant family will be making molasses. Donnie Barnes has acquired the old equipment and hopes to put it on display somewhere in the future. For questions or comments about the film, please email Donnie Barnes directly at "djb at donniebarnes.com".

Enjoy the film!

What: Cane Creek Molasses
Where: Union Mills, North Carolina
When: Fall, 1999
How: Filmed by Sandra Jacobi of Raleigh, NC
Why: To help document part of an old way of life.
Who: The Whisnant family.