# World War II Apiary Sign



## mcon672 (Mar 5, 2015)

Had to laugh at "hunters please do not shoot". They should put that on all the road signs around here.


----------



## Westhill (Jul 26, 2012)

This is great! Thanks for posting.


----------



## Phoebee (Jan 29, 2014)

mcon672 said:


> Had to laugh at "hunters please do not shoot". They should put that on all the road signs around here.


We USED to have that sign-shooting problem around Keyser and Romney WV. Then the vandals got with the times and started paint-balling the signs, which is apparently just as much fun but washes off. I guess Triadelphia is still a little backwards, tho' 

I had some problem when somebody shot up a cat litter bucket I had half-buried in the ground in which I stored some target shooting supplies, and an old wooden stand I leaned the rifles on. I finally posted a sign on it with an arrow pointing them to the target backstop. "Not a target. Shoot that way." No damage since then.

I do love this bee sign.


----------



## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

That's interesting, I'd never thought about the value of beeswax at the time. My uncle, after failing his military physical, expanded the family bee business and did quite well during the war years as honey prices hit record highs because sugar was a rationed commodity that was in very short supply. He also was issued a permit to buy a new truck for the business which was pretty rare during the war years.


----------



## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

jim lyon said:


> expanded the family bee business and did quite well during the war years as honey prices hit record highs because sugar was a rationed commodity that was in very short supply.


That's when the honey subsidy started too, isn't it? That subsidy lasted until about 1991 when Clinton and Armie ended it to balance the budget.


----------



## naturebee (Dec 25, 2004)

Very good Michael.

Honey Price Support Program
http://www.beesource.com/resources/usda/honey-price-support-program/


USDA02: Eliminate Federal Support for Honey
http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/npr/library/reports/ag02.html


----------



## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Interesting links. It appears there wasn't a need for price supports during the war but honey prices dropped considerably in the years immediately following the war. I remember my father telling me that 1948 was there best (per colony) production but that it was worth very little.


----------



## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

I can remember a wartime sign that warned against damaging hives, with a very stiff penalty. I will look for it next week.

Crazy Roland


----------



## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

I was wrong. Our wisconsin sign shares elements with the OP's sign. Next time I am at the shop I will try to photograph it.

Crazy Roland


----------



## BWrangler (Aug 14, 2002)

Hi Guys

Man does this bring back memories. I can even smell them now!

Almost 50 years ago, I worked for Cliff Weller, a commercial beekeeper who had a stack of those signs in a cabinet, along with all kinds of other stuff accumulated 50 years before that.

He told me that they were just a scare tactic and had no actual method of enforcement, So he never put them up.

Years later, I ran the outfit and decided to clean it up. A lot of junk got trashed. But I put the signs back in the cabinet. 

I wonder if they are still around?

-dm


----------



## naturebee (Dec 25, 2004)

Go get up Wrangler.

What a great collectors item that would be.

-Joe


----------

