Worcester County Beekeepers

WORCESTER COUNTY BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION, WCBA

EST. 1900
The oldest county beekeeping organization in the United States


	News & Events

	Friday April 10, 2009 Date: Friday April 10, 2009 Time: 6:30pm Topic: Trials and Tribulations of New Beekeepers: Case Studies Place: Knights of Columbus Hall, Leicester, MA Speakers: Rebecca Knapp Keri Schray Kelly Charpentier Jack Nothardt James Blodgett Dr. Joerg Mayer I have chosen 6 new beekeepers to present their story on starting new with bees. They will discuss how they got into beekeeping, the problems they faced with their bees and how they tried to solve those problems, the joy they have got from their new hobby and give some parting advice to new beekeepers that will be starting at the end of this year's bee school. We will all be able to learn from this session which will open our eyes to the problems most faced by new beekeepers. It is especially important for all new beekeepers to attend. There are speaker bios in the Winter 2008 Apiary news page 9. Saturday May 2, 2009 First Outdoor Meeting of the Season Date: Saturday May 2, 2009 Time: 1pm Topic: Swarm prevention methods and Making effective splits. Hive openings and hands-on workshops for new keekeepers Place: Home of Norman Mercier, 99 Lovett Road Oxford, MA 01540 508-987-0947 Speaker: Ken Warchol and workshop leaders Ken will open several hives and demonstrate how to keep your hive at peak strength and yet keep it from swarming. There is a delicate balance between a booming hive and a swarming hive. Ken will demonstrate several methods of swarm detection and prevention in order to increase our honey yield. The second half of the program will be hands-on workshops for new beekeepers under the mentorship of experienced beekeepers. New beekeepers will have the opportunity to put their theoretical learning at the bee school into practice. Please bring veils and gloves as needed Directions: Take Route 395 south from Auburn or north from CT. Exit on 4A to Sutton Ave. Go left onto Lovett Road at the lights (Home Deport is on the right) Stay right at first intersection and left or straight at the second intersection. Norman's is the 2nd to last house on the left before the end of the road. Saturday June 13, 2009 Date: Saturday June 13, 2009 Time: 1pm Topic: Keeping your hive at peak strength during the summer season. Brief history of the shaker community in Harvard Place: Home of Marc Sevigney, 101 South Shaker Road, Harvard, MA Speaker: Ken Warchol and Marc Sevigney There are many ups and downs that a colony can take during the long summer season. We must deal with dearths, supercedures, swarms, mites, honey bound hives, and laying workers that can put a hive into a downward spiral. We must know how to deal with these issues in order to keep our hives at peak strength. Ken will open Marc's hives and give beekeepers ideas on how to minimize these problems and keep our hives at peak strength so that we are able to capture the waves of nectar flows. Marc has purchased the old 1800's Shaker Meeting House in Harvard with its out buildings and has restored it into one extraordinary home that he lives in. I was so impressed with this restoration that I felt everyone in the club should see it. Marc will give us a brief history of the Shaker Community and of the meeting house. He will then take us on a tour of the house and outbuildings. This is a tremendous opportunity to see what can be done with historic buildings and keeping the aesthetics. Marc keeps 6 colonies of bees on his property and has been a beekeeper for many years. Directions: Follow Rt. 2 East to exit 38B. Merge onto Rt. 111 North/110 East toward Ayer. Follow Rt. 110/111 (Ayer Road). Turn right onto South Shaker Rd. Follow South Shaker Rd. to number 101 South Shaker. Marc's house is on the left. (If you get to the Ayer town line then you missed South Shaker Road.) Saturday June 20, 2009 Date: Saturday June 20, 2009 Time: 9am-4pm Topic: Forth Annual Massachusetts Beekeepers' Association FIELD DAY Place: UMASS AGRONOMY Farm, South Deerfield, MA For more info on the workshop schedule and how to order lunch, please go to www.massbee.org Once again, the Worcester County Beekeepers will be sponsoring a bus to South Deerfield. The cost is $10 per individual (this is for the bus only--lunch is not included). We will leave the Auburn Mall parking lot at 7am and return at 6pm. We will make a quick stop at McDonald's for breakfast and an ice cream stop on the way home. If you are interested in going by bus and joining the fun, please fill out the form in the Spring 2009 newsletter. Saturday July 18, 2009 Date: Saturday July 18, 2009 Time: 11:30am NOTE TIME CHANGE FOR OUR ANNUAL COOKOUT Topic: Evaluating your hive at Midsummer, Bee Smoker Contest, Honeybee Trivia Contest Place: Home of Scott Malkasian, 51 Dowds Lane, Princeton, MA 978-464-5042 Speaker: Scott Malkasian and Ken Warchol This meeting starts off with our annual cookout sponsored by Scott Malkasian and Brian Faucher. They will provide the burgers, dogs, and drinks while members should bring a variety of salads and desserts to share (green, chef, potato, macaroni salads and a summer dessert). We encourage everyone to attend this extravaganza. We will follow this with our WCBA smoker contest witih our champion, Bob Bober trying to hold on to his crown. Our honey queen, Kelly Charpentier will be our judge. (A SURPRISE THAT IT'S NOT KEN?). We will thn have a trivia contest where members will go to 20 stations to identify bee species, equipment, plants, antiques and honey varieties. This will be followed by a tour of Scott's home in progress for new beekeepers who have not seen it. The view at the top alone is worth it. The smoker champ gets a fee Thanksgiving Banquet meal and bragging rights. The trivia contest winner will get a prize to be determined. See you all here. I get the first burger! Directions: Take Route 122A North out of Holden Center toward Rutland. Take a right onto Route 68 North. Go 4 miles to Glenwood Road. Take a right onto Glenwood Road and follow it for a short distance where it splits. Go left onto Dowd's Lane which is a dirt road. Follow it to the dead end which is Scott's house on the left. Even though the map shows a road coming in from the opposite side, you cannot go through that way. This is the only way to Scott's house. Please save these dates for more upcoming meetings in 2009: August 15th Fall management and winter hive preparation, home of Paul & Linda O'Connor, Boylston September 19th Final winter preparations, Keown Orchards, Sutton October 17th Special all-day Saturday meeting in conjunction with Mass Beekeepers 8am-4pm Knights of Columbus, Leicester Speaker: Dr. Marla Spivak, University of Minnesota Topic: Honeybee Hygienics It's taken us 3 years to bring Dr. Spivak to Massachusetts! Don't miss this one!!

	Directions to the Leicester Knights of Columbus for the WCBA monthly meetings Monthly Meetings and many of the Special Events of theWCBA are held at the Knights of Columbus Hall, Manville Street, in Leicester, Massachusetts. Directions From Webster Square in Worcester: Follow Route 9 West, a major road, into Leicester. 2 miles from the town line turn right onto Manville Street, just after Entwhistle’s Garage. Directions From Spencer or Leicester: Follow Route 9 East. Turn left onto Mannville Street just before Entwhistle’s Garage. The entrance to the Knights of Columbus Hall will be on your left within ½ mile on Mannville Street.



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