Photo Courtesy of Rodnberg Three generations of beekeepers keep the honey flowing by Evelyn Boswell To bee or not to bee? That never seemed to be much of a question for the Rodenberg family who have bees -- and Montana State University -- in their blood like honey in a hive. Harry Rodenberg Sr., '48 Bus, started keeping bees in 1922 after taking an MSU short course on the subject. His son, grandson and their wives continue the tradition as owners, managers and laborers of Honeyland, Inc. in Wolf Point. "I grew up in it, so it's been a long time," said Harry, the 80-year-old son of the original Harry. The younger Harry served 32 years on the board of the Sue Bee Honey Association, 17 of those as chairman. He was the first chairman of the National Honey Board. "We're looking forward to a fourth generation," said Jim Rodenberg, '73 CET, corporation president and Harry's son. Honeyland, Inc. is based about a mile from the Wolf Point airport where Harry and Jim park the 1947 Piper j3 and Mooney 231 they fly to bee meetings. With the 4,000 hives they own and the others they lease, the Rodenbergs produce 40,000 to 400,000 pounds of honey a season, dependent on weather conditions. Their hives set in a 100-mile radius of Wolf Point. After processing the honey, the Rodenbergs truck it in 55-gallon drums to Sioux City, Iowa, where the Sue Bee Honey cooperative filters it, blends it, bottles and distributes the honey to a worldwide market. The hives then head to California so the bees can pollinate almond trees. Some go on to Washington where the bees pollinate apple trees. The hives return to Montana in early spring so the bees can rebuild their population for honey production. "It's a pretty strenuous, vigorous business," Harry commented. "If you are not interested in hard work, you wouldn't want to get into it." Honeyland employs up to 10 full and part-time employees. Jim's wife, Shelley, '73 EX, who attended MSU from 1970 to 1973, is the bookkeeper. Harry's wife, Mary Ann, continues to be involved even though she -- like many beekeepers she knows -- has grown increasingly allergic to bee stings. "We live right on the place, so there's always something coming up," said Mary Ann, who carries an automatic injector in her purse so, if stung, she can jab herself with Epinephrine before heading to the hospital. No one is sure if the family business will involve a fourth generation, but the buzz is that one of Jim and Shelley's children may return. All three attended MSU, and two of them are graduates: Jeff Rodenberg, '01 IME, and Julie Rodenberg, '04 HHD.