Leo's Honey House

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Leo Halm

Leo Halm created Leo's Honey House in 1980. He began keeping bees as a means to provide pollination for his wide variety of fruit and nut trees in his orchard in Coopers Plains, NY. He began harvesting honey in a small building on Main Street and selling his limited production to family and friends. In 1999, son Robert and granddaughter Cathy took over and expanded the operation. It is currently located on Clark Road in Campbell, NY. We have two bee yards in production totaling about 30 hives. Cathy has spent recent years studying and implementing disease control methods that don't involve pesticides, antibiotics or antifungals.

The production of high quality raw, ultra raw and comb honey for our customers continues to be our primary goal. As a byproduct of our honey production, we began generating quantities of sweet-smelling bees wax from which we create a wide variety of taper, pillar and figurine candles. Cathy was recently inspired to create a line of soaps, lip balm and hand cream using beeswax and honey. Occasionally we are able to meet demands for locally produced pollen and propolis as well as our home bred queens and nucs.

Our future endeavors will include making the honey house more tour-friendly and educational for future beekeepers. With additional expansion in the bee yard, we will begin offering pollination service to area organic and chemical-free orchards.

who is Leo?

Occasionally, honey customers ask "Who is Leo?" After all, week after week, they see only the honey 'lady' at the farmer's market.

Leo is the honey lady's grandfather. He started the honey house with friend Harold Martin in Coopers Plains, NY. No longer with us now, he was a beekeeper back when beekeeping wasn't a profession or hobby so to speak but just another skill you needed to keep the farm productive. In their retirement, Leo & Harold began spending more time keeping bees, getting more hives and producing more honey. So what do you do with all that honey?

Leo was born in 1906 on a small farm in Campbell, NY. He was educated in a one room school house like his brother and sister. He was very involved in his church at an early age and there met his future wife, Blanche. (You may have seen her name on some of the beeswax products.) Blanche & Leo married and raised a large family through the Depression and recovery years of the 1930s.

Leo worked for Corning Glass of Corning, NY in addition to working a small farm to provide for his family. Blanche ran the house, cooking, canning and shepherding the kids.

When their kids were grown and having kids of their own, Blanche & Leo continued to be active in their church, community and grandchildrens' lives. Any of their grandkids can recall fondly the annual Christmas dinner and family reunions at the Coopers Plains Church.

Leo's retirement activities of hobby farming and beekeeping were inspirational to one young granddaughter, Cathy. When she finally achieved her hobby farm in the early 90's, she got a couple of hives 'for fun.' Sadly, Leo was very old and infirmed at that time and not able to assist much. He did, however, pass on a lot of beekeeping equipment which has been invaluable.

As happens sometimes, Cathy's bees quickly multiplied and produced a LOT of honey. Cathy too found herself saying "What am I going to do with all of this honey?" And Leo's Honey House lives on.

Leo F. Halm 5/17/1906 - 8/25/2002

mission statement

Honey bees enrich human lives. This humble and industrious flyer benefits millions of people with this daily life. People in the US consume an average of 1 1/2 pounds of honey per year and bees feed us as a nation through their pollination work. Honey bees aid in scientific efforts dealing with human disease and health problems. Leo's Honey House wishes to celebrate our ongoing symbiosis with the honey bee, each species prospering because of the other.

Through continued study and husbandry, we wish to learn not only the biology and physiology of the honey bee but also the role it plays in the greater cycle of nature. Our education will be crucial to improving honey bee health, fostering our local ecosystem and the planet as a whole. Our staff will periodically make contact with the general public to share our knowledge and keep interested people updated on the ongoing issues associated with honey bees and hive products.

As caretakers of this marvelous insect and nature, Leo's Honey House staff strive to harvest our hive's excesses most humanely and responsibly maintaining their purity and wholesomeness. We will share our bounties on the open market legally and honorably and through business success continue to fund our apiculture activities and studies with this most precious insect, the honey bee.

Caretaking

thank you

A hearty thank you goes out to the new part time staff. They have been helping out with the honey booth this summer and fall at the local farmers' markets. They have kept the honey flowing to our honey-loving public.

The new recruits are:

  • Linda Halm
  • Suzy, Robert Jr, Ashley and Trevor Halm
  • Christine Blencoe aka The Flower Lady
  • Matthew Glenn & Liz Martin aka Muddy Fingers Farm

Their assistance this year has been outstandingly generous and deeply appreciated.

There is someone else back stage who deserves the spotlight - Cindy Gemmill. Cindy is also a Leo Halm granddaughter and does the vast majority of printing work needed at Leo's Honey House. Her tireless efforts and kind advice keeps progress happening year after year. Thank you!

One more thank you goes out to Kara Heermans Halm who built and continues to update our website, complete with photos and art. She's the best!

contact us

Please contact us if you would like to place an order, request a tour, or ask any questions about our products. Although we are frequently out of the office during harvest times and for farmer's markets, if you leave a message, we will return your call as soon as possible.

leoshoneyhouse@aol.com

(607) 527-8730

4736 Clark Road
Campbell, NY 14821

(607) 527-8730

4736 Clark Road
Campbell, NY 14821