The 150th Celebration at the A.I. Root Company exceeded all expectations. Beyond the various presentations, it was announced that long-time editor of Bee Culture, Kim Flottum, is stepping down and taking his place will be Jerry Hayes, who readers might know as the current author of American Bee Journal’s extremely popular monthly column, “The Classroom.” Mr. Hayes has a long history of employment in regulatory (Florida State Apiarist), research (Monsanto’s now Bayer’s honey bee point person), and is currently North American Vice President of Vita Bee Health. This transition could mean some interesting developments in the possible future alignment and focus of both monthly bee magazines that have been in publication since the 1800s.
Another focus of the celebration was the historical and current role of women in beekeeping. Tammy Horn Potter, known for several books in the apicultural field and current Kentucky State Apiarist, discussed the current “feminization” of long-standing male-dominated beekeeping organizations. The Apiary Inspectors of America Is perhaps the best example (AIA), but others exist. She reported that Joan Gunter will be the first woman elected president of the American Beekeeping Federation (ABF) in 2020.
Sarah Red-Laird, the Bee Girl, and ex-president of the Western Apicultural Society (WAS) wrote the following in her blog at the conclusion of that conference last summer in Oregon: “Today as I fly home from the Western Apiculture Society Conference I’ve been processing just how special this gathering was. Not only was it my first beekeeping conference to attend but also my first invitation to speak and teach at one. However, that isn’t even what was so unique. What was really special is that every single expert on stage was a female. We had women scientists and researchers, entrepreneurs, community leaders and activists all gathering around our shared love and passion for raising healthy bees.”
A huge influence on the Bee Girl and other females in the beekeeping field has been Dr. Marla Spivak, who is the only apicultural researcher to become a MacArthur Genius Award winner, and currently is McKnight Distinguished Professor inntomology at the University of Minnesota. She has pioneered research in propolis honey bee breeding, and the development of what is called the “Bee Squad,” a citizen science activity to collect data on honey bee colonies throughout the Twin Cities and metropolitan area.
This initiative seeks to identify trends in particular geographic areas and gaining insights into honey bee health, promising that “your bees will contribute to the science of good beekeeping; Bee Squad uses the data from your bees to communicate best management practices to beekeepers in the region and to contribute to the national conversation amongst beekeepers and scientists on how to make our bees thrive.” She is currently director of a fairly new beekeeping laboratory at the University of Minnesota .
Eye-opening statistics on U.S. women farmers and beekeepers were provided by Ms. Horn Potter. Well over 960,000 farmers in U.S. are female, with an economic impact of $12.9 billion. National/Regional honey bee groups are 30.4 percent female, with state groups about the same, and local bee clubs exceeding 42 percent.
Ms. Horn Potter’s current relationship with the family of significant female Root employee or “hand,” Jane Cole, was on display at the celebration. Ms. Cole by all accounts, contributed greatly to the success of the company during its early years. Several contemporary relatives of Ms. Cole in fact attended the event in Medina. Finally, it is significant that although Mr. Flottum is “retiring,” his wife and long-term “hand” at Bee Culture (Kathy Summers), is staying on and will continue to contribute to the magazine, making Mr. Hayes’ transition to full-time editor as smooth as possible.
It was striking that two historical giants in the apicultural field showed up in person at the Medina celebration. Both L.L. Langstroth and A.I. Root himself were on display on occasion, and also in cardboard images, where those attending could in fact have pictures taken between these two historical figures.
The former celebrity was played by the ineffable Marc Hoffman, who is known for his portrayal of the Father of American Beekeeping in a three-act beekeeping production that has entertained beekeepers and others around the country. Entitled Bee Man, the one-man production in three acts follows the career of the Reverend L.L. Langstroth who lived from 1810 to 1895. He was an inventor, scholar, author, abolitionist, minister and thought perhaps to be manic-depressive (bipolar). The play reveals the dramatic ups and downs of Rev. Langstroth as he came to grips with his love for honey bees and how he saw in them much of the successes and failures of human society during his time. Mr. Hoffman brought his rendition of the original Langstroth hive to this event, providing some interesting facts concerning the structure, along with a description of the challenges that Langstroth faced in his numerous efforts to defend his patents associated with the device .
