Pollinator Party

From 1903 through 1985, the Hofmann Apiary near Janesville was a successful honey producer and breeder of Italian bees and queens. Nowadays, visitors are invited to tour the buildings and facilities and learn about traditional honey production methods. A Bee Bash! and Pollinator Party 3.0 celebration on Aug. 16 brought a long stream of visitors from a wide area. 

 

Owners Jan and Larry Hofmann spoke with visitors. Said Jan, “We were so glad all these people were able to come out today, we hoped so many could see it.” Larry added, “We opened the wax shed and honey house.” Near the edge of the grounds, numerous bee boxes were marked as being off limits to reduce disruption to the hives. Also part of the grounds is a 15-acre plot of restored prairie graced by a walking trail. Signs and markers identify native flowers including Wild Bergamot and Golden Alexanders, perfect for bees on the hunt for nectar.

 

Volunteer Jim Jewison tells of having been an employee at the apiary in the sixties and early seventies. “I still pitch in here when I can.” Also giving some of their time were Virginia from Janesville and Bev from North Mankato, “We’re volunteering today because we believe in the apiary, we love it here and we approve of this.” Musicians Dave Pengra and Ron Arsenault of City Mouse contributed live guitar music to an apparently appreciative audience seated at tables and on lawn chairs. City Mouse is a Mankato based band.

 

Visitors were offered the chance to buy some Hofmann Apiaries merchandise, and were given a flyer which summarized the site’s history: 1873-Valentine and Rosilia Hofmann buy their first tract of land. 1903-Emil, son, begins keeping bees and builds Hofmann Apiaries into a nationally recognized operation. 1932-Charles, son to Emil, took over the apiary which flourished until 1985. 2015-The Hofmann Apiary is placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

 

Also offering information related to bees and pollinators were the Waseca Soil and Water Conservation District; Rim Reserve Conservation Easement; Edenvale Nursery out of Mankato; Strand Beeswax-Since 1936, Katie Lee, an MSU Extension Educator of Apiculture; Sun Honey LLC. and the Waseca County Historical Society who is also the fiscal agent for Hofmann Apiaries.

 

To quote a 1928 American Bee Journal article: “It seems impossible for me to describe the Hofmann extracting plant. It is one of the most extensive and perfe;ctly arranged that I have ever seen among the hundreds of such plants visited. Any beekeeper who contemplates building a honey house for the output of two hundred or more colonies will find it money well spent to drive several hundred miles to see how this one is arranged.”