Richard and Anne Broyles sit across the table from one another every morning enjoying coffee, donuts and retirement! The two of them pick at each other, with smiles on their faces and orneriness in their voice, but it’s clear that they have a good thing going at Broyles Apiary.
 Richard and Anne spend their days and even their evenings nurturing the bees in their hives, making sure the worker bees are well-fed and the Queen bees are happy. The couple has been raising bees and selling honey and wax products through Paducah’s Downtown Farmers’ Market for over 10 years.
Anne, a former McCracken County school teacher, and Richard started their business with one small hive. Their goal was never to run a bee farm, but rather to provide pollination for their garden which was in great need of rejuvenation. The couple transplanted one hive of bees they found outside the window of Anne’s classroom and their business took off from there.
It wasn’t long before the couple had joined a bee club, began taking classes on making honey and even learned how to graft their own Queen bees. As they became more serious about their hobby they invested in a honey house, an extractor, and a wax meltor. They tested their products on family and friends and eventually realized that this would be a great hobby for them to earn a little extra income during retirement.
 The couple laughed when they explained what made them grow their bee farm from one hive to the 130 hives that they maintain today.
“Our first batch cost us $57 per quart,” said Anne. “We wanted to get our money back.”
Anne is an advocate for the health benefits of local, raw honey and other all-natural products. She has developed a line of skincare products including lip balm, foot cream and lotion bars. She even produces calendula cream, a sure remedy for a bee sting, Anne says.
Broyles Apiary sells their products at Paducah’s Downtown Farmers’ Market Thursday through Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. They sell a line of flavored honey including raspberry, cinnamon, peach, blackberry, peppermint, vanilla and pecan. Broyles uses all natural ingredients in each of their products.
Honey Lemonade with Frozen Fruit Cubes
- 1 ½ cups lemon juice
- ¼ cup honey
- 9 cups water
- 48 small pieces assorted fruit
- 2 ice cube trays
Combine lemon juice and honey in large pitcher; stir until honey is dissolved. Stir in water. Place 1 to 2 pieces of fruit in each compartment of two ice cube trays. Fill each compartment with honey lemonade and freeze until firm. Chill remaining lemonade. To serve, divide frozen fruit cubes between tall glasses and fill with remaining lemonade. Makes 9 cups.
Calories: 164; Carbohydrates: 45 g; Total Fat: > 1 g; Sodium: 3 g; Protein: > 1 g; Dietary Fiber: 1 g
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