Written by: Margo Rose Ghertner
It was a regular workday for Jason Johnson of Ghertner Maintenance
and Remodeling at a community clubhouse. Built in 1840, the clubhouse is a
restored mansion residents in the community can use for social gatherings and
physical fitness.
Jason
noticed that a group of bees were swarming from a pipe, which extended from a
brick wall outside of the historical clubhouse:
Through efficient communication,
Jason contacted Tim Struzynski, manager of the property, and eventually, Ghertner
Maintenance and Remodeling contacted Patty Ghertner, beekeeper extraordinaire,
to evaluate the situation.
To her
dismay, the bees were too high for her to reach, but instead she sent Kent
Knapp of GMR information of how to appropriately preserve the safety of the mass
of bees. This lead to the contacting of the notorious “Bee Man” of
Hendersonville, who quickly returned Ghertner and Company’s request to take a
look at the scene. Cutting a large
section of the ceiling out in order to access the bees, he describes the
scenario as “the largest colony he’s ever seen,” consisting of about 160,000
bees.
This year,
the United States considered declaring the honey bee an endangered species,
disappearing from 87% of its original range. This is why it’s so important to
humanely remove such a high quantity of bees—which is exactly what the Bee Man
did.
After
cutting open a 10’X2’ section of the ceiling, the Bee Man successfully vacuumed
the bees and moved them to his location.
After
removing the bees, the Bee Man removed the honeycombs as many residents watched
from a window in the mansion. He provided the residents with fresh honeycomb
for everyone to enjoy.
Thanks to
the swift communication and desire to better our planet, Ghertner and Company
successfully made sure that the endangered species and their residents were
treated with care… and fresh honey.