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News Notes

from

September 2009

American Bee Journal

 

BRONSON ANNOUNCES NATION’S FIRST REGULATION BANNING ADDITIVES IN HONEY

    TALLAHASSEE, July 14, 2009— Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson today announced that his department has instituted the first regulation in the nation - and perhaps the world - prohibiting any additives, chemicals or adulterants in honey that is produced, processed or sold in Florida. The regulation, which took effect July 14, provides the first-ever “Standard of Identity” for honey.
    “We want to assure consumers that the product that they are buying is pure,” Bronson said. “Too often in the past, honey has been cut with water or sugar, and sometimes even contaminated with insecticides or antibiotics. In the future, when you’re paying for honey in this state, pure honey is what you will get.”
    State Rep. Alan Hays, of Umatilla, has been a major advocate of the new regulation, which is supported by Florida’s honey industry, and joined Bronson at a press conference here today to unveil the new rule.
    “I am pleased that the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is leading the way for all America in establishing this standard by which all honey may now be measured,” Hays said. “Commissioner Bronson and the leaders of the honey industry - beekeepers and honey processors - are to be applauded for their leadership in protecting not only the health of Floridians, but also in protecting this industry which is so vital to the production of food products for all mankind.”
    Under terms of the new regulation, honey containing anything other than the “natural food product resulting from the harvest of nectar by honey bees” is considered an adulterated or mislabeled product. Such products are subject to a “stop sale” order in which a manufacturer, processor or merchant would be served with an order prohibiting the product’s sale. Repeat offenders would face fines of up to $500 per violation.
    Florida is the fourth-leading honey-producing state in the country with cash
receipts to beekeepers of more than $15 million in 2008 and an industry that has an economic impact estimated at $40 million a year. It employs more than 500 Floridians.
As a result of a flood of adulterated honey from overseas into Florida in 2006, a petition was submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) later that year by five major honey producers and processors, asking the federal agency to establish a U.S. standard of identity for honey. Two years later, the FDA responded that due to other pressing matters, it would be unable to review the petition.
    At that point, the industry asked Bronson’s department if it would consider developing a standard of identity for the product, and today’s announcement is the culmination of that effort.
     Bronson noted that despite efforts in various quarters, international governing bodies have to date been unable to establish an international definition of or standard of identity for honey, making it likely that Florida’s regulation governing honey may be the first of its kind anywhere.

HONEY TO BE COVERED BY

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LABELING

    USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service announced new rules concerning honey and its labeling. The 2008 Farm Bill amended the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to require country of origin labeling (COOL) if it contains official USDA grade marks or statements. The new rule will bar any honey products from the market if they do not comply with the 2008 Farm Bill and its country of origin labeling requirements. In order for the industry to clear the market of non-compliant labels, the new rule will not take effect until October 6, 2009. (Courtesy National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, July 21, 2009)

