An Interview With Valeri Strachan

摘要

LC - Tell me how you found yourself running a queen business in California?VS - Long story ... As a single mom of two boys I was trying to make a living as a hairdresser and going to college taking business classes. During that time my dad's bee business was growing and he was having difficulty keeping the books in order. I started doing his bookkeeping and also gained practical training at an accountancy firm. After a year in the office I became interested in the workings of the business and asked if I could learn more about the beekeeping and continue doing bookkeeping. He sent me to raise queens with the then all male queen crew grafting, raising cells, and caging queens. This was in 1976 and all our employees were men. My passion for the bees grew and I found myself working seven days a week in the Spring raising queens and continuing office work when time allowed. By then I talked my dad into hiring someone to work in the office.