Bee Notes

We held our beginner Beekeeping classes in Clearfield and Cambria Counties over the last two Sundays. February 10th and 17th respectively. They were very well attended. We had nine potential beekeepers at the Clearfield meeting and thirty at the Cambria meeting. This was by far the most interest we have seen. These classes were aimed at the total novice. We strive to give them the information they need to make an informed decision on whether they want to keep honeybees. Both classes were free and open to the general public. Thanks are in order to the members of our association who participated to make these meetings, not only happen, but be a success. Also many thanks to the County Extension offices in both counties for the use of their facilities. Special thanks to Chuck Allen, County Extension Director, for donating his Sunday afternoon (again) so we could hold the Clearfield meeting.

The Western Pennslyvania Beekeeping Seminar was held in Monaca, PA the 15-16 of Feb. It was very well attended. The speakers were great and a lot of information was passed along. It was a great opportunity for beekeepers to learn new things, update information, keep abreast of the latest developments, meet some of the people doing the research we read about, and meet old and new friends. Special thanks to J. Lee Miller and Beaver Valley Beekeepers for all their hard work in setting this up and putting it on. I hope everyone appreciates how much work and time Lee puts into making this happen. He has been and is a great asset to beekeeping. Thank you.

During the last couple years there have been many challenges to keeping honeybees, some old, some new. One thing has remained constant. Beekeepers. They come in all ages, sizes, shapes and descriptions. They tend to be highly opinionated. (Polite way of saying stubborn and bullheaded.) But the one thing that ties us all together is the honeybee. Our love hate relationship with the bee seems to become ingrained in our blood. I know beekeepers that have "quit" four or five times. Sure some do give it up entirely for one reason or another. But most fight through the adversity and keep on going. The willingness of beekeepers to share their knowledge or sometimes lack thereof, with others makes this business different. We have taken the problem of CCD and the mites, etc. and used the publicity of these to spread the message of honeybees farther and faster than would have been possible otherwise. We still have to fight the problems just the same, but it has enabled us to get the message out. The better educated the public is, the easier beekeeping will be. So as the winter will soon draw to a close here and we get started into another season, remember whether you have one hive or thousands, what we do is important to more than just ourselves. The scent of propolis and beeswax will soon be on you again.

Ken Hoover