Dear Bee-l'ers,
My original posting was not delivered to the list. Thus, I am reposting
it as recommended by the SYSOP.
I, too, was shocked at the precipitous passing of Andy Nachbaur. Only
last April on a jaunt to see relatives in California, my mother and I
stopped by to see him on a fine spring morning. He bought us lunch at
the Chinese restaurant he frequented just at the top of Paradise Lane in
Los Banos. He seemed in rare form that day. Not much hint that the
Four Horsemen would soon descend as he reported in one of his last posts.
I believe I first met Andy in San Diego in the late 1970s at the
American Beekeeping Federation. Later, he wrote and distributed what I
still think is a classic in bee literature though not formally
published, his case for SAD and BAD bees in California
<http://beenet.com/sad.htm>. The information on bee nutrition presented
in his treatise had great influence on me, and to some extent, was the
reason I undertook my Florida feeding study (Sanford, M.T. & W.B.
Johnson. 1991. "A Florida Honey-Bee Feeding Study Using the Beltsville
Bee Diet," BeeScience, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 72-76.). Since then I have
published several papers and articles on the value of providing bees
adequate protein as well as carbohydrates.
Andy and I got into the Information Age at almost the same time. He and
I often referred to each other's work. While I plugged away on a
mainframe and then one of the first Zenith desktops here at the
University of Florida, he went to computer shows and developed his
Wildbees BBS. Gradually he shifted to the World Wide Web
<http://beenet.com/>, continuing his penchant for keeping up with new
things. This brings to mind a question. What will happen to his Web
presence? In all probability it will still be there for some time in
the future, perhaps the first example of a virtual beekeeper whose body is
no longer with us, but whose writings still are. At least they can be
read today as this is being written.
Like others, I appreciated Andy's wit and straightforward comments,
though I didn't always agree with what he said. He was able to provoke
further, careful thought on matters, which to me was most important. I
was perhaps never so proud than when he, not much of a fan of bee
researchers/extensionists alike, wrote the following:
Subject: 1st PRIZE Beekeeper Page
From: [log in to unmask] (Andy Nachbaur)
Date: 1997/08/12
Message-Id: <[log in to unmask]>
Newsgroups: sci.agriculture.beekeeping
Oh my gosh with so many very good Beekeepers sites on the internet how
can anyone judge them all and come back with a winner without hurting
everyone's feeling. Well I have not judged them as it is really an
impossible job, but for content I have a WINNER for you all to check
out. If you don't want to read more on why set your browser to:
http://www.ifas.ufl.edu/~mts/apishtm/letters/aixind.htm
Surprise, no fancy graphics, but a diary or series of letters from Dr.
TOM SANFORD, from the University of Florida, Beekeeping Extension,
father of the internet for beekeepers and a teacher, Doctor of
Beekeeping Extension via the Internet for sure.
Why you ask do I suggest its worth the time to read these 19 letters,
because its is a fast way, (maybe an hour for a careful reader) to get
a look into what others, beekeepers, educators, bee regulators, and bee
scientist's are doing and thinking TODAY in the Mediterranean region.
After a few minutes of reading you will be able to relate to what is or
has gone on in the US and how other's are dealing with it. All this is
from Dr. Sanford's perspective which I believe to be an open minded one, and
slanted maybe toward what Florida's beekeepers or southern states
beekeepers could be interested in. Read it because you will find reading
them a totally enjoyable experience today that may not repeat itself for
many years to come in quality or content, but I believe will be read in
the future as classic history for beekeepers interested in beekeepers.
ttul, the OLd Drone
(c) Permission is granted to freely copy this document
in any electronic form, or to print for any personal use.
(w)Opinions are not necessarily facts. Use at own risk.
There is no question that we will all be left much poorer with
AndyNachbaur's departure. Nevertheless, some of us can take comfort in
the fact that at least for now his spirit is still with us on the World
Wide Web. I think the OLd Drone would have liked the idea of continuing
to issue his opinions from the grave using this new technology.
Tom Sanford
==============================================================================
Dr. Malcolm (Tom) Sanford, Extension Apiculturist, University of Florida
Bldg. 970, P.O. Box 110620, Gainesville, FL 32611-0620
Ph. 352/392-1801 ext. 143 Fax 352/392-0190
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
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