Enthusiasts keep bees close to home
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DELAVAN — In 2009, executive chef David Ross' plans for installing an apiary at Lake Lawn Resort included 50,000 European honeybees, two hives and assurances that the bees and the guests at the lakeside resort could reside harmoniously together. “While the thought of releasing up to 50,000 bees on the property was an initial concern for the (general manager) at the time, I was able to convince him that it would not impact the resort in any negative ways, and that the bees have only one mission — besides serving the queen — to find pollen and nectar,” Ross wrote in an email. “I explained to the GM that they wouldn't be bothersome to our guests and that we were in a crisis that needed action.”
The crisis Ross referred to is the declining population of honeybees, a topic he found himself discussing several years ago with Maureen Kilmer, a friend, mentor and longtime beekeeper from Illinois. Kilmer told him many of her beekeeping colleagues were retiring and encouraged him to pick up the practice.
“I knew very little about the art of beekeeping, but found her persuasion compelling enough,” he said.
Ross found a spot on the resort property with an abundance of plants and flowers for the bees, adding the site had “some of the most picturesque views of Delavan Lake.” By the second year of production, he'd harvested five gallons of honey.
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