For the bees: Local couple cares for beehives at Bedford Garden Park apiary

Ed Kedzierski and Blake Wiehe were working at the Bedford Garden Park Bedford Beekeepers Educational Apiary on a recent afternoon. They constructed a new hive and placed bees inside .

Tonie Kedzierski, Ed's wife, said that they got their first hives seven years ago, and started the Apiary four years ago. Last year, the Apiary lost a hive, hence the work of building a new hive.

Tonie Kedzierski is a certified honey taster, and a honey judge. She does her judging at the Indiana State Fair with 4Hers. Tonie Kedzierski said two men started the Bedford Beekeepers Club, Todd Thomas, and Curtis McBride.

"Curtis' mom got really sick, and he had to take care of her, so he asked us (Ed and Tonie) to start the Apiary.," Tonie said.

She and her husband got started with beekeeping because there was a beekeeping class at the Lawrence County Fairgrounds, and the Bedford Times-Mail had an article the next day about it, she said. Tonie Kedzierski called the person who ran the class, and that was how their hobby got started.

"Ed and I are the ones that take care of them," Tonie said about the bees. The hives are present year round, as the bees can keep their dwelling temperate regardless of extremes of hot and cold.

"We've had so many people thank us this (Apiary) out here," she said. "The bees are pollinators."

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: For the bees: Local couple cares for beehives at Bedford Garden Park apiary