Amos Ives Root was really the focus of the celebration; his life and career colored the whole event. As written in the introduction to the 41st edition of the ABC and XYZ of beekeeping, first published as ABC in in Bee Culture (1878), Mr. Root stated: “Beginning in 1865, when a swarm of honey bees passed overhead where we were at work, and my fellow workman, in answer to some inquiries respecting their habits, asked what I would give for them. I, not dreaming he could by any means call therm down, offered him a dollar, and he started after them. To my astonishment, he, in a short time, returned with them hived in a rough box he had hastily picked up, and, at that moment, I commenced learning may ABC in bee culture.” The idea behind the volume, which continues today, was to “purpose it to never be out of date or behind the times.”
In a few short years, Mr. Root’s education in bee culture had morphed into the A.I. Root Company (1869), which specialized in producing beekeeping equipment. The golden age of beekeeping (1859 to 1890) was beginning to be in full flower, based on large amounts of comb honey being shipped by train to large cities. A.I. Root’s son, E.R. reported that in the 1880s and 90s the company assumed “massive proportions,” such that “the proprietor himself was almost demoralized by the mass of business that poured down upon him.”
He reported the following in 1905: “Something like a dozen clerks are employed almost constantly in our main home office..answering letters, keeping books, and doing general office work…From three to four stenographers are required…and six typewriters are kept in use the greater part of the time.”
The conclusion: “There are scattered over the various portions of the United States ten branch offices under the name of the ‘A.I. Root Co.’ Besides these there are something like fourteen or fifteen large agencies that handle goods by the carload…and many branch offices and agencies keep in touch with the home office.”
A.I. published the first edition of his magazine, Gleanings in Bee Culture, in 1872, and it has continually been in print since. The “Gleanings” was subsequently dropped from the title, but the magazine continues to inform and inspire beekeepers everywhere.
Over the course of the two-day celebration, several things became apparent about A.I. Root. Beginning as a jeweler and moving into apiculture, he was part of larger historical context that can be described as “entrepreneural investigation.” His innovations were often not so much new (patentable), but built upon other ideas of others.
For example, A.I. did not invent the movable frame hive, but was responsible for improving what he considered to be a “superior” box, by using shallow frames for honey that could be “tiered” up vertically for maximum production. He based his factory production on these“standard” hives, frames and other equipment for general bee culture, which still exists today. He saw the importance of a smooth outside with recessed hand holds, and abandoned the landing portico that was a hallmark of the original Langstroth design.
He noticed differences in beeswax based on location in the hive. The capping wax was most adaptable for further processing, which became the first commercially successful comb foundation. He made the first all-metal extractor, the Novice, and was the first to manufacture one-pound sections for use in comb honey production. He helped improve the Quinby smoker, resulting in the standard Bingham model mostly still in use today.
A pioneer In the management of honey bees, A.I. was the first to attempt to breed and send queens through the U.S. mail. Shipping honey bees in screened cages (packages) was his idea and as was developing technologies to maximize hive size encouraging maximum honey production, while keeping bees from swarming. He extracted a full barrel of honey from a single hive dubbed “Giantess,” something bee masters at the time thought impossible.
The end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century would shift developments in beekeeping in a number of ways away from the “entrepreneural development” that was in vogue. The rise of the scientific method (pioneering research on American foulbrood), including institutionalized information development and education in beekeeping (land-grant colleges), as well as the beginning of the federal government’s effort in the newly established Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine in Bee Culture (U.S. Department of Agriculture) contributed to this phenomenon.
Frank C. Pellett summed up these changes in his History of American Beekeeping, published fifteen years after the death of A.I. Root in 1923: 1938 History of American beekeeping / by Frank Chapman Pellett.
“The World War (1918) brought great changes to American beekeeping with emphasis on production and marketing of honey, rather than on beekeeping as an interesting diversion, as it long had been. With the high prices which came with the postwar boom, expansion became the rule, and the rank and file of beemen became honey producers rather than beekeepers as of old.
