Alyssa Ridenour
reporter@greenepublishing.com
Paul Sheffer is a local beekeeper who bottles some of the most un“bee”lievably delicious honey around; Beekeepers work very hard to provide our community with honey, and it would bee a shame not to recognize that.
Sheffer has been raising bees for 49 years and is extremely passionate about what he does. He has been happily married to Karen Buuell-Sheffer for 46 years and has been blessed with four bee-utiful daughters and six grandkids.
It all started in 1975, when he began his venture into beekeeping with his father-in-law, Raymond Buuell with whom he worked for 10 years. In 1985, he bought a place in Pinetta, Fla. where he would come every winter to tend to the bees when the cold up north got too intense for honey production. His father-in-law had a total of four farms: three in Michigan and one in Florida. Eventually, he broke off and began his own operation making honey. In 1989, he decided to move to Florida permanently.
Sheffer had about 200 hives at one point but has since retired and now keeps only 15 hives. He explained that he wanted to take it easy and that is why he cut back.
He also explains that every beekeeper gets stung. “It's not like I'm scared of being stung,” said Sheffer. “It's just part of the job. You scrape the sting off and keep moving.”
He also expresses some of the difficulties of beekeeping, stating that diseases and pests are the biggest contributing factors to the deaths of his bees. He goes on to explain that the skunks back in Michigan would dig a hole for the bees to go into and make a noise to lure them into the trap, where they would then bury the bees and crush them for food.
If you are interested in purchasing locally harvested honey, you can contact Paul Sheffer at (850) 929-4721.