Friday, May 4, 1934
Daily Nebraskan
Pago 3
Nebraska Honey Queen makes
pollen, beeswax her business
By Tammy Kaup
Barbara McKeone, the 1934 Nebraska Honey
Queen, is as poised and articulate as honey is sweet
and sticky. The UNL freshman, a public relations
and broadcasting major from Cozad, is promoting
honey across the state, and will represent Nebraska
next January in the 1985 National Beekeepers Con
vention in Tampa, Fla.
McKeone was selected by the Nebraska Honey
Producers last November, and will reign until next
January, She said queen candidates were judged on
their talents and an interview about their knowl
edge of honey and reasons for wanting to be queen.
They also spoke before groups to prove their speak
ing ability and poise.
During her reign, McKeone will ride in parades,
promote honey in information booths across the
state and speak to grade school children.
McKeone's father, Joe, is a full-time beekeeper. Of
the approximately 200 beekeepers in Nebraska,
about 200 are full time and the remainder are hobby
beekeepers who work mostly in the summer, she
said.
Nebraska ranks seventh nationwide in a 1980
census of honey-production states, she said. She
said Nebraska honey is produced from clover and
alfalfa plants, which makes a top-grade clear honey.
"Honey is like a fine wine," she said. "It has lots of
May brings
UNL flowers
By Mark Davis
Enough April showers,
it's time. for the flowers.
UNL is blooming with flow
ers, lacing the campus
with color. People enjoy
looking at the flowers, but
one person is especially
proud of the landscaping.
Bud Dasenbrock is the
director of UNL grounds.
His crews are responsible
for cleaning and keeping
up City and East cam
puses. In the winter, his
crews clean up litter or
take care of snow removed.
But in the spring, people
work cn a bed of daisies
or pruning a magnolia
tree.
"Working with the fol
iage the best part of
our people's job. It gives
them the most satisfac
tion" Dassnbrock said.
But for the last two
yesr3 bad weather has
stopped spring planting.
Yavonne Summers, as
sistant ground director,
said that this spring's
weather will let her plant
perrinial flowers.
"I get a lot of personal
satisfaction from growing
thing3 and watching them
develop," Summers said.
She has been working for
the grounds department
for seven years.
- Three-fourths of the stu
dents never see our work,"
Summers said. "The flow
ers are in full bloom dur
ing the Summer when
most of the students
aren't here."
The grounds crew also
is planting shrubs and
trees this spring.
The work does not stop
in the fall. Besides their
regular duties, 10 mem
bers of the grounds crew
work in the green house
preparing seedlings to be
transplanted again in the
'spring.
"We buy most of our
flowers from commercial
sources," Dssenbrock said.
He said that working in
the green house was a wel
come relief from snow re
moval for the grounds
different tastes from each plant that it is drawn
from."
The United States imports honey from many
countries, McKeone said, and that results in low
honey prices here. Many honey producers stay in
the business because they know how important it is.
But there may be trouble if the prices don't rise.
"I've eaten honey ever since I was little," McKeone
said. "We eat it on cereal, pancakes, anything. My
mom substitutes honey for sugar in all the recipes."
"Honey is a good food because it is a natural pro
duct," McKeone said. All the honey producers do is
heat it to separate out the wax. Athletes and older
people often use it because it is 99 percent predig
ested and therefore the body doesn't have to work
so hard to break it down. Also, it is a form of quick
energy for athletes.
McKeone said she has worked with the bees since
she was about 13 years old. The 1,000 McKeone bee
colonies are set'in fields near alfalfa and clover
plants, and the top two boxes of honey from the
stacks are brought to the farm. The rest of the boxes
of honey are left for the bees to use later, she said.
The frames from the boxes are put through machin
ery, and the honey is whipped out of the frames. It is
then heated, and the wax and honey separated: The
honey is placed in a tank, then in barrels or contain
ers for shipment or sale, McKeone said.
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