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Updated on: 01/05/10
I am working on transcribing my grandfather's book word for word and will be posting portions of it as I get it done.
Below is the forward of his book titled:
YOU CAN GROSS A MILLION DOLLARS
By Bernard Draper
FORWARD
This article reprinted with permission from: American Bee Journal - July 1978
BEE FEVER! I have read of it as being that uncontrollable force that turns ordinary men into supermen or in this case super beekeepers. Well, the fever has made its way to Pennsylvania and has spread all over the small scenic community of Millerton, PA.
Four years ago, Bernard (Bernie) Draper was told he would never work another day in his life due to a back injury. But, with determination and a strong religious conviction, he overcame that obstacle.
The Draper family has always been self-sufficient by raising their own food and dairy products. Bernie noted the rise of sugar and was pondering the field of beekeeping when the fever hit! One day a swarm landed in Bill Draper’s (Bernie’s son) back yard. He hived them and then discussed the matter with his father. That fall, 15 more hives were purchased. That winter, they purchased and bottler local honey. The spring found a very substantial investment that has grown in leaps and bounds since then.
Bill was, at first, working nights and weekends doing the heavy work while Bernie was doing the bottling and paperwork. With the continual success and growth of the business, Bill quit his $ 14,000 a year job to care for the 700 hives that had been accumulated.
After this father and son merger, safeguards were set up to insure the success of the business. In case of a bad year of production, the Draper’s ventured into a dealership under Dadant and Sons. In addition, they became involved in wholesale and retail honey sales, wax rendering services as well as bee removal to alleviate the possible spread of bee diseases to their bee yards.
After the business was well on its way, the Draper’s experimented in different types of packaging, this brought forth the 3 pound comb, 3 varieties of gift packs, and finally the very successful gallon jug.
It was found, through experimentation, that a plastic gallon jug could be mailed by UPS to any part of the country and arrive completely intact. There was one even mailed to the Virgin Islands. So, it would be safe to say that the Draper’s are becoming pioneers in the art of honey packaging.
The honey that is processed at the Super Bee is considered unprocessed or raw honey. It is heated to only 132 degrees F for straining and bottling purposes. And yes, it does sugar on occasion. But that problem has been solved with heating instructions on the back label.
Variety is the spice of life and there are a variety of honeys available at the Super Bee. The local honeys include basswood, aster, clover, alfalfa and all summer’s mix. Also, for the connoisseur of honeys there is a constant supply of chunk comb honey, comb honey, orange blossom from Florida and buckwheat from Maine and Canada. You are invited to test taste any and all when you visit the Super Bee.
The Draper’s have been very aware of public involvement in the art of beekeeping. Addresses are kept in a large book of all those that come in contact with the Super Bee. Periodic notices and material specials are mailed out to people to keep them in contact with the ever-changing trends in the world of beekeeping.
The most important and influential service that is available are the periodic bee meetings held at the Super Bee. The last meeting in September produced about 60 people from all walks of life. Some of the more noteworthy people in attendance were W.W. (Bill) Clark from the Pennsylvania State Department of Entomology; Robert Crimbirg, former state bee inspector; and Dick Hackenberg, present state bee inspector. The attendance included the novice and the professional, all working and communicating in harmony. And let it not appear that this was strictly a men’s club, there were women beekeepers in attendance.
The meeting produced some very interesting fact about bee diseases. This was backed by a slide show as well as some actual foulbrood comb passed around at the meeting by the state bee inspector. It was interesting to witness the number of people who had never seen AFB or EFB comb. There was also a discussion about the variety of wintering techniques that were used to reduce winter losses in this area of the country.
If the meeting was not impressive enough, there was a self-designed 10-frame glass observation hive in the middle of the meeting floor and it was working. At the conclusion of the meeting there was a variety of pastries and beverages (sorry no mead) prepared be the Draper wives. This was the icing on the cake.
Personal contact with the Draper family is one to be remembered. In conversation with Bill he disclosed to me that sometimes people stop by just to talk. Work stops, and time is taken from their lives to accommodate those with a need, be it material or personal. Bill says, “The customer comes first. You won’t be given a snarl and rushed out the door with the colloquial “Who’s next” attitude so prevalent in our society today.
I asked Bernie what his aspirations are for the future of the Super Bee and beekeeping in general. He replied that he feels that the consumption of honey is going to rise in the near future as well as the number of people keeping bees. As far as the Super Bee, he stated “We have plans to expand into a larger bee supply distributorship.”
Bee fever has been at the Draper homestead for the past 2 years and you can see the results. If you are passing through this beautiful area of Pennsylvania, stop by and meet the Draper’s. But, a word of caution!! You may catch bee fever yourself!! By R. Henry Ford - July 1978
Colony Collapse Disorder
A Complex
Buzz
from the USDA
