On Sunday, October 1, Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center (KTM&HC) will hold a beekeeping demonstration from 1 to 4 p.m. as part of its current exhibition, #HandsOnHistory: Living Off the Land. Featuring local apiarist Paula Wolf of the Backyard Beekeepers Association, the demonstration is free to the public – an interactive way to learn about the connections between historic and modern-day agricultural practices.
Beekeeping, or apiculture, is an ancient practice brought, with the honeybee, to North America by European colonists. Bees provided 18
th-century Americans with honey—an important sweetener when sugar was so expensive—and beeswax for candles. By the 19th century, many farmers were also managing beehives to help pollinate their crops, leading to better harvests.
Paula Wolf is an Advanced Master Gardener, Master Composter, and raises bees, chickens, ducks & alpacas with her husband and daughter at their home in Newtown, CT. Among the many jobs she does as a board member of the Backyard Beekeepers Association, her favorites include helping to manage the club's hives at the BYBA Bee Yards, doing outreach events, and sharing her love of bees and pollinators through educational workshops.
#HandsOnHistory: Living Off the Land will run through Sunday, November 5, providing an interactive exploration of Ridgefield’s agricultural heritage through the tools farmers used in the 18th and 19th centuries. Each Sunday in October, family demonstrations showcase skilled experts and artisans as they practice various traditions of farming or food production. Check out our website for a complete listing of future demonstrations and activities: www.keelertavernmuseum.org/events.
#HandsOnHistory: Living Off the Land is generously sponsored by Jean & Mike Jaykus, Joel Third, Nick & Anita Donofrio, Sara Champion, Dan and Annette O’Brien, Rhonda Hill, Richard Keeler & Cynthia Salter, Jenn Hansen, Paula Curry, and Leslie Lindenauer. Thank you!
The exhibition is open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesdays through Sundays, now to November 5, with FREE site admission for all visitors every Sunday. Site admission includes a guided tour of the historic tavern museum, as well as entry to #HandsOnHistory: Living Off the Land and, on Sundays, related family demonstrations. Get tickets at www.keelertavernmuseum.org/visit. School and youth groups can also book educator-led tours of the exhibit free of charge! Email education@keelertavernmuseum.org for more information.