LURING VARROA MITES TO THEIR DOOM

    The Varroa mite, Varroa destructor, is only about one-sixteenth of an inch long. But that hasn’t stopped the eight-legged, blood-sucking parasite from becoming the single worst pest of honey bees since first being detected in Florida in the 1980s.
    Any threat to honey bees is a threat to American agriculture. Without them, the yield and quality of many flowering crops would suffer—almonds, apples, blueberries, cantaloupe, cranberries, and zucchini, to name just a few. Indeed, as the chief pollinator of these crops, the honey bee’s contributions are considered a $14 billion asset to our economy—and that’s not even counting the honey and beeswax the insect produces.
    So, it is with quite a bit of urgency that researchers nationwide are seeking new ways to control Varroa, particularly methods that will diminish reliance on the chemical controls—fluvalinate and coumaphos—now used. At the ARS Chemistry Research Unit in Gainesville, Florida, research leader Peter E.A. Teal is testing a bait-and-kill approach using sticky boards dosed with natural chemical attractants, called “semiochemicals.”
    For patenting reasons, Teal won’t reveal what the specific compounds are, other than to say they’re naturally produced by honey bees and highly attractive to Varroa mites.
    In nature, Varroa mites rely on the semiochemicals to locate—and then feed on the bloodlike hemolymph of—both adult bees and their brood, weakening or killing them. Severe infestations can decimate an affected hive within several months—and rob the beekeeper of profits from honey or pollinating services. But in this case, the mites encounter a more heady bouquet of honey bee odors that lure them away from their intended hosts and onto the sticky boards, where they starve.
    Preliminary tests of the attractant have been promising. “For example, we are able to induce 35 to 50 percent of mites to drop off of bees when we present them with either of the two attractants, and more than 60 percent of free mites are attracted to these chemicals in biological tests,” Teal reports. Moreover, it doesn’t appear that the extra dose of semiochemicals wafting through the hive interferes with the honey bees’ normal behavior or activity to any significant degree, adds Teal, who, along with postdoctoral associate Adrian Duehl and University of Florida collaborator Mark J. Carroll, reported the results this past January at the 2009 North American Beekeeping Conference in Reno, Nevada.
    The researchers hope ARS’s patenting of the Varroa attractants will encourage an industrial partner to develop the technology further for use by beekeepers as both a monitoring tool and an alternative to chemical controls.—By Jan Suszkiw, Agricultural Research Service Information Staff.

U.S. RESEARCHERS TEST ISRAELI BEE VIRUS DRUG

    An Israeli company has developed a revolutionary new drug that could solve the problem of Colony Collapse Disorder, the disturbing syndrome that has been wiping out bee communities and threatening agricultural production all over the world.
    The drug, Remembee, which was developed by Beeologics, has completed successful clinical trials on millions of bees in North America. It has proved effective in maintaining bee health, improving longevity of bees and increasing the honey in the hives.
    “About 2 and a half years ago an article was published in Science Magazine that correlated the demise of the bees with colony collapse with a specific virus that was described here in Israel by our Chief Scientist. In being able to target this specific virus and to prevent the mortality of the bees caused by this virus, we hope that we will be able to prevent colony collapses throughout the world.” Nitzan Paldi, CTO Beeologics
    In a telephone interview, Dianna Cox Foster, the Co-Director of the Colony Collapse Disorder Working Team and a Professor at University of Pennsylvania said, “From working with them the treatments seemed fairly effective in helping to diminish the effects of the virus on the bee colony… I think it is very innovative and hope they will succeed.”
    Based on Nobel prize-winning RNAI technology, Remembee helps the bees overcome IAVP virus, also discovered in Israel, which has been associated with colony collapse in scientific literature.
    “It’s really a tug of war between the virus and the host. We are helping the bee tug the rope more strongly and beat the virus. We take advantage of an immune system that the bees elicit for viral disease. But we are really using naturally occurring phenomenon. It’s not a pesticide and it’s not toxic.” Nitzan Paldi, CTO Beeologics
    The new drug breaks ground in several ways. Firstly, the company is one of only very few in the world to target bee health. Secondly, it came up with a method to use the new RNAI technology in a way that would help bees.
    Nitzan says, “Beekeepers are astounded –this is very much like a vaccination strategy. And their first reaction is – what, you have to catch every bee at the entrance to the hive and inject it with the vaccine?”
According to Dr. Eitan, head of Product Development, “The idea to use the technology to feed bees was unique – because people didn’t believe that by feeding bees, you would be able to give them the drug.”
After proving that the drug worked in the laboratory, the company began clinically testing it in the United States. They began feeding Remembee to millions of bees. The results were unequivocal.
“In clinical trials we got excellent results with Remembee that showed almost total protection against the virus where bees who were not treated with Remembee collapsed and weakened tremendously…we saw about three times difference in honey production – about fifty percent higher bee concentration,” said Mr. Eyall, company CEO.
    The company is presently active in Italy, Spain, Hungary, Korea, UK as well as the US. Their last step to getting their product on the shelves is certification. The US Department of Agriculture has been accompanying Beeologics with its FDA certification process due to the urgency of the need for the drug.
“Hopefully they will proceed towards approval in bee colonies and will be able to market,” Diana Foster Cox, said.

