Today is Saturday and you will find Mr. Bill Mullins at the Greensboro Farmers Market on Yanceyville, across from the old War Memorial Stadium. He will be there selling honey from his hives in the back of his property at Quaker Acres. While many of us this season are suffering through allergies and struggling to keep the pollen off our vehicles, Mr. Mullins is happy, knowing his bees are getting well fed. He says"city bees" make such good honey because of the variety of plants available to them.
Mr. Mullins, raised in eastern Kentucky, has been a lifelong keeper. This interest grew out of observing the bees on his grandmother's property. Mr. Mullins has been a vendor of honey at the Greensboro Farmers Market for nearly fifty years. He became a vendor back when people sold food and produce at the curb market - literally on the curb- downtown on Commerce Street.
Mr. Mullins gets great joy out of talking to people at the Saturday market. In our recent conversation, we learned he joined the Air Force at the tail end of WWII. Next, he served in the Alabama National Guard. By career, and following in his father's footsteps, he started working in the insurance business, which is what ultimately brought him to Greensboro. While retired from insurance, Mr. Mullins has no plans to retire from keeping bees. Likely, all the time he spends outside with his bees is what keeps him so happy and healthy. We forgot to ask him what his wife thinks of his lifelong committment to the bees and their hives. We'll save that question for our next visit to the farmers market.
Happy Saturday!
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