In April of 2008, two local beekeepers (Stanley Bosher and Bert McLaughlin) gathered people together for an exploratory meeting. This was followed by an organizational meeting in May, when officers were elected, a bylaws committee appointed, meeting date and time set, tentative meeting place of the Sandston Public Library decided upon, and dues for an individual/family were set. Bert McLauglin was elected President; David Stover, Vice President; Anne Morrow Donley, Secretary; and Clara Bosher, Treasurer.
In June of 2008, the bylaws committee, consisting of Marvin Gardner, Tony Parker, and Anne Morrow Donley, presented the bylaws to the group, for voting on in July. Tom Fifer led the first program of the new group. July saw the bylaws amended and passed, and Kenneth Andrews led the program. The objectives of the group are expressed in the bylaws:
The objectives of this nonprofit organization shall be to encourage better methods among beekeepers, to promote cooperation, to reach a common understanding regarding our problems and their solutions, to maintain friendly and helpful relations with those forces which are working to better the beekeeping industry, to develop markets for beekeeping products, to foster closer cooperation among members of the Association, and to do such things as will tend to improve purposes for its members and the general public relating to honey bees and the beekeeping industry.
August 2008 saw the group at the home of Raymond and Barbara Moore for a combination picnic, hands on look at a hive, and short business meeting. In September we met at the home of Dennis and Nancy Williams, with a program on feeding bees and similar items led by Barbara Ruslander and Dennis Williams. September was also the time of the Virginia State Fair, with Bert McLaughlin participating on our behalf for several days, and David Stover joining him, giving the group further exposure as an entity. In October of 2008 we were at the Sandston Public Library with Marvin Gardner discussing pollinators other than the honey bee, especially the mason bee and the bumble bee. The November meeting was a program led by Keith Tignor, the Virginia State Apiarist, on general information, with Leanne DuBois, also from the state government. The December meeting focused on growing flowers for bees. This was also a pot luck to celebrate the year.
In the late fall of 2008, Bee Culture magazine listed the group on its website and the Virginia State Beekeepers Association placed ERBA on its website under Local Groups. Some new members have discovered our group after searching the state beekeepers site for local groups.
By the end of 2008, membership had grown from a handful of interested persons to more than 30 members, from Mechanicsville, Ashland, and parts of Hanover County; Prince George County; Charles City County; city of Richmond; Quinton, Providence Forge, and parts of New Kent County; Sandston, Varina, and parts of Henrico County; and King William County.
As Bert noted, “We’re rolling!”
--- 2009 ---
2009 saw the election of David Stover as President; Daryl Douglas, Vice President; Anne Morrow Donley, Secretary; and Clara Bosher, Treasurer. The bylaws do not permit a consecutive 2nd term by any president, and any treasurer may serve only two years in succession. A list of volunteers prepared the refreshments for each meeting.
Daryl Douglas, Barbara Ruslander, Bert McLaughlin, and David Stover met to discuss and sketch out future program ideas, requesting as always ideas from the members.
The January 2009 program at the library featured Kenneth Andrews giving tips on “Winter Hive Chores”. At that same meeting, we discovered that the Sandston library, and other local libraries, were booked for our meeting dates in February and March, so Doris Bohr arranged for us to use a meeting room at her church, Fort Lee Baptist Church, The group has held subsequent meetings at that location, at the corner of Charles City Road and Laburnum Avenue.
The February 2009 program was “Getting Your Hive in Order”, led by Daryl Douglas, Algis Radzisauskas, and Barbara Ruslander, with input from others in the group.
March 2009 featured Dr. Wyatt Mangum, from Fredericksburg, discussing “Top Bar Hives”, and the April program was Keith Tignor, the state apiarist discussing “Honey Bee Biology”, and the Master Beekeepers Program. The May program was led by Barbara Ruslander, Kenneth Andrews, and Bert McLaughlin reviewing the state beekeepers meeting held in April. June’s program was led by Peter Ostrowski of the Colonial Beekeepers Association of Hampton, Va., discussing Honey Extraction, and Algis Radzisauskas brought along a honey extractor. July’s meeting was a potluck picnic.
