Bauer Bee Tale

Twin Spruce was established in 1941 by Wolfgang Bauer and Jessie Bauer. Wolfgang acquired his beekeeping skills in Germany, during WW1, while a young boy. In 1941 beekeeping became his profession. The business became a team with son, Walter, later Walter's wife, Nonie, and their son, Walter Jr. I, Sheri Bauer, Walt and Nonie's daughter, did help out in the extracting room in summer, but spent most of my time during my 18 years on the apiary practicing piano to prepare myself for music conservatory. I stopped cracking open beehives with Wolfgang, as a photo I found instructs, at age two.

Wolfgang was known as "the one armed beekeeper" since, prior to starting in the bee business, he lost his arm in a foundry accident. Walter, his son, became Wolfgang's missing left arm and after working many years alongside his father became a devoted keeper of the apiary and the "kingpin" of Twin Spruce Apiaries. 

Walter and Wolfgang kept stationary hives throughout beeyards in the Catskill Mountains. The family supplied the locals, farmstands, mom n' pop stores, and resorts with raw wildflower Catskill Mountain honey. "The crew" worked as hard as the bees. Customers came for honey, to watch the extracting process, and for conversation. They usually stayed longer than they intended. All the Bauers gave time to answer questions about bees, honey, and appreciated a chat about what folks were up to and what was happening in town and around the world.

Walter and Nonie eventually went on to sell honey and candles at the Union Square Market in NYC; a market they were at for 30 years. 

This was a wholesome and rewarding business, though there were increasing bear threats and weather issues which challenged it being a livelihood. Walter often took jobs in the winter: Albany Felt Company, the "Railroad," carpentry work on the tall buildings at Empire State Plaza in Albany, NY. The challenges increased with the 80s and many more stressors affected the bees. Keeping bees alive required new approaches, observation, and becoming accustomed to loss. Anyone visiting the apiary regularly learned, step by step, about the bees if they asked Walter, "What's going on with the bees?" He was delighted to share what he was seeing. (spoiler alert: Sheri has picked up the tradition).

...so, as all things change...so they did. With the deaths of "the crew" over the years, the last death of Walter Bauer in 2019, some decision making was required. I returned home to help my mother close up the farm. However, on a spring day when beekeepers were taking the last of the hives from the property, I ran out and asked them to leave three hives. I had been watching the hives all winter and my two year old self said, "Let's pick up where we left off." The bees flight into the spring air after winter simply enlivened everything around and I was compelled to stay and see how I could keep that going. Since then I have worked with Langstroth and Layens hives and continued asking the Big Bee questions. As my father would say, "Beekeeping will be saved by the backyard beekeeper. " I took that to heart and leapt with all of that heart into small scale beekeeping with intent to understand Bee Wisdom and pay attention to how they are adapting in this world which has changed in so many ways since commercial beekeeping hit the scene in the 1900s.

I became ""Coxsackie Bee Goods" and now offer honey, candles, vintage candle holders, "Straight From the Press" honey, tea blends, beeswax salves, propolis tinctures, and a few more things. Holiday markets and some farmer's markets are on my route in addition to planting more and attending to more on the lands of "Twin Spruce." 

Our shop is open for local honey, beeswax candles, teas, vintage candle holders, and more. The news around here is that I sell out quickly during the season. I am encouraging customers to build a network of local beekeepers to buy from to keep honey in your cupboard all year. The honey from our valley tends to be a light and multi-layered tasting honey; heavily influenced by the many Linden trees in our woods. I will post when I have honey AND will post when we are sold out. I will always sell out and will always be awaiting the next season until the end of my days!

Beekeeping at its best, in my opinion, is a community of beekeepers offering the locally produced food and medicine honey is. At its beekeeping best, caring for bees... and bees caring for us...does take a village to keep the honey flowing, local, and to keep REAL honey (not a corn syrup mashup) in the cupboard.

One of the great treasures you can buy, which is the highest of quality and meant specifically for you and where you live, is locally extracted honey. 

Maybe, in time, you'll keep your own hives in the backyard along with your chickens and gardens!

Sheri Bauer