Ann Swanson

I have long been fascinated by bees. Our family has a long history with the beekeeping process.

It all started with a swarm of bees found in our pasture. We had gone to a family wedding and when we returned the men had chores to do. My husband discovered a swarm of bees in a hollow tree in the pasture. My father-in-law was excited. He quickly built a box to house them, then looked for protective clothing to take the swarm in. My mother-in-law fixed them up with an old curtain and rubber bands around the cuffs.

My mother-in-law and I sat on the hillside to watch the process. The men struggled a bit, but eventually managed to get the bees into the box. From that time on there have been bees at the farm. That incidentally was before we had children.

The next day we went to the tractor supply store where they sold beehives. My husband had read a lot about bees so he knew just what he needed. The clerk knew nothing about bees and knew nothing about what was needed for a hive. My husband built the beehive right in the store adding all of the parts that were needed. When it was done we paid for the hive and put it into the truck.

They set up the hive near some fruit trees on the farm. The bees eventually found the hive and with the incentive of some sugar water went in. Once they were inside my husband added the queen excluder so they would stay.

We never had more than two or three hives. When we moved to Hickory Heights we moved a hive up here. I remember the bee inspector coming to look at the hives. Our son got very interested in the bees. He read everything he could get his hands on. Now our son was not really a big reader but when he found something of interest was willing to read about it.

In a publication that came to the house my husband found an extractor for sale. Since it was the busiest time of the year my mother-in-law and I were elected to go pick up the extractor. We loaded the children in the car and went out in the country to pick it up.

Now, before I go on let me tell you how we had been getting the honey out of the hives up until we bought the extractor. We were melting it out on the kitchen stove. It was a terribly messy process. I put the wax I collected outside of the trailer door. It was not long until I had bees flying all over the place taking that wax back to the hive.

We had the hive we were working on beside our picnic table. That did not work either because our daughter climbed up to see it. There were bees flying all around her. It was a wonder that she did not get stung.

I remember that one of the children knocked a jar of honey from my countertop. I scrubbed and scrubbed but the floor remained tacky for quite a while. I was just thankful that the child did not get burned in the process because the honey was hot.

I loved having my own supply of honey to use whenever I wanted. I tried many recipes that called for honey. One summer there was a shortage of sugar. That summer I canned some of the fruit with honey. It made the peaches, pears, and applesauce taste a little different, but it was really good. My nephew asked me why my fruit tasted different so I told him. He really liked it.

Finally we bought an electric knife to uncap the honey comb. That worked well. We used the extractor to get the honey out of the comb.

Our son asked for a swarm of bees one Christmas. His in-laws purchased it for him. When it arrived at the Post Office he got a call. They even waited there until he finished with work so he could pick it up.. There is something about a swarm of bees that frightens everyone. They wanted it out of there as soon as possible.

He sold raw honey at his little store. When they started the store there were few regulations in place. Once he had to be inspected he had to stop selling his own honey. He now purchases the honey from another producer nearby to sell there. Of course, since it passing through another set of hands the price had to go up. Honey is a popular item because of its healthful benefits.

They used to have a demonstration portion of a hive at the Jamestown Audubon Center. It was really fun to watch the bees coming and going. Children could get a look at how nature works. I am not sure if it is still there or not.

I frequently took some of the beekeeping equipment to school to show the children. I explained how the equipment was used and donned the gear to show them they could not be stung in the process. Of course, I always took in some of the honey so the children could taste it.

The health of the bees is important to agriculture. Bees pollinate plants. That is necessary to producing a good supply of fruit. Whenever we went to an orchard to pick fruit they always had some hives of bees there. If the bees get diseased the hive must be destroyed. We cannot afford to let the bee population disappear.

Honey has been around for a long time. It is mentioned in the Bible and even before that in history. It is an important part of the ecosystem. It is a sweetener as well as an aide in healing. Honey is valued for its medicinal properties. When I was growing up my grandmother always made honey and lemon as a cough syrup.

Ann Swanson writes from her home in Russell, PA. Contact at hickoryheights1@verizon.net.