The sweet smell of Autumn

The sweet smell of Autumn

By John Bernhisel

When I first moved to Wyoming in the late 1980s, I’ll admit I was horrified by the sharp, unfamiliar odor that drifted through town every fall from the sugar factory,  but over the years, that smell has become something like a warm hug, a reminder that all the hard work of my farming neighbors is being turned into sweet gold.

Every community has its own signs of autumn. For some, it’s football games, homecoming festivities, the sound of marching bands or the bright colors of turning leaves. Here in Lovell, we have one more blessing of fall, the scent of the sugar factory.

To some, it smells like wet dirt or even peanut butter. Others compare it to gingerbread. And yes, a few will admit they’d rather do without it. But I know it means that the beets are being dug, the trucks are bringing them in and the factory is running smoothly.

Voices from the Basin

This week I reached out to many of my friends on Facebook, asking what they thought of the sugar factory smell. The replies were filled with memories and opinions that told their own story. Farmers and factory workers often call it “the smell of money” or “the smell of prosperity.” Others remembered a parent or grandparent explaining, “That’s how we pay the bills.”

Several comments carried a deep sense of home:

“Loved the smell, because you knew autumn wasn’t far off.”

“It smells like home.”

“It reminds me of my childhood.”

“It smells warm and cozy and like home to me. I love it and look forward to it every year when it starts again.”

One friend summed it up best: “It represents generations of workers putting food on the table and roofs over their families’ heads.”

Wider perspectives

And it’s not just here. A few years back, a Reddit forum asked people who lived near sugar factories in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho to share their thoughts. The responses sounded familiar.

One person from Boise said, “I think it smells like peanut butter, but all my friends say it smells like wet dirt.” Another admitted, “All of my friends and family say it smells like rotting fish, but I have always enjoyed driving past the factory. I love that weird smell.”

Others from Montana chimed in with, “You might think it stinks, but my farmer friends tell me that’s the smell of money,” and “Freshly cut sugar beets fill the surrounding area with the scent of peanut butter.” Some folks even called it “Essence of Sugar Beets.”

Of course, there were blunt complaints, including one who said the plant smells like dog feces. But just as many proudly declared, “Grew up there with that smell and I love it!”

A bit of humor

One of the funniest stories I read said, “When I was growing up, I asked my grandma what the smell was. She said simply, ‘They’re making sugar.’ Later on, when someone let a fart slip, I piped up, ‘Someone’s making sugar!’ My family never let me live that one down.”

A personal reflection

After nearly 40 years of living near the factory, I’ve come to see the scent as a sign that all is well in the Big Horn Basin. I love to watch the trucks rumble by, piled high with beets, and I look forward to that unique smell of September and October when those beets are turned into sweetness.