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ALL THINGS OKLAHOMA
Honeycomb Hither
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WAX ON ONE OF DANE STRICKLAND’S HONEYCOMBS IS REMOVED TO GET TO THE HONEY. PHOTOS BY JOSH NEW
klahoma beekeepers wax poetically about the creatures under their stewardships. Dane Strickland, president of the Northeast Oklahoma Beekeepers Association, marvels at “how they achieve what they achieve” and he loves witnessing “the unity of the colony and the utmost devotion to their colony survival.” The finished product isn’t bad either. Strickland especially enjoys getting that first whiff of fresh honey after cutting off the wax caps to collect it from the frame. “The aroma is intoxicating,” he says. “I can’t help but taste and taste
Beekeepers in Oklahoma are passionate about their almost intoxicating hobby. and taste. It screams at you, ‘Eat me.’” Tonya Wells, owner of Queen Bri’s in Oklahoma City, is equally descriptive about the aesthetics of beekeeping. “It has such a calming effect on me when I’m out in the hives,” she says. “In the springtime, the bees take pollen and mix it with honey and feed it to the baby bees. It has a yeasty smell, which is why we call it bee bread. It smells like baking bread, a comforting smell. And the buzzing of the bees is kind of like white noise. It’s relaxing.” Pat Tickel of Madill says he’s “the luckiest guy in the world” because he retired after 27 years with Peterbilt Motors and has time to “play with bees.”
Tickel, a former vice president of the Oklahoma State Beekeepers Association, has 48 hives ... and admits he’s in deep. “I got stung, I got infected, and now I have a fatal disease,” he says with a laugh. Tickel belongs to clubs in Ardmore, Ada, Noble and Guthrie. “I also belong to the Texas Beekeepers Association, so I crossed the river,” he says. “You learn from other beekeepers. I have a network of people I get advice from.” Tickel isn’t the only one with a hive mentality; Strickland says the Northeast Oklahoma group has about 400 active members, with 140 typically attending meetings. MARCH 2019 | WWW.OKMAG.COM
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