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There are Beekeeper Friends and Acquaintances to Consider
By: James E. Tew
The floor is not wet. It is coated with clear epoxy.
This is the annual “People” issue of Bee Culture
As this issue theme clearly shows, this is the annual topic dedicated to beekeeping people – not necessarily to bees. According to those in the know about such things, this annual issue is normally one of the most popular issues of the year. It is an admirable topic for consideration. After all, it is clearly dedicated people who bring life to beekeeping. The bees can go on without us.
In various podcasts and articles, I have recently tried, without formal training, to review the personality traits and psychological stages that typical people experience when involved in beekeeping. Many years ago, long before varroa and Africanzied honey bees were an issue, I was responsible for a degree-granting beekeeping training program at The Ohio State University. I was to “recruit students.” I never found a technique that could predict who could be a keeper and who could never keep bees.
Through the years, I have spent much time trying to determine what personality traits led one to beekeeping and where could I go to recruit these special individuals. I have often wondered how many people, who if they had been given the opportunity, could have become dedicated, productive keepers but they were never introduced to the craft. I suppose that this could be true with anything. Maybe I could have been an accomplished auctioneer or a commercial airline pilot. I don’t know. I never tried.
Nurturing people as well as bees
We constantly implement management protocols to aid bees in their seasonal productivity and in their survival. We hold meetings. We watch YouTube influencers who post training videos. We buy books – lots of them. We think that we are doing all of this for the bees, but in reality, we are frequently doing this to subsidize beekeepers – not only bees. Beekeepers need nurturing by other beekeepers as much as bees need help with their problems.
I feel that it is appropriate that an annual monthly issue of Bee Culture is dedicated to the other half of beekeeping – the bee keepers – is perfectly appropriate. The bees never change, but beekeepers come and go.
A lifetime of bee people
As do all of you, I have a lifetime of associations and friendships with beekeepers. To my knowledge, I have no beekeeper enemies. To compose this piece, I went through all my slides, jpegs, and hardcopy photos searching for pictures of people who entered and enhanced my bee life. I have known (and still know) so many beekeepers as to be hopelessly unable to list and discuss all of them.
My simple selection criteria for this article was that I had a photo of the person I was referencing. That’s all. I had photos. I have not done a biographical review on the following people. I am writing about them as I knew them, as friends, peers and acquaintances. In no order nor with any perceived favoritism, here are some people what have affected beekeeping in a positive, long-term way.
Thomas Ross (Departed)
Other than Tom having first been an architect, I know little else about his pre-bee life. He lived hardly an hour away from me. He apparently became involved in beekeeping, thanks to the nurturing efforts of a prominent local beekeeper, Ms. Martha Pemberton. Initially, Tom was apparently one of those new beekeepers who could not get enough of the craft. By the time I came to Ohio in 1978, Tom was already an Ohio beekeeping fixture.
He knew the history and operational mechanics of all the round section equipment that was available at the time. “Cobana” was one of the predecessors to RossRounds. Tom was on my university advisory committee and was a vocal and opinionated source of support for my small training program. During the difficult Killer Bee and Varroa Mite introduction years, I could certainly have used some vocal support. He donated considerable amounts of Ross Round equipment to my lab. Naturally, for many years, we produced the unique product. All these years later, it is an established way to produce comb honey.
Mr. Ross was an absolute wealth of round comb honey information. Yet, he would not present on the subject – or any subject. He would always pass the responsibility back to me or to others who were familiar with the concept of Ross Rounds. I learned a lot from him, but I never heard him speak.
Dr. Lawrence John Connor
Larry Connor has been a part of my beekeeping life since my earliest days in beekeeping. Dr. Dewey Caron and he are lifelong friends and peers. Since I was Dr. Caron’s student, I remember Larry from decades ago.
Larry is the consummate presenter and comprehensive beekeeper. He has a clarion voice and is intimately aware of all aspects of beekeeping. I have had the honor of participating with him at numerous events and at many of the Spring workshop meetings that have been held in Wooster, Ohio, where Larry had a table. I have purchased numerous bee books from his publishing company, Wicwas Press.
After many years of university and bee industry employment, Larry acquired the Wicwas Press from Dr. Roger Morse, Cornell University. This bee book supply has been an invaluable educational source to beekeepers for many years.