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS POLLINATARIUM

A FIRST IN THE NATION

    The University of Illinois Pollinatarium is the first free-standing science center in the nation devoted to flowering plants and their pollinators. Why do plants and pollinators merit such special attention? The ecological interaction between pollinators and plants is vitally important because most terrestrial life on Earth depends in one way or another on pollination for survival. Over 75% of all flowering plant species depend on animal pollinators in order to reproduce, so pollination is a key process that sustains all kinds of communities around the world. And among Earth’s inhabitants depending on pollinators for their existence are humans; about one-third of the diet consumed by people around the world—the part with most of the vitamins and minerals—is the result of the pollinator-plant interaction. Pollination is therefore economically important as well.
    In the U.S. alone, pollinator efforts contribute close to $14 billion to the economy and worldwide pollinator activities are worth over $200 billion. Because so much depends on pollination, the UI Pollinatarium is dedicated to increasing awareness and appreciation of pollination as a remarkable ecological partnership and an essential ecosystem service.
    The construction of a new Bee Research Facility for Dr. Gene Robinson allowed the Department of Entomology to reconfigure the former Bee Research Facility on South Farms as a science center devoted to pollinators and pollination. Our motivation has been the fact that the level of knowledge about pollination in the general public is surprisingly low, despite its importance as an ecosystem service maintaining the vast diversity of flowering plants. The UI Pollinatarium is dedicated to all creatures 2-, 4-, or 6-legged that assist flowering plants in meeting their reproductive needs.
    Our hope is that the Pollinatarium will be both a campus resource for research and teaching and a major regional attraction for the community and its visitors. Its location in the midst of the Arboretum brings together flowers and pollinators physically and conceptually, for optimal impact and appeal. Multiple exhibits acquaint visitors with a broad range of disciplines involved in the study of pollination, including ecology, evolution, plant biology, insect physiology, animal behavior, crop sciences and conservation. Changing exhibits will relate to world events and ongoing research on pollinators. Moreover, the Pollinatarium is the physical home of Beespotter (http://beespotter.mste.uiuc.edu/), a UI web-based citizen science effort launched in October 2007 to engage the public in monitoring the distribution and abundance of Illinois honey bees and bumble bees.
    For more information on the UI Pollinatarium see their web page: http://www.life.illinois.edu/pollinatarium

