This time one year ago Thien and I were moving our second round of bees purchased from J.N. Russell in Bolton, Mississippi. Some of the commercial beekeepers we’ve met are too busy to teach, or tell stories. Mr. Russell, who started keeping bees at 13, did plenty of both, and even provided us iced tea and pecan pie after our long trip. He taught us his method for controlling mites and hive beetles, gave us a tour of his breeder queen yard, and sold us some very special bees. Those bees helped me get back on my feet after my losses the year before, and this summer they produced an average of 100 pounds of honey per hive. His queens were so prolific that I was able to divide the hives twice since the honey flow and almost triple the number of hives under my care.
We stayed in touch with Mr. Russell, buying more of his queens and sending him updates on his Mississippi hives that had “gone to Texas.” No conversation was complete until he had asked about Thien, not casually, but like he really meant it. Apparently they bonded on the second trip when, out of my earshot, she thanked him for helping me so much with his bees.
I had a call yesterday from a mutual friend who let me know that Mr. Russell had passed. During our visit a year ago he was recovering from a bout of pneumonia, but I could tell that he knew his time was near. But the sadness in his eyes dissipated whenever the conversation turned to bees. I will be remembering Mr. Russell today by installing some Russell Apiary queens that his son sent me a few days ago. It’s good to know that his work can live on in hives all over the world, including here in Seguin, Texas. So, until we meet again Mr. Russell,thank you for your help with the bees, but most especially for your sweet tea and pecan pie.
What a beautiful tribute. I love hearing stories from older beekeepers, too.
Very nice, honey bee. I will miss him and I wish we could have seen him one more time. 🙂 Not sure I should have read this on my lunch as I’m tearing up again.
I just wanted to thank you, Mark and Thien, for remembering my father and being so kind. I hope that you enjoy your bees and if you need anything at all, I will gladly help. I am very active on beesource.com and we also have a new website at http://www.russellapiaries.webs.com where I have set up a forum for answering questions and teaching queen rearing and bee keeping the way my father taught me. We are no longer operating in Bolton, we are now in Brandon, MS on the Ross Barnett Reservoir… You are welcome to visit anytime you would like.
Thank you again,
Robert Russell
Russell Apiaries