I think perhaps my biggest change would be to not have missed a golden opportunity that was there but went completely unrecognized for almost 30 years.
As an early teenager, my last step-father had a brother, "Uncle Leo", who was a large commercial beekeeper in Vernon BC where I was born and raised. From time to time I would go up to Uncle Leo's to visit as unlike his brother, he was a pretty nice guy. I was always intimidated by all the bees at their place, but I liked it there. It never once entered my thoughts that beekeeping would have been something I would ever be interested in though.
Leo Fuhr was a long time president of the BC Honey Producers Association, and in fact his son Ernie would also go on to be president for years as well.
I guess looking back, I wonder what might have been. I didn't (re)discover honeybees until I was 40, after many years of turning a wheel for a living. I wish I had paid attention much earlier. That said, I am glad to have discovered it and not missed out entirely.
To add to Perry's post of misted opportunities. Leo's wife Grace was the directer of the honey division for many years. She talked often about preparing honey and wax for honey shows and also on packaging and marketing your honey. Ernie was also the Executive director for the Boone Hodgson Wilkinson Trust Fund for Honey Bee Education and Research. His wife Rose was president of the BCHPA also as well as held the possession of secretary for many years. Leo started the first 4H club for Beekeeping in BC in the 1950's. some of those kids are still keeping bees today. Both Leo and Grace as well as Ernie and Rose, were honored with life membership to the BCHPA in recognition to their years of service to beekeeping and the association. It was Leo that I stopped to talk to back in the spring of 1981, He was tending the plants in his yard as I was driving by, so I stopped and asked what was involved in getting into bees. By this time Leo was retired but pointed across the road to Lionel's house and said that his son Ernie would bee bringing another load of package bees up from California and would be dropping some of them off at Lionel's house. Even though Leo and grace were retired from beekeeping they still did some custom extracting, and rented the honey house out to local beekeepers to do their extracting in. I used their honey house for a couple of years to extract honey in. Perry could have spent summer holidays up in fort St John working for his cousin Ernie, who was one of the largest beekeepers in BC running 3000 colonies. It is the type of on the job training that makes you love or hate bees in a hurry. I Know of young guys that have worked for commercial beekeepers, some have gotten into beekeeping and others that had enough after 10 stings and decided that was all the beekeeping experience that they needed and quite.
Grace receiving Life membership into the BCHPA From Dian Wells & John Corner
4H club with menter Leo in the center. He was already a older genital man in the 1950's.
