Candle Making at Pioneer Farm, Mount Vernoin

As I mentioned in an earlier post, a key aspect to good historical interpretation with guests is that I should come away from a day with something new I need to research.  On this particular day, I met a bee keeper who asked whether George Washington imported Italian honeybees because bees were apparently brought over on ships from Europe to America.  While I know that Washington had hives and Martha Washington liked rose-flavored honey (from the book Bees in America: How the Honey Bee Shaped a Nation by Tammy Horn), I don't know the full answer yet.  There's always something to learn!