Norm's Other Honey
About Norm
Norm
was born in Connecticut to French Canadian parents at the end of World War II.
He then moved back to Canada for some time, but during his formative years
returned with his family and settled in Norwalk. He met his primary honey,
Polly, before he became a teenager. A few years later, he joined the U.S. Navy
and ended up in Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis. After his service to his
country was completed, Norm returned home, married Polly, and in time their
first son, Michael, was born. Two years later, his second son, Andrew came
along. Shortly thereafter, Norm joined the Norwalk Fire Department. He became
one of the first in a small group to be sworn in to the rank of Lieutenant in
that department.
The years passed, and as they did, Norm’s sons grew. Norm took them camping, coached their baseball teams, and made them the focal point of his life (not neglecting Polly, of course). Perhaps his instinct to cultivate and rear got him interested in raising bees.
(Shown left: Norm removes a huge hive of bees from a ceiling in a
house in Zimbabwe. The job took three beekeepers about five
hours. They took the comb and honey and resettled them into top bar hives.)
Norm is and has always been an active volunteer in his community and beyond. Now retired from the fire department, he regularly drives for Meals on Wheels and volunteers for their “Fix-It” program, doing odd jobs for seniors; Norm has rebuilt hurricane victims’ homes in Florida, has been a Family and Children’s Aid/ Mentor; has chaperoned more school outings for his sons and grandchildren than perhaps anyone else on the planet, traveled to Africa to volunteer his expertise with bees to aspiring Zimbabwean apiculturalists; and much more than could be listed here. Norm knows that he has been fortunate in his life and he enjoys giving back to the world.
Norm has traveled all over the world. He rode his bicycle from London, England, to Marrakech, Morocco in the fall of 1993 over one thousand miles via his route through Holland, Belgium, France, and Spain (taking a ferry twice, to cross the English Channel and the Straight of Gibraltar, respectively). He walked from the east coast to the west coast of England in 1997. He has climbed Aztec and Mayan pyramids in Central America, dived in Belize, had a few tense moments on the back of a wild runaway horse in the Zimbabwean bush, and sipped sake with martial arts masters in ancient temples in Kyoto, Japan. Norm leads an interesting life, and he has a lot to share. He enjoys traveling, learning new things, tending his bees, and most of all, his family. He looks forward to many more years of new adventures, watching his grandchildren grow, and perfecting his art or beekeeping.
Shown here, Norm prepares a new hive for the coming season.
If you would like to contact Norm with any question, please do so at beekeeperc@aol.com