# who influenced you?



## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

i was having one of those reflective moments last night, and gave some consideration to those that have had an influence on me and my beekeeping.

below are those that i would like to thank for the role they are playing in that regard. the list is in alphabetical order, and i equally appreciative to all.


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

*Re: who influence you?*



squarepeg said:


> i was having one of those reflective moments last night, and gave some consideration to those that have had an influence on me and my beekeeping.
> 
> below are those that i would like to thank for the role they are playing in that regard. the list is in alphabetical order, and i equally appreciative to all.


oops, submitted before proofed. title should read 'who has influenced you', can you fix it barry?

here is the list:

beesource members - for great roundtable discussion and lot's of fun
michael bush - for showing me it is possible to be successful practicing natural husbandry
randy oliver - for satisfying my left brain need to understand the science of the bee
michael palmer - for showing me the way to sustaining my apiary
walt wright - for helping me to understand the season by season dynamics of the colony

many many thanks to all!


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

*Re: who influence you?*

i was distracted when i submitted this, but i also wanted to include two friends, local beeks who were there for the 'hands on here's how you do it' part of my learning curve. thanks guys.


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## Solomon Parker (Dec 21, 2002)

*Re: who influence you?*

Do you mean who influences you now or who has influenced you?

When I started, I was influenced by Dee Lusby primarily. Later on as Michael Bush's body of work grew, he became more influential as well. I quit following Dee after a while, email lists are too much of a pain.

Nowadays, the most influence I get is from people telling me I can't do what I'm doing. They influence me to keep doing it and to keep doing an extreme form of it.


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

*Re: who influence you?*

interesting sol.

i wish i could fix the title of the thread to say 'who has influenced you?'

the kind of influence i mean is, well, you know, the kind that a musician might claim they have had in molding their style.


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## Solomon Parker (Dec 21, 2002)

*Re: who influence you?*

In that case, it was mostly Dee Lusby. I patterned almost my entire method after hers when I started. I still retain many aspects of it. Lately Michael Bush has influenced me to use plastic frames and move to mediums.


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## Joes_bees (Jul 9, 2012)

*Re: who influence you?*

When I started 10 years ago:
Books and local beekeepers.
My dad and grandpa. Neither were beekeepers but they helped me think critically about the varying advice I'd get from multiple sources.

A year or two ago when I got my second wind:
Being much more proficient at web searching I'd have a topic or question and read what ever my search engine could find, weighing in different opinions and sources. 

I also kept a top bar hive. Not because I thought it was "better" but to get influence from a colony kept with less "rules" (frames and foundation).


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## dixiebooks (Jun 21, 2010)

*Re: who influence you?*

my great uncle, long since gone. Now that I am into beekeeping, myself: Michael Bush, Jeff Armstrong (jpthebeeman), Walt Wright. -james


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

*Re: who influence you?*

Guy Darry Wood
Peter Lew LeCompte
Jim Tew
Eva Crane
Roger Morse
Richard Taylor
Raymond Churchill
Elwood "Buster" Smith
Jon E.MacDonald
Michael Palmer
The Myers of Granville,NY
Countless Beekeepers across NY from the Canadian Border and the Champlain Valley to Long Island to Chautaqua County to Niagara Falls and the St. Lawrence Valley.
Chuck and Karen Kutik
Numerous people on beesource who have given me a different way of looking at some of the things I do w/ bees.
Herb and Carlene MacIntyre
Steve Fisher
Barry Birkey
and other people I have met thru beesource like Brian aka Acebird.

The trouble w/ these lists is someone always gets left off and one runs the risk of hurting someone's feelings. I'll wake up at 2:00AM w/ a name I should have remembered to recall.

Tom Seeley


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## TWall (May 19, 2010)

*Re: who influence you?*

I still have a lot to learn. As has been mentioned above, I will leave names off.

Ron Cameron, my first mentor.
Michael Palmer
Jim Lyon, 
Robert Russell
Jeff Gabric
Allen Dick
Carlton and Bev Simpson
Howard Frank
Mark Berninghausen

Tom


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## bhfury (Nov 25, 2008)

*Re: who influence you?*

Influenced = Grandfather


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

*Re: who influence you?*

TWall,
I thought she was asking about positive influences.


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## D Semple (Jun 18, 2010)

*Re: who influence you?*



sqkcrk said:


> TWall,
> I thought *he* was asking about positive influences.