July 2009 also launched the web sitehttp://www.eastrichmondbees.org made possible by the excellent expertise of web master Jones Tyler. David Stover and Anne Morrow Donley contributed text and photos. Members were encouraged to send photos to Jones for possible inclusion on the web site.
The August 2009 meeting featured Tom Fifer discussing pros and cons of chemical use in and around bee hives. The basic rule Tom follows is do not use any chemicals around the hives, do not use chemicals in any strong hives, be careful in regard to treating weakened hives.
Death of Tony Parker — We were all saddened at the illness and death of Tony Parker (Warren Grayson Parker), 75, who died August 5, 2009, after an extended battle with cancer. ERBA sent a card from the members to Tony’s family. Tony was one of the charter members of the Association, which was founded in May of 2008. He served on the By-Laws Committee, helping even while on an automobile trip to Florida to visit his cousin who was dying of cancer. Tony’s enthusiasm, knowledge, willingness to help, and gentle manner are missed by us all.
September 2009′s program was John Adams, who had encircled the auditorium with his drawings of the history of beekeeping equipment through the ages, encompassing natural ones (trees), stone enclosures, pottery, straw, wood, and other groupings. John is working on a book, and provided slides of his experiments with a variety of beekeeping arrangements.
October 2009 program featured Kenneth Andrews giving an interesting review of winter hive preparation, and showing some samples of small hive beetle and other pests of the hive.
The November 2009 program was led by Keith Tignor, state apiarist, who brought the group up to date on managing the hive in winter, and being on the look out for small hive beetle and other pests of the hive. A question and answer session followed.
With the suggestion of Barbara Ruslander, members were urged to bring serious and fun things related to bees and beekeeping, to the December pot luck supper, something to help us laugh and/or help us learn.
Thus at the December 2009 meeting, with a group filled with fantastic cooks and bakers, everyone enjoyed the food and bee related items. Amid lots of laughter, Kenneth Andrews shared his beekeeper bear, with its bee veil and recorded voice. Donna Stewart shared her cloisonné jeweled bee, and many admiring comments were made about it. Doris Bohr demonstrated three bee hand puppets including a beautifully crafted queen bee, and a bunny dressed as a bee which drew appreciation and laughter.
A successful honey sale in November and December featured the delicious honey from the hives of Kenneth and Sue Andrews and from the hives of Stanley and Clara Bosher.
--- 2010 ---
January 2010 was the time for election of officers. The President for 2010 is Anne Morrow Donley, Vice President and Program Planner is Barbara Ruslander, Secretary is David Stover, and Treasurer is Evelyn Waring. The January program featured Tony Banks from the Virginia Farm Bureau, followed by questions from the audience about the Bureau increasing awareness among farmers and homeowners of the deadly effects on honeybees of many pesticides and herbicides in use.
February 2010 brought several snowstorms to the area, necessitating the cancellation of the February meeting.
The March 2010 program was a demonstration and discussion of putting together bee hive equipment, coupled with a question and answer session on a variety of topics. Kenneth Andrews had brought hive boxes and frames, wax sheets, and other parts of the bee hive including some screened bottom boards which he had constructed. Algis Radzisauskas assisted with the discussion and building.
April 13, 2010 featured Architecture of the Nest, led by Tom Fifer, with his observation hive as a teaching tool.
The May 11, 2010 meeting was on Splits and Nucs with Kenneth Andrews leading the discussion, and showing some equipment easy to build, and with suggestions on detecting when swarms are being prepared by the colony. In the business section of the meeting, it was decided to donate three beekeeping books each to some local libraries.
The June 8th meeting was led by John Adams discussing the evolution of his long box design for a bee hive, information gathered from several weeks visiting Florida beekeepers, and information gleaned from an Arizona conference on treatment/chemical free beekeeping.
The July meeting was a Sunday afternoon pot luck picnic, July 18th, held at a local park. 30 adults and two children and three dogs attended the picnic, sharing in great food and fun and swapping of bee stories. Prizes brought laughs and fun to the event. The intense heat, in the upper 90′s F., was slightly offset by the shade and breezes from across the artificial lake. Several people suggested that in 2011, we might want to have the picnic in a different month — September was the one most often suggested, though one person jokingly suggested December!
