Iowa Almanac
Iowa Almanac -- Friday, July 12, 2024
The beekeeper. More from the Iowa Almanac in a moment. Eat up the summer with an Iowa Soybean Association Farmer membership powered by the soybean check-off. Access timely industry info, engage in on-farm research, and join producer programs all designed to support your operations' unique needs. Activate or confirm your membership before August 31st and be entered to win one of many unique prizes, including a solo stove. Visit isoybeans.com today to learn more. The Iowa Soybean Association, driven to deliver for Iowa's nearly 37,000 soybean farmers. Frank Chapman Pellet was born on a farm in Cass County on July 12, 1879. He attended schools near Atlantic but was forced to leave school due to health reasons. At age 23, he moved to Salem, Missouri, where he operated a fruit farm and studied to become a lawyer. But after only two years in private practice, he returned to his first love, nature, and wildlife. In the spring of 1907, Frank Pellet moved his family and the two children they had at the time back to Cass County. Even then, many of the wildflowers that were plentiful during Frank's childhood were threatened with extinction. He set aside an eight-acre tract of native woodland as a wildlife preserve. It's now part of the 20-acre Frank Chapman Pellet Memorial Woods and contains more than 120 species or plants. Pellet was appointed Iowa's first state apiary inspector in 1912 and soon after became associated with the American Bee Journal. He quickly became one of the nation's foremost authorities on beekeeping, honey plants, and other general nature and horticulture topics. He wrote 13 books, including Beginner's Bee Book and Productive Bee Keeping, both of which were written before 1920, but are still available online today. These days backyard beekeeping is increasing in popularity in Iowa and across the nation as a hobby. Many used the same practices advocated more than a century ago. By Iowa's resident expert on the topic, Frank Chapman Pellet, who was born on this date in 1879. And that's Iowa Almanac for July 12th. There's more online at IowaAlmanac.com. Until Monday, I'm Jeff Stein.