I figured Peg for a she?


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

*Re: who influence you?*

Like I said, ...


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## Adam Foster Collins (Nov 4, 2009)

*Re: who influence you?*

If I were to include every person who has had some effect on my thinking or doing - then the list would be long, and include a lot of names - many from this forum. 

But in terms of people who have had a major and very clear influence on what I'm doing with bees now, and what I'm working toward, then the list is shorter:

• My Grandfather, J. Foster Collins (introduced me to bees as a kid; got me hooked).
• My father, Bruce Collins (who still has bees and remains a sounding board for ideas and experiences)
• Michael Palmer (nuc management and wintering nucs).
• Michael Bush (8 frame boxes, narrow brood frames, top entrances - his apparent interest in simplification/economy).
• Tom D. Seeley ( through his work on bee behavior).
• Perry Brandt (local beekeeper with more experience than I, who I can gab with day-to-day and learn from).
• Joseph Clemens (approach to Queen rearing).
• David LaFerny (through his synthesis and written account of his use of Joseph Clemens' approach to Queen rearing).

Adam


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## DonShackelford (Jan 17, 2012)

*Re: who influence you?*

I guess I'm telling my age here, I had the opportunity to meet Walter T Kelley when I was a teenager visiting his company to buy stuff. He was over 90 then, so there was no real talk of beekeeping, but his genuine thankfulness to have spent his life in beekeeping was overwhelming.
At the time, I felt like I had met the god of bees. Our 15 minute conversation has stuck with me ever since. We should all be so lucky to feel our life's work was of such personal and public value.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

*Re: who influence you?*

Mr. Kelley was a special man. I recall him telling a friend of mine to get out of his truck because he had to go to the Hospital for his daily visit w/ his wife and my friend wouldn't stop asking him questions. He was an impressive guy.


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## jdmidwest (Jul 9, 2012)

*Re: who influence you?*

Why does one have to be "influenced"? Can't a man have an original thought?

I followed in the footsteps of my Grandfather. It is in the family tradition.


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

*Re: who influence you?*



sqkcrk said:


> The trouble w/ these lists is someone always gets left off and one runs the risk of hurting someone's feelings. I'll wake up at 2:00AM w/ a name I should have remembered to recall.


Many of those that influenced me, either by personal contact, or through their writings, have passed away. I only wish I could hurt their feelings by forgetting to add them to my list...

Enoch Tompkins
Charles Mraz
Ed Hazen
Brother Adam
Richard Taylor
Kirk Webster
GM Doolittle
ROB Manley
Steve Taber
Roger Morse


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## jmgi (Jan 15, 2009)

*Re: who influence you?*

Michael,

Richard Taylor's book "The Joys of Beekeeping" taught me not only about bees and beekeeping but how to look at life a little differently than I did before. I met him once at a convention and knew immediately that he was truly a unique character in the history of beekeeping. John


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

*Re: who influence you?*



jdmidwest said:


> Why does one have to be "influenced"? Can't a man have an original thought?


Could be. How many have you had and what are they? Did anybody say you couldn't?


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

*Re: who influence you?*

I did too John. He certainly was a character, in his white coveralls, red bandana, and a line of young children in tow...even at his age. 

Must have been the comb honey he ate.


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## johno (Dec 4, 2011)

*Re: who influence you?*

A gentleman by the name of Gilbert Doolittle has influenced my beekeeping
John


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## julysun (Apr 25, 2012)

*Re: who influence you?*

Steve Tabor 
BeeSource (the Many and the Few)
The WEB


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

*Re: who influence you?*

My wife would be number one because without her influence I would have never took up bees.
Michael Bush probably has the greatest influence on how I think about bees.
It would be ludicrous of me to think many people on Beesource have not influenced me and Mark you certainly are one of them. Thanks to all.


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## Sam Fugate (Jul 28, 2012)

*Re: who influence you?*

Many tears ago when I was 11 years old, I helped an old neighbor/beekeeper with his two hives. I guess I would have to say he influenced me.


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## KQ6AR (May 13, 2008)

*Re: who influence you?*

Michael Bush, was a big influence in getting me started. After reading the various books saying I would have to dump all the chemicals into the beehives I almost didn't start.
Thanks Michael, I'm still enjoying it, & my bees are surviving with nothing stronger than powdered sugar being dumped into the hives.

