STATE BEE-KEEPERS ASSOCIATION. HI 



Mr. Hutchinson — I started an organization in north- 

 western Michigan. I got a notice in all the bee-papers, 

 stating that on such a date a meeting for the purpose of or- 

 ganizing a local bee-keepers' association would be held. I 

 put a notice in all the daily and weekly papers, and in ad- 

 joining counties, and wrote the editors and said I would 

 thank them to give a notice of the time. I wrote to some of 

 the dailies in Detroit of our attempt to organize, and wrote 

 postal cards to any bee-keeper I knew in that county and 

 adjoining counties, and asked them personally to come and 

 organize an association, and when the time came there were 

 about 30 bee-keepers present, and we organized. We have an 

 organization there now. 



Mr. York — I want to say that you won't find the papers 

 charging you anything for the notice, and when you get 

 together you will find a date to suit the majority. 



Mr. Niver — We have a bee-keepers' association. Two 

 men started that Mr. Coggshall and Mr. Morton. They 

 announced a bee-keepers' picnic in June and advertised it 

 through the papers, and the bee-keepers from around there 

 as far as 25 miles all came to the basket picnic, and they 

 organized that way. It was a large gathering, and: it wasn't 

 just bee-keepers, the whole public was invited and it has been 

 for IS years a very prosperous association. 



Mr. York — I don't think it is necessary to organize a 

 county association. There might not be enough in one county. 

 Perhaps one county is all right; Hamilton County, Ohio, 

 and Cook County, 111., would be, but we thought best to 

 spread out and get more. I don't think you can have more 

 than one really good bee-keepers' association in a State. 



Mr. Abbott — Another word on the how. Now if there 

 should happen to be only three people come, then there ought 

 to be in that crowd that came three people that would make 

 the officers. If these gentlemen would go over and say to 

 Jones, "Will you act as president?" and to Smith, "Will yo 

 act as secretary?" and another, "You act as another officer.' 

 Well, now, you meet at my house, and meet whether anybody 

 else comes or not. Elect Jones, Smith, etc. I will give yon 

 a little inside talk. Every reporter is aching for an item 

 as much as you are for a free advertisement. You go over 

 to the newspaper reporter and tell the longest story you can. 

 Two people can have an enthusiastic meeting if you want to. 

 Tell him the names of the officers, and get the names in all 

 the local papers you can, and also have them state that you 

 had an enthusiastic meeting of bee-keepers, and you will have 

 another enthusiastic meeting with a large crowd. You will 

 see the next time there will be somebody there to make a 

 convention. 



Mr. Whitney — Mr. Abbott has stated just what I intended 

 to say. They say some people's wit comes too late. In 

 Ohio I went to Mr. Botsworth, and said, "Will you be presi- 

 dent of the bee-keeoers' association ?" He said, "Yes." And 

 I found somebody else that would be secretary, and somebody 

 else that would be some other officer, and we got together 

 and organized. I drew up the constitution and by-laws and 



■>.'■-.■'. - ' '.; 



'f^.--s^'^z^:^:^^^^:ZS^,%<^-i-^%^^i'^--- :>4*^R--"':' 



