Beehives help two boys become successful entrepreneurs at an early age
By John Koski
SLN Staff
When it came to Christmas gifts last year, Charles Ketchpaw, 8, of Elkhorn, and Christian Anderson, 9, of Walworth, weren’t interested in the latest, hottest video game console or a bright, shiny new bicycle.
The two boys, whose families are friends, wanted something few other children their age are interested in.
They each asked for, and received, a beehive. Since then, each has become a successful – as in profitable – producer and marketer of honey.
But they didn’t do it for just the money. There were other reasons.
“I enjoy watching the bee colony grow during the summer,” Ketchpaw said. “It’s really cool. I also enjoy harvesting the honey in the fall. It takes a lot of work to manage a beehive, but it’s fun.”
“I enjoy feeding the bees in the spring to help the hive get off to a good start,” Anderson said, “and then checking on them every week to make sure the queen is still there and that they are laying eggs.”
The boys became interested in beekeeping when they began assisting Chuck Gassert of Cedarburg, who has 17 hives of his own on three farms. Gassert and Charles Ketchpaw’s father, Tony Ketchpaw, work for the same company.
“Without Chuck, none of this would have happened,” said Mariann Anderson, Christian Anderson’ mother. “It’s really cool that Chuck comes all the way from Cedarburg to teach the boys what to do and to help them get started. He’s been a really good mentor to the boys.”
The boys’ hives are only a few feet part and are located on 30 wooded acres in Walworth owned by the Anderson family.
Gassert helped explain the ins and outs of being a beekeeper.
“We put about 10,000 bees and one queen into a new hive,” he said. “We do that in April and the hive continues to grow. By the end of summer, each hive has about 50,000 bees.”
“I enjoy being a beekeeper because it’s a miracle to watch what happens in a beehive,” Gassert said.
When the honey is harvested at the end of summer, a hive will produce from 30 to 90 pounds. Ketchpaw’s hive produced 58 pounds, and Anderson had a similar total. According to Gassert, those are excellent results for first-year beehives.
Fifty-eight pounds is a lot of honey, which helped prompt the boys to become entrepreneurs.
Both Ketchpaw and Anderson sell their honey to relatives and through their teachers in school. The boys’ fathers also sell the honey to their co-workers at Stark Asphalt.
Anderson enjoys being a beekeeper so much that he has given a presentation at his elementary school and has prepared another talk for this week about the financial aspects of being in business for himself.
Now that they each have a beehive, what did the two boys ask for as a gift this Christmas? Not surprisingly, each has requested – and will probably receive – another beehive.
As a result, their businesses will surely continue to grow – and the profits become ever sweeter.
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