Podcast Memorial to Kim Flottum (283)

283 - Podcast Memorial to Kim Flottum

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Jeff Ott: Hey, listeners. Thanks for joining us on this special episode for  Beekeeping Today Podcast. Back in December when Kim passed away, many of our listeners wanted to have a special episode memorializing Kim. We weren't ready to do it. We just weren't emotionally ready to do it. Then in April, we had a memorial service for Kim in Medina, Ohio, and many of Kim's friends, there was 70 some people there at his memorial service, showed up to share stories and paid their respects to Kathy and Kim's family.

I was able to take the recorder there and was able to talk to people, and several of them were happy to share stories about Kim. That's coming up in this special episode. The first I have with us here in the studio is Becky Masterman and Jim Tew, both of who knew Kim now in the podcast and fundamental in the path. Becky, and Jim, thank you for joining on this special memorial service for Kim.

Jim Tew: I would say thank you, but this is a somber moment. This is a unique episode you put together.

Becky Masterman: It is. It's something that it's so important to recognize that I think both with  Beekeeping Today Podcast and with  Honey Bee Obscura, Kim's still here, and he's going to be a part of these podcasts for as long as they survive. Thank you for putting this together, Jeff.

Jeff: Oh, sure. Kim is fundamental. He's in the fabric of everything we do here on both podcasts. Jim, I know back in 2020 or actually 2019 when we first started talking about taking the Kim and Jim Facebook show, or no, was it Facebook or the YouTube?

Jim: It was a special program. He had a professional company that put this together and had the Kim and Jim Show. Those were rare shows now. That was not Facebook. That came later. Kim tried everything sooner or later that those Facebook things were terrifying because what you see is what you get.

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Jeff: Kim was good. That later transferred after we started  Beekeeping Today Podcast. He took that and he and you put together  Honey Bee Obscura. I think it's appropriate this week of Pollinator Week, which is the kickoff of the  Beekeeping Today Podcast seventh year, that Kim and I kicked that off, that we release this tribute to Kim, and I appreciate both of you being here to help with the beginning of this episode.

Jim: I'm happy to do it in a proper way.

Becky: Me too. I think me joining you on  Beekeeping Today Podcast is always going to be bittersweet because everybody would just prefer that Kim was still a part of this program. I will always respect that and we will always miss him. I was lucky to be a guest a number of times. I sat across from that big virtual table and I was honored to be interviewed by the both of you. It's an honor to be in this place.

Jeff: With that, folks, we will leave you with the thoughts and remembrances of those who attended Kim's memorial service back in April.

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Brenda Bray: My name is Brenda Bray. I've known Kim and Kathy for 30 years probably. In traveling for Man Lake, I met Kim and Kathy and became friends with them. Really, they were the first two people that I met outside in the industry. They really took me in and made me feel welcome. Working for them was just a short pleasure.

Tracy Alarcon: Hi, I am Tracy Alarcon. I'm from Diamond, Ohio. My memory of Kim, one of the things that I just loved about the man, and I did love him very much, was just his insatiable curiosity. It was one of the things that we both shared, and whether the knowledge was ever really used or not, he just loved to learn, which is one of the things that I was really drawn to about him.

Jim Thompson: This is Jim Thompson. I'm going to miss Kim full out greatly because he was a good boss while I worked up at Root. I was dealing with Root way before Kim came. I knew Kim since the time he got to Root.

Margaret Reed: Margaret Reed. My husband Bill, we are Reid's Apiary and Bee-tique. I don't know how long ago, it's been a long time when we moved to Ohio that we met Kim. Kim was always interested in our business and we did t-shirts and or do t-shirts and decorative things, and he was always telling us something else that we should do on that, and I loved him for that. He was just such a special beekeeper and such a special person.

Nancy Riopelle: I'm Nancy Riopelle. I'm telling the story from my husband, Buzz. When they first met Kim, Kim just moved to Cleveland, and working at The A.I. Root Company, and he went to his first Medina beekeepers meeting. He got there and he was this all old man and Buzz. Buzz was his first beekeeping friend when he moved to Ohio. They've been friends ever since.

Buzz Riopelle: At the time, I was a Medina County Bee Inspector. He interviewed me and had some couple of articles in his magazine, and that's how we met. We've been great friends ever since, and I'm going to miss him terribly.

Brad Root: I'm Brad Root, President of the A.I. Root Company. I met Kim back when he first started of the Root Company. He was just a person that could really evolve with the business and kept it growing, and we just really appreciate what Kim did for the beekeeping industry because he really impacted a lot of people and did a lot of great for the beekeeping industry.

Eugene Makovec: Hi, I'm Eugene Makovec. I'm editor of  American Bee Journal. I met Kim because I used to write articles for him when at  Bee Culture. When I was offered the editorship at  ABJ, I mentioned to Kim that I was surprised at how many people asked me, "Well, that's not a full-time job, is it?" [laughs] I said, "As far as I know it is, but I guess we'll see." I said, "I need to write for you under a pen name now or what?" He said, "Apparently, you're going to have time on your hands, so I expect you to keep those articles coming."