NATIVE POLLINATOR SPECIALIST NEAL WILLIAMS JOINS THE UC DAVIS DEPARTMENT OF ENTOMOLOGY FACULTY

    DAVIS--Native pollinator specialist Neal Williams, former member of the faculty at Bryn Mawr (Pa.) College and a researcher closely linked with the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at the University of California, Davis, since 2001, has joined the faculty at the UC Davis Department of Entomology, effective July 1.
“Neal has a dynamic research program on the ecological impacts of native bees and he brings a new perspective to the campus,” said Lynn Kimsey, professor and chair of the Department of Entomology and director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology. “We are very lucky to have him here as part of our reinvigorated bee biology program.”
Williams, an assistant professor at UC Davis, and a former assistant professor with the Department of Biology, Bryn Mawr College, researches pollination ecology, spanning the disciplines of conservation biology, behavioral ecology and evolution. Especially interested in sustainable pollination strategies for agriculture, Williams explores the role of native bees as crop pollinators and the effects of landscape composition and local habitat quality on their persistence.
    Williams has researched agro-ecosystems in California’s Central Valley and in eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Among his research colleagues: native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, emeritus professor of entomology at UC Davis; and conservation biologist Claire Kremen of UC Berkeley, a UC Davis Department of Entomology affiliate and a 2007 MacArthur Foundation Fellow.
    “One of my continuing goals,” Williams said, “is to provide practical information that can be used for pollinator conservation and management strategies.”
    In addition, he is studying how habitat restoration affects insect pollinator communities and pollination function. He has worked with the Nature Conservancy’s Sacramento River Project “to determine whether these non-target species and the function they provide are restored along with targeted structural vegetation.”
Williams’ pollinator conservation research in the East helped form the basis for USDA Natural Resources Conservation Services’ planting guidelines to enhance pollinators. Apart from his work on pollinator conservation, he explores how specialist and generalist floral visitors differ in their contributions to pollination of their host plants. This project involves field sites in the deserts of northwestern Mexico and in the woodlands of northeastern United States.
    A native of Madison, Wisc., Williams studied botany, history and philosophy of science in 1990-91 at Edinburgh University, Scotland, before receiving his bachelor of science degrees in botany and zoology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1992. He earned his doctorate in ecology and evolution in 1999 from the State University of New York, Stony Brook (SUNY-Stony Brook), and then served as the I. W. Killam Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada for a year.
    Before joining the Bryn Mawr College faculty, Williams served as a postdoctoral researcher in 2001-2003 in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton, where he was a D.H. Smith Conservation Research Fellow.
    Williams won the 1997 President’s Award for Outstanding Teaching at SUNY-Stony Brook, and was awarded the 2008 Linback Award for Excellence in Teaching at Bryn Mawr College.
    The recipient of numerous grants, Williams received a three-year grant in 2007 from the USDA-CSREES (Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service) Sustainable Agriculture Research an Education to research “Promoting Sustainable Crop Pollination by Wild Bees through Farmer Outreach and Education.”
    He earlier won grants from the National Science Foundation, National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, the National Fish and Wildlife and Foundation and Nature Conservancy, and the American Museum of Natural History, among others. He has just received new funding from the National Science Foundation and from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to continue his research in California.
    Williams’ work has been published in a number of journals, including the Annals of Botany, American Naturalist, Ecological Applications, Ecology Letters, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications Specialist
Department of Entomology
396A Briggs Hall
One Shields Ave.
University of California, Davis
Davis, CA 95616

BEE HEALTH IS FOCUS OF

NEW NATIONAL WEB RESOURCE

A new Web resource can help the beekeeping industry with

new research as well as an amalgamation of science-based information

    Researchers and educators from America’s land-grant universities, government agencies and industry have banded together to provide a comprehensive resource for science-based information on bee health management strategies. It’s on eXtension, (pronounced E-extension), http://www. extension.org.
    Pollinating bees are essential members of American agro-ecosystems. The high death rates of bee colonies and the emergence of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) concern many fruit and vegetable producers from home gardeners to commercial growers.
    “In these challenging times for the beekeeping industry, with several factors contributing to reductions in pollination, a large cooperative effort is needed among researchers, extension personnel, beekeepers, crop producers and associated industry people to provide answers and solutions that benefit everyone,” said John Skinner, professor at the University of Tennessee and leader of the new eXtension resource that amassed the latest research information about health of all species of bees.
    Keith Delaplane, professor at the University of Georgia, explained, “The eXtension concept is a direct response to concerns about information quality on the Internet. Users can access eXtension with the same confidence they access their own state university extension networks. Information published on the bee health Web site represents the best summary opinions of scientific authorities across America. One of the exciting things about working with eXtension is that it represents a practical forum for bee scientists as well as beekeepers.”
    The bee health site provides help for new and inexperienced producers, as well as those with experience but who need an answer to a specific question. The site includes answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs). If a question cannot be found in the FAQs, eXtension’s “Ask an Expert” feature can be used for a quick response. The site also includes in-depth, peer-reviewed articles covering bee biology and production.

