Hello Dee & All,
I wrote an article for Bee Culture on Waldo McBurney in Sept. of 2004.(vol. 
132 no.9   pg.35 ) "Centurian Beekeeper" 

I kept asking Kim Flottum to publish the article as soon as possible as I 
was afraid Waldo might pass on before publication due to his age. Kim 
Flottum did as I asked but here we are two years later and Waldo is alive 
and well.

I saw Waldo and his young wife (in her nineties) in Oct. 2004 at the KHPA 
meeting and got a signed copy of his book he had just finished.

"My First 100 years " 
"A look back from the finnish line"
R.Waldo McBurney

Waldo was born in a sod house on the Kansas prairie in Quinter, Kansas and 
has lived in Quinter his whole life. 
The book was published by 
Leathers Publishing 
Leawood ,Kansas
www.leatherspublishing.com

Most of our talk during the interveiw was of all the records he held in 
senior olympics and his life growing up.

On beekeeping he said he still had around a 100 hives and sold his crop at 
his honey store in Quinter ( with help from a neighbor). He expressed the 
importance of top ventilation in winter and reducing entrances in winter.

He also said he walks the mile and back to his store everyday but he still 
has a Kansas drivers license ( or did then). His main means of support has 
been his bee hives but he has held several jobs but not many.

His daughter Ruth Mann helped with the book or we would not have a record 
of his life.

I hope to see Mr. McBurney again but Oct. of 2004 was the last AHPA meeting 
he has attended ( and was a regular).

He gave me a signed copy of his book then.

 To Bob Harrison
Keep up your writing
We like to read what you write.
October 2004    
Waldo McBurney 

A couple interesting facts are he was college educated which was very rare 
for those in his time period and he may possibly be the longest cancer 
survivor on the planet. He had cancer when he was around sixty years old.

He is always smilling and happy! The only time he got sad in our interveiw 
was when he said outliving all his family and friends is tough.

Reminded me of the ending story line of the charactor Tom Hanks played in 
the movie "The Green Mile".

My beekeeping mentor ( in his nineties)  when I was a boy years ago in 
Florida once looked at me with misty eyes and took my small hand and said
" After God makes a beekeeper he breaks the mold which is why they are all 
different"

Bob

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