As the Old School History Museum team gets ready for our next Sunday At The Museum lecture, we are all in the learning curve about honeybees and beekeeping. We are also delighted to have Mary Lacksen, a well-known beekeeper, as our guest speaker on October 8th! Because she is a highly sought-after speaker, I was delighted when she accepted our invitation!

I also found myself going back to my childhood visits with a very dear aunt and uncle. Uncle Tom was a beekeeper and occasionally let my sister and me watch him “rob his bees” as he called it. Even though I thought “robbing” was not a very nice thing to do, it didn’t stop us from enjoying the large jar of honey that was always on their farmhouse table! It was also great fun when Aunt Lois let us have the honeycomb to chew! Little did I know then, or care, that a honeycomb is rich in antioxidants that boost the immune system and that it has other ingredients good for the heart!

I wondered if there were any famous people who kept bees as a hobby for personal pleasure or health reasons. I was amazed at who I found and how far back in history beekeeping goes! Here are a few names that you will recognize:

Beyonce: “I have around 80,000 bees, and we make hundreds of jars of honey a year,” she continued, noting how her hobby helps her two daughters, Blue Ivy and Rumi. “I started the beehives because my daughters both have terrible allergies, and honey has countless healing properties.”

Henry Fonda starred in 96 films, won an Oscar for "Best Actor” in On Golden Pond, and was also a beekeeper. He gave away honey in jars that he labeled Henry's Honey. When he was a youngster, he earned his Eagle Scout's merit badge for beekeeping.

Morgan Freeman, an Academy Award-winning actor, has always been an outspoken advocate for the protection of the environment. Since becoming a beekeeper, he has devoted a large portion of his Mississippi ranch to the care of his bees. He is now a spokesman for bees and beekeeping.

Martha Stewart, TV star and expert on all things home and garden, says that her desire to have great gardens fostered her love of honeybees. She has been a beekeeper since the 1970’s and uses her homegrown honey in dessert recipes and even salad dressings.

Leonardo DiCaprio “uses beekeeping as a “way to de-stress.” He builds his own hives in the garden of his Los Angeles home garden.”

The White House: Although many American presidents have kept bees on their personal property, it is believed that the first bee hives at the White House were set up during the Obama administration. The pastry chef, already a beekeeper, advised locating the beehive of 70,00 bees on the South Lawn so the foraging bees could help pollinate the Kitchen Garden. The hives are still there.

I hope you will join us on Sunday, October 8, at 2 p.m. at The Plaza Arts Center! Remember that all the Old School History Museum events are free and open to the public but donations are appreciated. Even more, there will be a reception afterward with some delicious refreshments, and our speaker will also bring some of her honey to sell.

You can visit the BeeCo Apiaries website for more information about our guest speaker and her honey bees.

contributed by:

Sandra Rosseter, Director

Old School History Museum