Pollinator losses
    In “A Survey of Honey Bee Colonies Losses in the U.S. Between September 2008 and April 2009,” the Apiary Inspectors of America and researchers at the USDA-Agricultural Research Service Beltsville Honey Bee Lab found that colony losses are still high in the majority of operations surveyed. Overall, the colony losses were 28.6 percent. This is down from the previous winters of 2007/2008 and 2006/2007 when colony losses were recorded at 35.8 and 31.8 percent, respectively. Only 15 percent of colonies died with CCD symptoms this year compared to 60 percent the previous year.
    In the 2006 release of the National Research Council report, “Status of Pollinators in North America,” many bees other than the honey bee (non-apis bees) are recognized as important pollinators of crop and non-crop plants. The report identified the need for improved management and disease control of non-apis bees, such as bumble bees and alfalfa leaf cutting bees, as well as conservation strategies in the field.
    These losses underline the need to get the most up to date and accurate information to beekeepers as quickly as possible to improve bee health and continue to improve survival. Bee declines are likely a product of negatively interacting factors in pathology, immunology, nutrition, toxicology, genetics, ecosystems management and bee husbandry.
    “Declining honey bee health is complex and the answers that are needed to improve colony survival will only come from a concerted effort by a diverse group of scientists, beekeepers, extension specialists and other interested parties working closely together to improve honey bee health,” said Jeff Pettis, research leader at the USDA-ARS Bee Research Laboratory.

Contributors
    Experienced researchers and extension personnel in the United States contributed to the new site. The bee health group decided to begin with a concentration in bee biology as a prerequisite for other topics. Their next focus will be on best management practices, disease and pest information and bee breeding. The experts are based in land-grant universities, other universities, education centers and the USDA-ARS.

NEW “HONEY SIMPLIFIED” BROCHURE

NOW AVAILABLE TO HONEY INDUSTRY

    Firestone, Colo. – The National Honey Board today announced that it is now making a new brochure available to the honey industry. The new brochure entitled: “Honey Simplified,” addresses the important consumer topic of what ingredients can be found in a bottle of honey.
    The “Honey Simplified” brochure has been created in response to disturbing findings that have recently been uncovered by National Honey Board sponsored market research. Among these findings are the facts that among even the most frequent and dedicated honey users, there is widespread confusion as to what ingredients might be found in a bottle of pure honey. Anywhere from 30-percent to 40-percent of frequent honey users believe that other sweeteners, water, or even oils are added to pure honey once it is extracted from the comb. Another disturbing finding is that a large percentage of honey consumers feel that there is a major difference in terms of purity in what can be found in “supermarket honey” versus “farmer’s market honey.”
    The full-color brochure follows honey from the flower all the way to bottling through the use of a simple flow chart series of pictures. There is additional text that explains that honey is pure and is bottled without any chemical or ingredient additives.
    “These negative consumer perceptions must be addressed in a positive, easy-to-understand light,” said Bruce Boynton, CEO of the National Honey Board. “The brochure is a perfect handout for beekeepers to better explain that pure honey means pure honey.”
    The “Honey Simplified” brochure costs $0.40 each and is now in stock. Please contact the National Honey Board to order your supply: www.honey.com

LOVE BOBBLEHEADS? LOVE THE HONEY BEAR?

NHB NOW OFFERS THE

OFFICIAL HONEY BEAR BOBBLEHEAD

    Firestone, Colo. – The National Honey Board (NHB) announced recently its newest industry fulfillment piece, the Honey Bear Bobblehead!
    Bobbleheads are always in high demand and unusual bobbleheads are prized by collectors and customers alike. The Honey Bear Bobblehead is one of the more unusual items of its kind and is certain to appeal to everyone in the honey industry. It makes a fun addition to displays or prizes at industry events, or simply for presenting to friends and business associates.
    “We’ve seen how well received the Bobbleheads have been at this year’s minor league baseball Honey Nights,” said Bruce Boynton, CEO of the National Honey Board. “We thought many people in the honey industry would want to own one. The Bobblehead also displays www.honey.com, which will lead people to our Web site to get more information about honey.”
    The bobbleheads are made of heavy duty plastic and stand more than seven inches tall. Each bobblehead is sealed in plastic and comes in a cardboard box that is printed with honey recipes and trivia.
    The price for each bobblehead is only $5.45 plus shipping charges. For more information, please contact Andrea Brening, the National Honey Board’s Fulfillment Coordinator, www.honey.com
    NHB conducts research, advertising and promotion programs to help maintain and expand domestic and foreign markets for honey. These programs are funded by an assessment of one cent per pound on domestic and imported honey. (National Honey Board News Release)