“The old-time leadership, which rested with men who lived leisurely among the bees, has been replaced by scientifically trained men in the U. S. Department of Agriculture and our state institutions. When, during the war, Phillips and Demuth conducted their short course schools of apiculture in many widely separated places, they paved the way for institutional leadership.
“The Bee Culture Laboratory under Dr. E. F. Phillips under took research in a variety of problems too difficult for the bee keeper or requiring facilities beyond his reach. Many new facts have been brought to light, the far-reaching results of which it is too soon to measure. Several state agricultural experiment stations have followed with research investigations far in ad vance of former years. Most of this work is left for measure in future years after there has been time for its completion and opportunity for observation of its effect.
“One thing is very clear; we have abandoned the old paths. The old-time beekeeper was something of a naturalist, inter ested primarily in the behavior of his bees. The beekeeper is now a business man interested primarily in the sale of enough honey to maintain the present day standard of living and give his family the things that the new generation demands.”
Pellet’s book is available on the World Wide Web in several places and deserves attention by anyone interested in this subject. It is too bad that no specific follow up volume has been produced, although Tammy Horn’s Bees in America comes closer than any other. . Indeed, A.I.’s first act after his encounter with that initial swarm of bees, was to find as much published information as he could on honey bees. He read Langstroth’s works and the seminal volume by Moses Quinby, The Mysteries of Bee-Keeping Explained, published in 1853. The April 1, 1915 edition of Gleanings in Bee Culture was dedicated to Quinby’s life and teachings in beekeeping. A more in depth discussion of Quinby is available on the Bee Culture website.
Dr. Jim Tew, retired extension specialist from The Ohio State University discussed the repertoire of published materials available to Root that existed then and today in his talk entitled, “Beekeeping Authors We Know and Don’t Know. Deserving special attention was Quinby’s work as well as the classic volume, Fifty Years Among the Bees by the pioneering queen breeder, Dr. C.C. Miller, in fact published by the A.I. Root Company in 1911.
Coincidental with the changes listed above, regional and national beekeeping associations were on the rise, most dealing with the the continuing fight against adulterated honey that continues even today. Dr. Harvey W. Wiley, wrote the following in the Popular Science Monthly, June, 1881: “In commercial honey, which is entirely free from bee mediation, the comb is made of paraffin, and filled with pure glucose by appropriate machinery.” In response to this, (known at the time as Wiley’s ‘lie’), and what was considered at the time to be an attack on comb honey, beekeeping’s major income stream, A. I. Root offered $1,000 to anyone who could prove that comb honey had ever been successfully imitated. No takers were reported in Pellet’s book. Thus, Root became an ardent supporter of the pure food movement. He and his sons were recognized as leaders in this campaign over the years, which finally resulted in the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906.
Continuing with the historical theme of the Root celebration event, presentations by Jim Thompson, beekeeping historian, and Dr. Wyatt Mangum, who has amassed a collection of historical beekeeping equipment over the years, provided perspective. Mr. Thompson brought along his collection of devices and other paraphernalia associated with manipulating honey bee hives. Most significant was his collection of hive tools. It is possible to read about Mr. Thompson’s ideas concerning the development of various beekeeping devices on the Bee Culture web site.
Dr. Mangum is Professor at University of Mary Washington in Virginia and one of the best known proponents and pioneers of a technology known as top bar beekeeping, and has written a book on the subject. He discussed his current activities, specifically looking at historical developments of smokers and foundation mills. He also manages a website providing examples of honey bee behavior and is a frequent contributor to the beekeeping press.
The A.I. Root Company was an active participant numerous beekeeping associations over the years, the family is often referred to in Vern Milum’s History of Our National Beekeeping Associations, published by the American Beekeeping Federation in 1964, listing a plethora of these outfits from 1860 through 1954.
A.I. Root Co. signed up as the charter commercial member of the Eastern Apicultural Society (EAS) in 1955. President John Root at the time of EAS 50th anniversary stated he was “incredibly proud of that distinction,” adding that the company had been represented at every meeting EAS has held since. Mr. Root was selected temporary Chairman of the Board when that position was created in 1977. He helped organize the 1978 meeting at Wooster, OH attended by over 600 people, and the Root Co. was heavily involved in the Year of the Hive in 1995 (600 in attendance) at the same venue, as well as the fifty-year anniversary in Kent. Ohio (2005).