Michael Palmer, has me addicted to starting nucs. Thanks I think.


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## jdmidwest (Jul 9, 2012)

*Re: who influence you?*



sqkcrk said:


> Could be. How many have you had and what are they? Did anybody say you couldn't?


Several. Just trying to figure out why someone has to be influenced into keeping bees. It always seemed natural to me.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

*Re: who influence you?*

I don't think that was the idea behind the question posed by the OPer. Who has influenced you most as a beekeeper? Who has been your best teacher, the one who has meant the most to you? Those sortys of things.

As an aside, would you share one of your original ideas w/ us, please? Thanks.


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## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

*Re: who influence you?*

Mariano Higes.

Crazy Roland


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## Splatt (Jul 11, 2012)

*Re: who influence you?*


My grandmother, the first beek I ever knew. Watching her work on her hives (and watching the bees at work) instilled in me a lifelong fascination with bees.
My neighbor, who gave me the final push I needed to get into it for myself, and who has been a willing mentor.
An awful lot of you here, who have answered my questions and guided me with patience and wisdom. I believe I literally owe the life of my hive (and my sanity) to the good people of this board.


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## TWall (May 19, 2010)

*Re: who influence you?*



sqkcrk said:


> TWall,
> I thought she was asking about positive influences.


Mark,

Sometimes the most important lessons you can learn in life are what not to do!

That said, hearing the thoughts of someone who has supported themselves beekeeping is something I find beneficial.

Tom


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## NasalSponge (Jul 22, 2008)

*Re: who influence you?*

Richard Taylor


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## Ben Little (Apr 9, 2012)

*Re: who influence you?*

I was influenced by noone other than myself. i always liked bees and wanted to be around them , but i never had any opportunity to work with them , so last winter i started researching them and studying on how to keep them and in the spring i bought 4 nucs and i love it : )

Ben


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

*Re: who influence you?*



TWall said:


> Mark,
> 
> Sometimes the most important lessons you can learn in life are what not to do!
> 
> ...


Then Michael Palmer is your man. Smart and successful and knows how to express himself well.


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

*Re: who influence you?*

Ruth Stout


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## TWall (May 19, 2010)

*Re: who influence you?*



sqkcrk said:


> Then Michael Palmer is your man. Smart and successful and knows how to express himself well.


Mark,

Don't undersell yourself!

I had the pleasure of meeting Michael a couple of years ago in Medina. To add to your list Michael is also very gracious and kind, he didn't laugh when I told him I had Russian bees.

Tom


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## kennedy (Jul 31, 2009)

*Re: who influence you?*

Andy Fox Dee and Ed Lusby


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

*Re: who influence you?*

My dad Charlie and my uncle Archie from whom I learned hard work.....really hard work and my son Jeff that just has a natural aptitude for bees. Most everything new thing we try is the result of a brainstorming session between us. Sometimes it dosent work but usually it does. Fwiw my time favorite beekeeping person I ever knew was Irwin Glew who managed the Sioux City Dadant branch for many years.


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

*Re: who influence you?*



deknow said:


> Ruth Stout


Ha! I haven't thought about Ruth Stout in years.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

*Re: who influence you?*

Ruth Stout? Why does that name sound familiar?

Michael, did you mention Mr. Mraz? You must have learned a thing or two from him, didn't you?


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

*Re: who influence you?*

...there is a great little film about Ruth Stout, but it looks like the copies online have been taken off due to copyright issues (you can still buy it).

Basically, she moved from the city to "the country" in CT, I think when she was in her 40's....she learned to garden (as a young woman, she smashed saloons with Carrie Nation).

She developed a very simple approach to gardening that works well for us...in a nutshell....every problem is solved by piling hay on top of it. The hay holds in the moisture (one very dry year we watered 3 times). As it rots, it creates soil from the top down, and the ph changes so that slugs are not a problem. Worms thrive, and follow the path of dead roots in the fall and aerate the soil.....tilling is never necessary, and the surface (aerobic) and deeper (anaerobic) microbes maintain their order and integrity. The hay also keeps soil from splashing when it rains, cutting down on fungal problems. Certainly for a small garden in this part of the country, it works very well (some in warmer areas say that the pests thrive in the hay overwinter if it does not get cold enough).
Her books are great, but it all boils down to piling hay on everything...and I'm talking of several inches of hay, not a light dusting.
I have some cousins who live near where she lived and knew her a bit...she used to stop traffic (literally) because she did her gardening in the nude well into her 80's and 90's I believe.
I think about her every day....when I see the 100 bales of hay sitting in the driveway 

deknow


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

*Re: who influence you?*

...also her brother was Rex Stout, a popular mystery writer.

deknow


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

*Re: who influence you?*

Forebear to Helen and Scott Nearing?

