Melchis and Terrence Hasham
Melchis and Terrence Hasham are two brothers who live, together with Melchis’s lovely wife, Dorothy, in the Catharpin area. They both work at US Inspect as engineers, electrical (Melchis) and Test Engineer and Network Administrator (Terrence). They started beekeeping in 2005 inspired by their love of honey and desire to help pollinate the many fruit trees on their property. They were fortunate to take the Introduction to Beekeeping class with Tom Berry. Melchis and Terrence made special mention that they have benefited greatly from the support of many club members, especially their beekeeping mentor Ted Pratt who has made many a trip to the Catharpin apiary! In return, they were instrumental in helping me through my first year beekeeping efforts, and even helped me install my very first package bees.
In response to the first typical “member profile” question, What do you like the most about beekeeping? Honey, honey, and more honey seemed to be the winning answer. However being engaged in a hobby that makes you calm down and work slowly also has its merits.
What do you like the least? Getting stung is the least favorite part of the hobby, especially for Melchis who has had more of a reaction to stings than Terrence.
As for advice for new beekeepers, they encourage new bees not to be afraid of getting stung and to wear the proper protective clothing when working bees, especially covering your face.
Samples of honey from Melchis and Terrence’s backyard hives from three different years
While you may know that Melchis and Terrance are Indian, you may not have known that they, along with Dorothy, were born and raised in Burma. Melchis has been in the US for 17 years, and Terence for 11. Beekeeping is very different in Burma and only the government can be involved in what we know here as commercial beekeeping. I did not have time for Melchis and Terrance to read this for accuracy before putting it in the newsletter, so I hope I got it mostly correct!
Our visit ended with a delightful Indian meal and then a honey tasting. The photo shows samples of honey from Melchis and Terrence’s backyard hives from three different years. The small jar in the front is a sample of honey from my bees, made less than 5 miles away. As you can see, the honeys are distinctly different in color, and they were distinctly different in taste and texture as well!
Who wants to volunteer to be the next member profiled? If you would like to submit a few lines about yourself for the next newsletter, or volunteer to be interviewed, please contact Karla at PWSBeekeepers@gmail.com or (703) 753-9023.