The Ohio State Beekeepers Association is one of, if not the oldest association in the country, according to Milum’s accounts, going as far back as 1861. It’s current mission statement tells the tale: “The tradition of beekeeping history in Ohio is reflected in the membership and past membership of OSBA. Ohio, the home of the A.I. Root Company and final resting place for L. L. Langstroth and A.I. Root, is proud of its role in this tradition. The Ohio State University continues to lead in honey bee research and beekeeping extension. While the state no longer has the largest bee-supply manufacture in the world, or sends out more queens than any other state, we still have some of the best beekeepers in the world.” The association website reveals a list of historical documents, including newsletters dated back as far as 1888. That year the A.I. Root Company set up a Centennial Honey Exhibit in the Capital of the state.
This author was asked to talk about Ohio’s beekeeping history, not only in terms of its association, but also its regulatory, research and extension efforts as part of the A.I. Root celebration. A timeline published by Deer Creek Honey Farms in London, Ohio, just outside of Columbus is a good beginning reference. This four-generation beekeeping family began in 1915 when the patriarch Winston and his twin brother Wesley Dunham (12 years old) bought their first beehive in Bethel, Vermont. Winston worked for beekeepers J.E. Crane and subsequently Frank Manchester in 1920, managing up to 300 hives, while attending the University of Vermont. In 1925, he enrolled in graduate school at Cornell University, taking a job the next year at The Ohio State University while earning his Masters of Science degree in 1926 and Doctorate in 1930, while beginning to increase the size of his own apiary. From 1930 to 1938, – Winston continued to divide his time between teaching at OSU, doing research with the Ohio Agriculture Experiment Station, and working as a beekeeping specialist with the Ohio Agricultural Extension Service. The Deer Creek honey house built in London, OH for the purpose of extracting and bottling honey in 1938.
The research and extension beekeeping program that began with Winston Dunham was split up over the years. Charlie Reese from West Virginia became Ohio Extension Specialist in the 1950s Charles A Reese was Ohio State Apiarist from 1923 to 1947 and continued as an Ohio State Extension Apiarist until 1951. He attracted national attention for his program of disease eradication in Ohio. He wrote “Beekeeping for West Virginia” which was published in 1967.
Reece was, followed by W.A. Stephen, a University of Guelph, Canada student, who took over from 1963 to 1972. Larry Connor, current owner of WicWas Press, was briefly Extension Specialist in the late 1970s, before moving to Florida to manage a queen breeding operation known as Genetic Systems in 1978. This author was hired in 1979 at the same time as Jim Tew was employed at The Ohio Technical Institute in Wooster, who over time inherited the job, finally retiring effectively ending the full-time beekeeping extension program. Both Jim Tew and I experienced the tragic situation where Winston Dunham died on March 31, 1980, quickly followed by W.A. Stephen, as he was dressing to go to Dunham’s funeral service.
Meanwhile the beekeeping research effort came from Iowa State University in the person of Dr. Walter Rothenbuhler. I wrote a reflection on Dr. Rothenbuhler that was published in the March 2003 Bee Culture: “Walter did a stint of commercial beekeeping in 1941 and 1942, where he worked first for Mr. S.E. Bailey and then Dr. Winston Dunham. This was an important phase in his career. Throughout his employment at both and state universities as a premier researcher he always took time for reflections on the practical side of beekeeping. He stated in his June 1980 Gleanings in Bee Culture obituary of W.A. Stephen, long time Ohio state beekeeping extension specialist, “Some of my most pleasant memories relate to Steve’s and my traveling together occasionally to do his short courses.” And in the same issue, in Dr. Dunham’s obituary he wrote, “…he recommended that I get experience in a large commercial beekeeping operation…I have always been grateful for his guidance.” Walter did in 2002. The Bee laboratory was defunded in 2008. . The research and extension program transformed into efforts by Reed Johnson and Denise Elsworth.