Larry Connor: Hi, this is Larry Connor. I met Kim when he was pruning apple trees in Connecticut. We've been around for a year or two. One of my favorite memories of Kim is the fact that if you stayed at the house, he made a tremendous breakfast. He would offer you everything and probably cook it anyway, whether you didn't want it or not. He was a great host and always had an abundance of food and beverage to share. A lot of memories there.

Jay Evans: Hi, this is Jay Evans and somebody, I think his brother said at past that Kim was an incredible listener. I would just always remember wherever the meeting or wherever the setting, he would be there with a quizzical look on his face. A lot of times, he wouldn't correct you if you made a mistake. He would just let you go and open it up and leave a lot of space for talking and for discussing what was new and what was exciting. I'll forever be grateful that he encouraged me to start writing a little note for Bee Culture and that really opened up my mind to be able to do that and keep in touch with literature and more beekeepers. I truly miss him.

Dave Duncan: Hello, I'm Dave Duncan. I live in Bellville, Ohio. Been a beekeeper for 45 years. I've known Kim for most of my life and he's always been very motivational. I'm not the normal type beekeeper. He's always motivated me to do things, write articles, and do different things. I got contacted by the local prison in Mansfield, and I said, "Kim, I don't know if I should be teaching criminals beekeeping." He said, "It's just a very fine line between you and I being in there and them being in there." He said, "Do it, Dave. Do it," and so I did went over and talked to the prisoners and things like that.

He helped put things into perspective for me. That's a really nice story. Actually, after hearing some of the family stories, it's probably a very fine line between-- We just had better lawyers.

Gene McCune: My name is Gene McCune. I live in Geauga County, Ohio. Kim and I shared an event that most people don't share together. We were both asked to testify down in Columbus at the Statehouse on labeling issues for honey and maple syrup. I picked him up here in Medina. We drove down and about 30 miles outside of Columbus, I turned on the radio, and we heard that a jet passenger plane had just crashed into the Twin Towers.

By the time we got to Columbus proper, the second plane had hit. We had realized that day there would be no testifying in Columbus. We turned down, came back home, and it was a very solemn ride back home, but it's a day that Kim and I both will never, ever forget.

Dan Conlon: Dan Conlon from Massachusetts. I've probably known Kim for a good 20 something years. He's always been very supportive of my interests as a beekeeper and encouraged me to do a lot more than just stay local, get out there, do things on a national level. I've been a part of a lot of different groups that he's also supported. For that, I will always be in debt to him and appreciate that that's what he was about, bettering bees and beekeeping and a friend to most everybody.

Tom Nolan: Hi, Tom Nolan here at NOD Apiary Products. I'm here to celebrate Kim's life because my memories of Kim and where I really got to know Kim well was every fall I would come to Medina for the bee culture events. It was a small, intimate affair. I always got to spend more time than you can normally get with a guy like Kim, who's so always in demand. Just a guy who always knew how to make someone else feel great. He'll be so sadly missed.

Marina Marchese: I'm Marina Marchese. I had the great pleasure and honor to work with Kim and coauthor a book called  The Honey Connoisseur. Kim was just an incredible writer. He had such a warm touch in his writing. I have to say that he is the reason that I'm writing and doing books because early on as a new beekeeper, he encouraged me to write a few articles for  Bee Culture Magazine. I had never believe that I could be a writer, but he was a really incredible person. Just very lucky to have met him and had him in my life. It was a beautiful service. I'm really glad that I made the trip out from Connecticut.

Ray Lackey: I'm Ray Lackey. I met Kim through bees at EAS. He was a guy who remembered everybody and was so happy to introduce you to other people and get you talking. It was good to know him.

Mrs. Lackey: I remember the auctions at EAS.

Ray: Oh,-

Mrs. Lackey: The auctions-

Ray: -the paint can.

Mrs. Lackey: -and how many times they recycled those paint cans. I remember--

Ray: Me and Aaron Morris.

Mrs. Lackey: Yes, Aaron Morris, they would switch them back. One year, Aaron would go home with them and the next year Kim would go home with them. Oh, my goodness. It was incredible. They auctioned off some of the craziest things. Someone's jumpsuit that he wore all day in the apiary when they were working the bees, all sweaty and disgusting. One of the master beekeepers that he donated his sweat suit. [laughs] It was just basically his jumpsuit-

Ray: Oh my God.

Becky: -that they auctioned it off.

Ray: I think they stole it. I don't think he donated it.

Mrs. Lacky: That's true. That's right. I think they did, and his hat too.

Ray: It was Wyatt.

Mrs. Lackey: He had a straw hat. Was it Wyatt? Yes.

Ray: Wyatt's hat was continually stolen.

Mrs. Lackey: Yes, and auctioned off, [laughs] so much fun.

Ray: Thank you very much.

Mrs. Lackey: Thank you for your words today, too.

Jim: I'm Jim Tew. I'm the gym part of Kim and Jim. I'm at Kim's ceremony. What else can you call it? Celebration of life. What a celebration it has been. Room full. Jeff, I really didn't know the things about Kim that his family told me. The cribbage, the model car collecting, and wrestling, and car racing. Out of all my hours I spent with Kim, he never talked about that. He used to talk about bees and organizing meetings and whatever. It was very insightful. Now that it's too late to see the bigger picture of Kim, thank you for letting me speak for him.

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