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who influenced you?

21K views 59 replies 33 participants last post by  dnichols 
#1 ·
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.
 
#2 · (Edited)
Re: who influence you?



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!
 
#3 ·
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.
 
#4 ·
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.
 
#5 ·
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.
 
#7 ·
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).
 
#9 ·
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
 
#19 ·
Re: who influence you?

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
 
#10 ·
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
 
#15 ·
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
 
#16 ·
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.
 
#17 ·
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.
 
#20 ·
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
 
#25 ·
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.
 
#27 ·
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.
 
#29 ·
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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