NOBLE -- George Richtmeyer started keeping bees about 28 years ago.

"We bought a house in Noble that had a bee tree which fell on my truck two days later," he said. So he called the extension office to find out how to care for the bees because he didn't want them to die.

A beekeeper came out and taught him the basics of beekeeping. And Richtmeyer's been keeping bees ever since.

His business, George's Apiary, expanded over the years to include as many as 600 bee hives from that first batch of bees.

He's cut back in recent years to about 27 hives. He cares for the bees, extracts the honey, packages it and sells it. He even extracts and packages the honey for other beekeepers.

Richtmeyer is a longtime member of the Noble Beekeepers Association, which meets 7 p.m. the third Thursday of every month at the Noble Public Library, 204 N. 5th St. in Noble. Beekeepers from the area are members, including ones from Noble, Wayne, Payne, Purcell, Slaughterville, Newcastle and Harrah.

"We have hobbyists as well as commercial (beekeepers) in our club," Richtmeyer said.

Members of the association were at the Noble Farmers Market in front of City Hall Aug. 2 to demonstrate beekeeping and sell their honey products.

Noble Beekeepers Association President Jerry Morris explained the honey-making process to curious visitors in the August heat.

A hive was in a clear glass display case so people could view the bees making honey in the honeycomb. The display case could swivel to display both sides of the honeycomb.

Carolyn McCabe, an association member who describes herself as a "hobbyist," also was at the Farmers Market to answer questions about bees. She said she got into beekeeping because her garden wasn't being pollinated. So last summer she started keeping bees, and her garden is doing much better.

This was the first summer that she pulled honey from her bees.

"It was exciting," she said of the experience. "It was really wonderful."

George's Apiary honey can be purchased from Richtmeyer himself, or at the Noble and Norman Farmers Markets, The Earth Natural Foods in Norman or The Health Food Center in Oklahoma City.

Julianna Parker 366-3541 jparker@normantranscript.com