Gardening in the nude? Maybe that's where Charles Mraz got his inspiration to work bees in swim trunks.


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

*Re: who influence you?*

Ruth lived in suburban CT....she grew her own veggies like a lot of people, but she was not from "The Good Life" school. The Nearing's place was in the middle of coastal Maine, and they strived to live independently. I think the Nearings were rather uptight in comparison....Ruth did everything so simply so she could finish her work for the day, and lay on the couch with a glass of wine and a book....before noon.
We looked at applying to be caretakers at the Nearing place...but since our dog was not a vegetarian, they would not consider us (I'm not a veggie either, but I can fake it better than our dog can).

deknow


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## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

*Re: who influence you?*



deknow said:


> she did her gardening in the nude well into her 80's and 90's I believe.


That's called a living scarecrow.


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

*Re: who influence you?*

....if you are in your 90s and can still grow your own food and get your clothes off, you are entitled to dress (or not) as you please.

deknow


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## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

*Re: who influence you?*

Yes Dean, I didn't say she couldn't.


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## Bear Creek Steve (Feb 18, 2009)

*Re: who influence you?*

Who influenced me?

My Dad who gave me one of his two colonies when I was a kid, and mentored me.
The head of the entamology department at Penn State who was my mentor and Boy Scout Beekeeping merit badge counselor.

And after a 50 year absence from the bees:

BeeSource
Michael Bush
Michael Palmer
A quarter of a million girls in the back yard who encourage me to learn more and do better.

Steve


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## rweakley (Jul 2, 2004)

*Re: who influence you?*

I took the OP to mean the people who have contributed to your philosophy of beekeeping. So with that having been said I have borrowed ideas from a great many people, but those that come to mind right now are:
Michael Bush-natural beekeeping and cheap beekeeping
Michael Palmer-- NUCS
Fatbeeman-- Geez all kinds of things
Jeff/Jim Fischer (can't remember he's not on here anymore)Of Fischer's beequick, if I remember he had a very scientific approach.
And of Course, Beesource as a whole, the back and forth conversations, other people's problems that give you a chance to put your thinking cap and and you learn something trying to help them solve their problem. I've been doing this for 9 years, but having beesource makes me feel like my knowledge level is much more than that. Thanks to all

I always tell people who are getting started in beekeeping, Mine isn't the only way to do things, listen to a bunch of people and follow the approaches that more closely match your way of thinking. More than one way to skin a Bee.


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

*Re: who influence you?*



deknow said:


> ...there is a great little film about Ruth Stout, but it looks like the copies online have been taken off due to copyright issues (you can still buy it).
> 
> deknow


Her books are still available...one below for about $15...at www.abebooks.com

I especially like the idea of placing boards on top of newly seeded carrots...until they germinate. If you grow carrots, you understand.
How to Have a Green Thumb Without an Aching Back: A New Method of Mulch Gardening

Ruth Stout

Bookseller: River City Books, LLC

(Tualatin, OR, U.S.A.)

Bookseller Rating: 

Quantity Available: 1

ISBN: 9780346121263


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

*Re: who influence you?*



sqkcrk said:


> Ruth Stout? Why does that name sound familiar?
> 
> Michael, did you mention Mr. Mraz? You must have learned a thing or two from him, didn't you?


Yes, of course, I did incluse Mraz. In fact, my new queen rearing presentation has something in it about Charles. I especially enjoyed, and learned from the little debates Mraz and Ed Hazen would have at our bee meetings. As a young beekeeper, I was awed by both. Ed and Charles were contemporaries. Always seemed to take oposite sides on a debate...for instance...should you use full sheetsd or starters when making comb honey. Charles said starter strip[s, and Ed said full sheets. But then...Mraz bought his honey from Hazen. I follow Ed's way, as he was a better honey producer...the Mraz's still buy their comb honey...from me. But Charles was the queen breeder, and I follow his advice on that.