2009 NATIONAL HONEY MONTH PRESS KITS

AVAILABLE TO HONEY INDUSTRY

    Firestone, Colo. – The National Honey Board (NHB) announced recently that 2009 National Honey Month Press Kits will be available in August to honey industry members to send to area newspapers, magazines, radio, and television stations. September has been recognized as National Honey Month for nearly 20 years.
    The 2009 kit features four exciting brochures: Beauty Recipes for Every Generation, Honey Simplified – How Honey Gets from Hive to Bottle, the newly re-designed Red Carpet Ready beauty brochure, and a new fanfold brochure featuring eight Light+Fresh Honey Recipes. Also included in the kit will be a CD with several high resolution images that will be perfect for use by newspaper and magazine writers for preparing stories.
    “There’s a ton of new information this year,” said Bruce Boynton, CEO of the National Honey Board, “and exciting materials for editors and writers to get story ideas and to talk about the great attributes of honey. The Honey Simplified brochure is a great piece emphasizing the message that nothing is added to pure honey as it goes from bee to hive to bottle.”
    The Kits are available after August 3rd, and may be requested by calling Andrea Brening at the NHB office (800-553-7162), or by sending an email to Andrea@nhb.org.
    NHB conducts research, advertising and promotion programs to help maintain and expand domestic and foreign markets for honey and honey products. These programs are funded by an assessment of one cent per pound on domestic and imported honey.

HONEYBEE LESSONS FROM AN ACCIDENTAL BEEKEEPER

C. Marina Marchese

One woman’s charming and personal
account of abandoning the rat race to live

blissfully as a beekeeper and honey
entrepreneur plus everything you’d
ever want to know about bees.

    Ten years ago, Marina Marchese fell in love with bees, during a tour of a neighbor’s honeybee hives. She quit her job, acquired her own bees, built hives, harvested honey, earned a certificate in apitherapy, studied wine tasting in order to transfer those skills to honey tasting, and eventually opened her own business.
    Honeybee is not only a warm and inspiring story of Marina’s intimate experience with honeybees, it is also bursting with fascinating and practical information including: life inside the beehive; how bees make honey; the importance of pollination; building a beehive; hiving and keeping honeybees; harvesting honey and comb; healing with honey; and much more. Recipes for food, drink, and personal care products are included, as well as a detailed appendix of 75 varieties of honey.
    C. Marina Marchese is the founder and owner of Red Bee® Honey, which sells artisinal honey and honey-related products to shops and restaurants all over the country. She has been keeping bees for more than nine years. She is certified by the American Apitherapy Society and has trained as a honey judge at the University of Georgia. She serves on the board of the Back Yard Beekeepers Association in Connecticut and has written for Bee Culture and The Journal of The American Apitherapy Society. She lives in Weston, Connecticut.
    Hardcover, 6 1/2'' x 8 1/4'', 256 pages, 25 duotone illustrations, Nature/Nature Writing, ISBN-13:978-1-157912-815-9, $22.95 U.S. Visit www.blackdogandleventhal.com

