Fred Cowart, grandfather of Branson Worley instilled the art of keeping bees for 60 years.
By Deby Jo Ferguson
Staff Writer
Branson Worley Jr., 34, is married to Jessica and they have one son, Mason. Branson graduated from Hayesville High School and has been at the Clay County EMS for 10 years as a paramedic. Branson is the son of Andy and Kathy Worley of Hayesville.
“After high school I went to school at North Georgia Tech to study professional photography. Although I still enjoy photography I moved home and went to work for the fire department. My dad had a history working as a paramedic in Cherokee County EMS. So when I went to work at the fire department I saw the way the EMS here did things on the ambulance and it really sparked my interest.”
“I feel working for the EMS is a way of giving back to the community. My grandfather, Fred Coward, was always big with supporting the community and worked 60 years with bees making honey,” Branson said.
So this leads to the passion that was instilled in Branson as he watched his grandfather work with his bees.
“Moving back home from Clayton brought back a lot of fond memories about my grandfather and the work he did. When I was 7 or 8 years old my parents worked so I got off the bus at my grandparents house after school. I always wanted to be around my grandfather whether it was in the garden or just mowing the yard. I watched him from a distance working with his bees, not getting close enough to get stung.
“Then came the good stuff, time to harvest the honey. He would harvest the honey down in the basement which was a multi-day event. He had 10 to 15 hives at a time and I would help him as his taste-tester. Whenever he wasn’t looking I would stick my finger in the honey and grab a taste. He usually caught me and told me to get my fingers out of the honey,” Branson laughed.
Being young when his grandfather worked with bees and going on his memories, Branson had a lot of work to do in order to carry on this legacy.
“I just know my papaw sparked the interest in me to raise bees. It took me three years to learn everything and I studied a lot about it on social media. I watched a lot of educational videos to learn how others worked their bees. If you ask 10 different bee keepers how to do it you’ll get 10 different ways because everyone has their own way of doing things.”
Branson also took on an apprenticeship to learn hands on how to accomplish his dream.
“I did an apprenticeship with Matt Vanhorn in Cherokee County. I would go with him to his hives which gave me that hands on experience. I did that for a year with him and the following year got my hives. I still kept his phone hot that first year after getting my hives with questions and he was always there to help me. With my grandfather gone he wasn’t here to teach me what he knew and I missed learning from him and his many years of experience.
“The good thing is there are bee keepers in the community and they are always willing to help each other with equipment or if there is something going on with your hives to give you advice,” Branson said.
Media wasn’t the only education method that Branson used. He also took classes to increase his knowledge of bee keeping.
“I took a bee keeping course through the Cherokee County Extension Office and got my certificate as a bee keeper in North Carolina and also just received my certificate as a certified honey producer. This is my second year doing the sour wood honey starting out with three and now 12 hives.
“On average a hive will produce 60 to 100 pounds of honey and Papaw always said that if you take care of your bees they will take care of you. He taught us that honey is more than a product, it’s a testament to the relationship between humans and nature and that our honey is a celebration of the balance of ecosystems and the vital role bees play in sustaining our planet’s biodiversity,” he said.
Branson should be hitting the gold from his hives if all goes well sometime in July.
“My papaw did honey with combs but right now I’m doing clear honey. I plan to eventually add the combs at some point. Right now this is a hobby I really enjoy.
“For anyone starting out or wanting to raise bees my best advise is research, research and research. Social media can help, books and most differently do an apprenticeship with someone before going out on your own. We all need that hands on experience before going into anything. Learn all you can about all the different kind of bees, the queen, workers and etc. I’m glad I followed my desire to learn all I could about bee keeping and I’m still open to learning all I can,” Branson concluded.
Branson said he will be at the Punkin Chunkin this year selling his new batch of honey.