We got to meet families of our members, enjoy the great cooking and baking, and chatted about bees! The help of so many people contributed to the success of this event. All the great food from potato salads and casseroles and deviled eggs and barbecued chicken to desserts of all sorts was brought by the members. Joe Mihalcoe provided the ice for the group. Clara Bosher, Sue Andrews, and Anne Morrow Donley provided the 12 prizes. Sue Andrews and David Stover each provided “raffle” tickets. The utensils and paper products and tablecloths were provided by Sue, Anne, Doris Bohr, Elsie McLaughlin. Sue and Kenny added in a large plastic container to hold the paper products for future meetings. Thanks to everyone for your help!
On August 10th, 2010, the regular meeting schedule resumed. The program was, “What’s Your Bee Line?“ led by Vice President and Program Coordinator Barbara Ruslander. This was an informative and fun look at the experiences and aims of beekeepers in the group, and those who want to be beekeepers! Seated in a circle, many shared their experiences in beekeeping, stories of swarm catching, and there were questions from beginning beekeepers, sparking more interesting and informative discussion. Barbara also shared with the group a visit she had paid to one of the founders of the club, and the first president of the group, Bert McLauglin, who has been seriously ill most of this year, and his wife Elsie McLaughlin.
Anne Morrow Donley, President, noted the club is just two years old, and the help of each of the members is the reason for the steady progress of the group, as well as the good leadership of Bert in the past. She reminded the club that we will need a new President and a new Secretary for 2011, and that people willing to serve should let the officers know this. David Stover, Secretary, reported on the new membership form developed by Evelyn Waring, Treasurer, and joined Anne in reminding everyone that any new officers will have the full support of the current and past officers.
The program on September 14th, 2010 was led by Keith Tignor, the state apiarist, and focused on “The Drone: The Underappreciated Bee“. Keith recounted the biology and life cycle of the drone, that it mates outside the hive with queens from other hives at a Drone Congregation Area. Keith encouraged beekeepers to buy bees and queens locally within the state, and to learn to increase one’s own hive through queen rearing. He noted that insecticides harm bees immediately, and also long range by reducing the ability of the queen and of drones in the reproductive process.
The October 12th, 2010 program featured Jones Tyler, speaking on “Perspectives of a Newer Beekeeper”. Jones gave many important insights with facts and humor. His excellent blog gives insights into his own experiences and research, as well as his reports on information from meetings and speakers at the East Richmond Beekeepers Association.
The November 10th, 2010 program was given by Ann Harman talking about the honey bees and their “Winter Cluster”. Ann Harman has much experience with both Langstroth and top bar hives, has done research in several countries, and has transformed her private apiary into a teaching apiary for youth groups to visit and learn. The November meeting also began a new “tradition“ of offering 15 minutes sandwiched between the business meeting and the program, a time for people to ask questions of other experienced beekeepers, and a time to share beekeeping experiences. Questions and comments on weighing hives without a hive scale, feeding bees and when, winterizing bees, and other topics surfaced. The business meeting included the report from the nominating committee that nominations for the 2011 election in January are now complete, and the nominations were voted to be closed. Nominations are as follows: President, Jones Tyler; Vice President/Program Coordinator, Barbara Ruslander; Secretary, Tina Abate; Treasurer, Evelyn Waring. The club By-Laws passed in 2008 state that the position of President has a one year term limit; the Treasurer has a two year term limit. The club was happy to welcome back Bert McLaughlin and Elsie McLaughlin, following Bert’s long illness. Bert was a co-founder with Stanley Bosher of the club in 2008, and was drafted by those at the first meeting to be the first president of the group. The Refreshments Coordinator, Donna Stewart, reminded members to sign up to provide refreshments in 2011.
The December gathering was a pot luck supper open only to members and their families and invited guests. Despite cold weather, several members arrived and with delicious contributions to the meal. Thanks to all the great cooks and bakers!
In 2011, January 11, regular meetings will resume, and will be open to the general public.
Many thanks go to the people who have provided refreshments during the year, including Sue Andrews, Anne Morrow Donley, Barbara Ruslander, Avon Towler, Donna Stewart, Amy Adams, and Jane and Russ Porter.