obituary
JAMES IRVIN POWERS
1927---2009

    James Irvin Powers (Jim) died at his winter home in Sun City, Arizona—April 24, 2009 at the age of 81. He was born in Emmett, Idaho Nov. 28,1927.
    Jim grew up in Parma, Idaho and graduated from the Parma schools in 1945. His Grandfather, Francis Powers, homesteaded in the Ten Davis area near Parma and started Powers Apiaries, a company specializing in the production of honey. His father, Irvin Francis Powers, continued the business and became known as a pioneer in modern beekeeping practices.
    After High School Jim joined the Army and served with the Army of Occcupation in Japan. After his discharge he attended the University of Idaho. When he graduated he joined the Air Force as a 2nd Lieutenant during the Korean War. When his enlistment was over, he took the Foreign Service exam and became a Foreign Service Officer. When he retired, he was serving as Vice Consul in El Salvador.
    In 1959 he returned to the family business further expanding Powers Apiaries into six states. He served there until retirement. He retired as President of Powers Apiaries. Jim also attended Harvard Business School in their Smaller Company Management Program. He was very active in national beekeeping organizations, as well as civic organizations in Parma. He received several awards including the Bruce Mitchell Award, the Melvin Jones Award for the Lions Club, the Tom Takitori Award as Volunteer of the Year, and the American Beekeeping Federation's Presidents Award. Jim was an active member of the Lions Club and the Kappa Sigma Fraternity.
    He was preceded in death by his Mother, Neva Cayford Powers and his father, Irvin Francis Powers.
    He is survived by his wife, Judith Morgan Powers and four children: Judith Lake Puett Davis (Rod Davis), Barry Faye Puett (Robert Tisdale), Julia Morgan Puett, and Garnett George Puett III (Whendi Grad). He is also survived by six grandchildren; Rose Grad Puett, Garnett Karl Meise, Lin Morgan Meise, Garnett George Puett IV, Barry Powers Puett, and Grey Rabbit Puett.

obituary
R. WALDO MCBURNEY PASSES AWAY AT AGE 106

KANSAS BEEKEEPER REMAINED ACTIVE IN BEEKEEPING

    R. Waldo McBurney, centenarian Kansas beekeeper, passed quietly away July 8, 2009. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Irene, daughter, Mary Jane Boyle, a grandchild, a great grandchild, four brothers & a sister.
Not only was Mr. McBurney a life-long beekeeper who shared his wisdom with me, but he was also my friend. Mr. McBurney was born on the Kansas high plains in the small settlement of Quinter, Kansas in a sod house Oct. 3, 1902. If he had lived another three months, he would have been 107 years old.
    McBurney wrote a single book about his life, My First 100 Years. The way he was staying physically fit, many of us believed Waldo might make the 200 year mark! If you Google his name, you can see a picture of Mr. McBurney fast walking at the young age of 105 on the main street of Quinter, Kansas.
    Waldo graduated from Kansas State University in 1927. It was highly unusual for a college-educated man in 1927 to seek out the simple life of a sideline beekeeper. Mr. McBurney always preferred the simple life of taking care of his 100 hives of bees and his large home garden. He would walk each day the one mile to his small honey sales shop and then back again at night. The last time we talked, Waldo still had a valid Kansas Drivers license.
    In September 2004 Bee Culture magazine published an article I wrote on Waldo. I did the article after interviewing him at the spring meeting of the Kansas Honey Producers. Mr. McBurney and his wife, Vernice, were regulars at the KHPA meetings.
    I asked Waldo once when he was going to retire and he answered, “When I go out there!” pointing to the graveyard. He did not fear death he told me, but admitted it was hard to watch all his family and friends pass away.
     Mr. McBurney was very health conscious and stayed physically fit. Even after reaching his 100th birthday, Waldo would help with the bees. A Quinter local resident named Delbert Swihart did the heavy work. I still see and talk to Delbert at KHPA meetings and he kept me informed as to what was going on with his friend, Mr. McBurney.
     USA Today did an article on Mr. McBurney a few years ago. He was very active in the senior Olympics in the 100-year-old class. A few of his records still stand I was told. Last year Waldo was given the title of the oldest worker in the U.S. He always had a smile on his face and kind words for all he met. His daughter, Ruth, Mann, said about her father in his book: “You seem always the same age, never growing older.” (Bob Harrison, Odessa, Missouri)