Walter T. Kelley (1897–1986) was an American

beekeeper A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees. Beekeepers are also called honey farmers, apiarists, or less commonly, apiculturists (both from the Latin '' apis'', bee; cf. apiary). The term beekeeper refers to a person who keeps honey bees i ...

who created a large bee equipment supply and queen breeding company based in Clarkson, Kentucky. Kelley also wrote extensively about

apiculture Beekeeping (or apiculture) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in man-made beehives. Honey bees in the genus '' Apis'' are the most-commonly-kept species but other honey-producing bees such as ''Melipona'' stingless bees are also kept. ...

and published the bee journal ''Modern Beekeeping''.

Early life

Kelley was born in

Sturgis, Michigan Sturgis is a city in St. Joseph County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 10,994 at the 2010 census. The city is located at the northeast corner of Sturgis Township and at the intersection of US 12 and M-66. Sturgis is just nor ...

, in 1897. He interrupted his education to enlist in the

Army Signal Corps The United States Army Signal Corps (USASC) is a branch of the United States Army that creates and manages communications and information systems for the command and control of combined arms forces. It was established in 1860, the brainchild of Ma ...

, 1918, but in a few months was released from service and returned to university. Kelley graduated from

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

with a degree in

in 1919. He worked for the

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

from graduation until 1924 when he started keeping bees full-time in

Houma, Louisiana Houma ( ) is the largest city in, and the parish seat of, Terrebonne Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is also the largest principal city of the Houma– Bayou Cane–Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area. The city's government ...

The Walter T. Kelley Company

Kelley and his wife Ida started a beekeeping supply company, called The Walter T. Kelley Company in 1926. He sold durable

cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the ...

hives and woodware originally built in Louisiana then later at his factory in Kentucky. He created or greatly improved upon ventilated bee gloves (1938), wired foundation (1939), bee blowers (1969), and plastic bottom boards (1975). Kelley's business included a farm in Cade, Louisiana where his queen and package bee operation grew to 1500 colonies. He sold queens and replacement bees throughout North America. After 85 years the company is still providing beekeeping supplies today. The Kelley Company was acquired by Mann Lake
Mann Lake Company

Writings

Kelley was a prolific and enthusiastic author of beekeeping materials, including his journal ''Modern Beekeeping'' founded in 1944. Many of his books and pamphlets were designed to encourage his customers of bee related products, including ''How to Keep Bees and Sell Honey'' published until at least 1978.

Later life

Kelly and his wife were major donors to the Twin Lakes Regional Medical Center in nearby Leitchfield and a wing of the

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

was named for them in their honor. He died on August 22, 1986 in Grayson County, Kentucky"Kentucky, Vital Record Indexes, 1911-1999," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKCM-Z3WK : 1 July 2015), Walter T Kelley, 22 Aug 1986; citing Death, Grayson, Kentucky, United States, Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, Frankfort.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelley, Walter T. American beekeepers 1897 births 1986 deaths Michigan State University alumni People from Grayson County, Kentucky People from Sturgis, Michigan