368 THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



E. B. TYRRELL. 



I was born in the Township of Davison, County of Genesee, 

 State of Michigan, on ]\Iay 16th, 1877. My boyhood days, which 

 were the same as any other healthy country boy's, were all 

 spent in this township. At the age of 16 I decided to invest in 

 a pop corn machine. My uncle suggested that 1 better spend my 

 money for a swarm of bees. One of my weak points has always 

 been that when I made up my mind to do a thing it has been hard 

 to give up. So the pop corn machine was purchased. But that sug- 

 gestion regarding bees had taken root, and within the next year 1 

 earned enough money by picking apples at 50c per day to buy a 

 swarm in a box hive, in the fall, at $4.00. A bee-keeper living about 

 a mile from me kept his bees in chaff hives, and believing that my 

 bees could not winter without protection, I made a packing box, 

 packed everything nicely with rags, and the next spring had the 

 tamest bees in the neighborhood. 



That didn't quench the bee fever, however. So my stepfather 

 bought, at an auction sale, five colonies for me. I believe two of 

 these died before spring was over, and at least one of the other 

 three was weak. 



A few years later I hired out to the late Charley Koeppen. who 

 at that time lived near Flint, Michigan. The two of us "batched" 

 it. and cared for his nearly 400 colonies, running them all for comb 

 honey. Mr. Koeppen was a crank on manipulation, having no use 

 for the "Coggshall lightning methods," and would not permit a bee- 

 veil being used by either of us. So I was thoroughly inoculated 

 with stings. That year we harvested about 20,000 lbs. of comb 

 honey. 



About this time I became interested in fraternal insurance work, 

 starting out as an organizer for the Ancient Order of Gleaners, a 

 farmers' society which at that time had about 8,000 members, but 

 which now has nearly 80,000. It has been a see-saw between the 

 Gleaners and the bees ever since. My last position with them, and 

 the one I was holding when I took up the publication of the 

 Review, was that of P^ield Manager, having charge of the deputies 

 and the work of increasing the membership of the organization. 



I was married September 9th, 1901, to ^liss ]\iaud Enos, of Vas- 

 sar, Alich., and our wedding trip was made to Buffalo, wliere, be- 

 sides taking in the Pan-American Exposition, we also attended the 

 meeting of the National Bee-Keepers' Association. We now have 

 two boys, Norval and Milford, aged 7 and 9 years respectively. 



Owing to my organization work I never became very heavily 

 engaged in bee-keeping, 200 colonies being the largest number kept 

 at one time. — E. B. Tyrrell. 