In 1989, Wicwas Press was purchased by Dr. Lawrence J. Connor who later organized it into an LLC in Connecticut. Now published out of Kalamazoo, MI, Wicwas Press’s titles include numerous acclaimed works by contemporary authors and bee experts, as well as reprints of significant historical beekeeping books and fiction. The company is family owned, with the help of Andrew Connor and his wife Darcy helping with book sales and day-to day operations. The business is supported by others, who help with the editing, website management and daily activities. From: http://www.wicwas.com/
I have always enjoyed and profited from attending his presentations. He is an industry resource without comparison.
Steve Taber (Departed)
Apparently, Steve had a bee background long before he came to the USDA ARS. Steve was always my “go-to” source for both for routine bee facts and “off the wall” bee facts. He had a booming South Carolina accent and would literally pace to the very back of the room – sans microphone – as he presented. This unique behavior would interestingly require the audience to nearly twist completely around in their seats to keep him in their field of view. He was a dynamic speaker with an equally dynamic voice.
I was an audience member at one of his presentations on honey bee queen production. With his southern parlance, he boomed to the audience, “If you have a good frame to graft from and the day is ending, wrap it in a moist towel and put it in the refrigerator overnight”. I was aghast and followed up with him after he finished. He firmly stated again that an overnight stay, with added moisture, in the refrigerator did not harm eggs or young larvae. I have never tried putting brood in the refrig, but I always remember that Steve boldly said you could do it. Maybe you can try it with your bee brood. Let me know what happens.
Another of his unusual recommendations was not to graft larvae in full sunlight. He told the audience that the tiny larvae would quickly sunburn and die or at least be harmed by the bright sunlight. Consequently, I never graft in sunlight. I wonder if it’s really true.
Of course, with all wandering and gesticulating during his presentations along with his unusual insights into bee behavior – particularly queen production – you would suspect that he was a prankster. He was. There was a photo of President Nixon hanging in the Tucson lab hallway. Every day, he would put a slight slant to the photo so it didn’t hang straight. Every day, the maintenance staff would straighten the unruly portrait. Yet the next day, it was again crooked. The staff used double-faced tape. Nope, it flexed. They put a small nail beneath the offending corner. The next day, it was tilted the other way. Surely someone must have figured it out, but Steve loved the subterfuge. He enjoyed telling the escapade on any occasion.
A few of my beekeeper friends
I risk offending friends that I do not mention here but I insist that there is no insult or slight intended – just limited space and lack of photos.
Dr. John Hurst
Dr. Hurst is long retired from his OB/GYN practice. Throughout all his medical years, he was keeping bees. That’s more than forty years. A few years ago, he abruptly stated that he was now better known for his bee project than for his earlier medical work. While he has many irons his life’s fire, his bees are always a high priority for him.
One of the most unique and logical bee things that he does is that each Spring, he runs a short queen production system. He produces enough queen cells for his splits that he makes and then he shuts down. It’s a quick seasonal event. John has agreed to present a podcast with me on this queen producing event. I’m looking forward to the session.
He and his wife are able to sell all the honey he can produce to his medical associates and to his friends and former patients. John also puts up baited swarm traps each season from which he gets several swarms each year.
The Alabama Beekeepers Association awarded Dr. Hurst their 2024 Beekeeper of the Year award. John is an excellent speaker, particularly on the topic of honey bee sting reactions. John deserved the award.
I must admit that John frequently sends me photos of his various bee projects. You have seen many of his photos in my articles. Thank you, John.
Charlie Parton
I have known Charlie for years. We have the opportunity to visit a couple of times each year. He keeps his bees on his farm in East Tennessee, and I can assure you that he is a consummate beekeeper. He is on always schedule and his bees are beautifully maintained. I leech copious amounts of information and experience from him for articles that I may be composing.
Charlie is active in multiple organizations including the Heartland Beekeeping Association. Naturally, with all this bee involvement, throughout the region, he is a popular speaker. Additionally, he has a beautiful extracting operation that is immaculate all the time. I don’t know how he does it. Charlie has been a good friend through the years. He sends me pictures as he sees something noteworthy but importantly, when he visits, he frequently bring me some fresh okra. Okra is not a particularly happy plant in Ohio.
I must stop
I am out of allocated space, but I have enjoyed reviewing and reminiscing. Beekeepers are a sticky bunch. We congregate at meetings with likeminded people and we exchange opinions and develop new information. We have been doing this kind of thing for many, many years. I would suggest that we should value our beekeeping friends. They are a valuable part of our growth system. We need friends.
Thank you
I truly appreciate your time and energy that you spent reading this. Thank you.
Dr. James E. Tew
Emeritus Faculty, Entomology
The Ohio State University
tewbee2@gmail.com
Host of Honey Bee
Obscura Podcast
www.honeybeeobscura.com