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

*Re: who influence you?*



sqkcrk said:


> Forebear to Helen and Scott Nearing?
> 
> Gardening in the nude? Maybe that's where Charles Mraz got his inspiration to work bees in swim trunks.


No, Helen and Scott started way before Ruth. The Nearings were more about a way of life than a way of gardening. When we moved to the country back in the late 60s, _Living the Good Life, and The Maple Sugar Book were nearly bibles in the movement. 

I probably should have included them and AI Root on my list. Both councel to sell your products at a price that will sell all. AI said it's better to sell your cabbages for 10 cents a pound, and sell them alland have the money, that it is to hold onto the cabbages for higher price, and not sell them all._


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## Andrew Dewey (Aug 23, 2005)

*Re: who influence you?*



deknow said:


> ...also her brother was Rex Stout, a popular mystery writer.
> 
> deknow


I think I have just about every Nero Wolfe book there is. I found my first one at the same place I found a 1940s copy of ABC XYZ with a golden bee on the cover. I still have that too.


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## Joel (Mar 3, 2005)

*Re: who influence you?*

Three people on my short list:
Bernie Draper - God rest his soul - Drapers Super Bee - I was seriously hurt in 1994 and spent many, many hours with Bernie listening and learning and reading his book. This inspiration and knowlege got me through a very difficult time. He quided me to keep going and to get my operation up and running and was always there to share his knowledge.

Barry - Thanks Barry for Beesource - I have learned more from this single resource either through reading here, research spawned by provocative threads, sharing with members, and made several friends and enjoyed many hours (some weeks too many) on Beesource. Most everyone here is so forward thinking it forces me to do my best to keep up and makes my operation better every day.

Brian - my 21 year old son who works every day with me in our bee business. He is so much smarter that I at his age than I was, is always working to better what we do and is the finest young man I have ever known - by my account and from unsolicited reporsts from virtually everyone he knows.


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## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

*Re: who influence you?*

Ray Nickel - My first exposure to beekeeping in 1975. Found on the web:
"He [Ray] also had the opportunity to develop a much beloved hobby of beekeeping and soon thereafter became the president of the Cook County Beekeepers organization, the third largest in the country."

Ed & Dee Lusby - First made contact with them in 1999. Forever changed the way I look at beekeeping.

Dennis Murrell - Have spent many years discussing beekeeping with each other. Dennis has a keen eye of observation that has taught me a lot.

You, the people that make up this community. The full spectrum of experience and knowledge is always impacting my beekeeping. Thank you!


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## D Semple (Jun 18, 2010)

*Re: who influence you?*

Ace has influenced me to get off my arse


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## mac (May 1, 2005)

*Re: who influence you?*

Ormond Aebi, Mastering the Art of Beekeeping, Helen and Scot Nearing ,The Rodale family researching and promoting organic farming and gardening, Stephen Gaskin The Farm, Pedro Rodriguez FGMO Beesource community and the creator Barry, Mr. Bush and his insites. Walt Wright’s manuscript nectar management, Mr. Palmer and his nuc management. Fat Beeman THANKS ya'll


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## David LaFerney (Jan 14, 2009)

*Re: who influence you?*

Ed Holcomb - who teaches people in my region how to make up to 200 lbs of honey per hive. No kidding they really do - but you got to stick to the plan.

James Gist - who makes a profitable honey crop year after year from his 6-8 hives next to his house right in my town.

Joseph Clemons, Old Timer, Michael Bush, Michael Palmer, Ray Marler, and Robert Russell (you got to admit, there for a while he was very influential) - and others of course - who taught me how to be sustainable and raise a few good queens of my own right here on this forum.


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## dnichols (May 28, 2012)

*Re: who influence you?*

Wow the thread has been awakened! 

I would have to first say my brother. He wanted to start beekeeping years ago and kept putting it off. I said I would help him and we finally started. He was stung once and swelled up like a balloon. Needless to say I am alone in the venture now. He does enjoy my harvest though. 

Later I met a great mentor on this forum and he has been an invaluable resource and friend. Here's a shout out to you B-! Thanks!

This forum has been great! So much great information. Hours of enjoyment and learning during the "off season" if there is such a thing.

Brother Adam's work.

Michael Bush

Mike Palmer

FatBeeMan


Who else is there? Just kidding...:applause: Oops I almost forgot. My wife. Who allows me to spend time watching other girls.


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