Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1152518
"You. Must. Never. Hurt. Bees." That was the first piece of apian advice Peace imparted to his granddaughter. "My grandfather was known as 'The Beekeeper of Big Sur' for 70 years," May says. "He was a descendant of William Post, of the area now known as Post Ranch and the Grimes family, and was truly an icon on the coast." She was unaware of his stature until she started working on the book and after his pass- ing in 2015. "He had all these friendships and relationships. Everyone thought he was their best friend, and none knew about each other. That's the kind of guy he was." Peace started his life-long affair with bees and honey at 14 while living with his family in Pacific Grove. "A swarm of bees landed in their back- yard and his father showed him how to capture it and put it in a hive," May explains. The colony flourished and multiplied and soon Peace had a dozen hives. "His mom said she was tired of get- ting stung every time she put out the laundry, so he asked his Big Sur cousins if he could relocate his hives there." And that's where they stayed for the remainder of his life. The bus referred to in the book title was a retired For t Ord Army transpor t that Peace had installed on his Carmel Valley proper ty and kitted out as a honey processing facility. He made ingenious use of par ts of this and that to create a centrifuge to coax sweet, golden liq- uid from honeycombs and created other filter- ing and packaging machinery. As a curious young girl, May was fascinated by the bus and by what mysterious things went on in there. Peace and some pals would work in there for hours, tossing back beers to ward off the Carmel Valley heat and joking and laughing like the life-long friends they were. As the years went by, Peace would teach May more and more about the ancient art of bee- keeping, passing on the lore to the fifth genera- tion. He took her on drives through the winding narrow Big Sur backroads to the hives he kept in Garrapata Canyon. It's a calling she pursues o this day. May chose a career in journalism, 200 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R / F A L L 2 0 1 9 Photo: Meredith May May's grandfather Franklin Peace (below) converted an old Army bus into an efficient workshop for honey production, using scrounged machinery and leftover bits and pieces from his plumbing business. As a curious young girl, May was fascinated by the bus and by what mysterious things went on in there. Photo: Jenn Jackson