The Bee Man

He was known all over Highland County, Ohio. He took his bees and honey to festivals, the county fair, schools and anywhere else he was invited. This was a man that truly enjoyed nature and took a special liking to honey bees early in his life.

He got his first hive when he was a teenage and was a beekeeper off and on his entire life. The managing of the hives for over half a century helped him acquire a knowledge that superseded anything that could be acquired in a classroom and made him a walking encyclopedia on the honey bee. And he never minded sharing that with anyone and everyone.

I was a city boy and knew nothing about a honey bee except that they stung and that hurt. I shamefully admit now that I used to see them on the clover blooms in the yard and often entertained myself by stomping them. However, over a period of some 20 years, through my associations with The Bee Man I learned to appreciate their value to the environment, their unique and complex "home" life and the sweet by-product. I learned that besides being sweet that natural honey has health benefits, that the bees pollinate some plants that would otherwise not get pollinated and that the honey comb is good to chew on. I learned enough that in my college speech class that every speech I gave, I used some aspect of the honey bee as a topic.

Not only did The Bee Man impart knowledge but he had an enthusiasm that was contageous. He inspired the young and old alike. He had an observation hive that he kept in his living room that was a conversation piece for all that entered. He would paint a little yellow dot on the back of the queen before he released her into that hive so he could point her out and let everyone watch her work. I said he kept it in his living room, I mean except when he did his presentations in the classrooms or set up his display at the festivals and fairs.

Beekeeping is not all fun, it is a lot of work. I have helped him gather the frames of honey from the hives, spin it in an extractor and then slooowly bottle it as the thick, rich honey oozed from the spout. Then there was the transporting it to the events and setting up the display. I was never convinced he made much money from all of his efforts. Actually, if the truth were known, I'll bet it didn't amount to a dollar an hour. But who was counting he was just having fun. This was The Bee Man, this was my father-in-law.