Beekeeper Says They Set a Honey of an Example

Vinciana Pasierb admires the attitude of her “little friends,” as she calls the bees she keeps.

“They are hard-working, efficient, help each other and never boast they are the best,” said the Fountain Valley accountant, candy-maker and beekeeper.

In fact, Pasierb contends humans might find that form of life satisfying and fruitful.

“If we humans would work as a group we would be better off,” said the Bali-born woman. “They don’t waste time or energy the way they work.”

That’s part of the message Pasierb imparts when talking to community groups and children about the importance of bees to the community and to individuals who earn money raising them and the joy some get maintaining them as a hobby.

The intricate communication system of bees, as well as their busy lives, fascinate her.

“I respect bees for their contribution to society and always speak to them tenderly,” said the secretary of the Orange County Beekeepers Assn.

Although a frequent speaker to various groups, Pasierb and beekeeper Bob Cosgrove of Laguna Beach will begin in earnest in January to tell Orange County children what’s buzzing.

Their talks, sponsored by the Orange County Fair to coincide with its 1991 theme, “How Sweet It Is,” will dwell on nature and the part bees play in the environment.

The free programs will combine a presentation of bee and honey facts, a slide show, an empty hive, beekeeper equipment, hive tools, a bee suit, veil, gloves, brush and an observation hive with a queen bee and worker bees.

The Cal State Northridge graduate is caught up in the research of bees and their honey and for years has been experimenting in candy-making. Most recently she has developed a honey topping for ice cream.

Someday, Pasierb hopes to change careers and open a candy factory using the honey she gathers from her own hives.

She currently has six hives housed at Irvine Valley College, but she plans to dramatically increase that number.

“Right now I’m only selling my candy to friends,” said Pasierb, who speaks five languages--Indonesian, Chinese, Dutch, German and English--and is studying Spanish.

“I am a self-starter and one of these days I’m going to be a honey packer and sell it to stores,” said Pasierb, who works as a volunteer with the VITA program, assisting low-income and senior citizens with their income tax returns.

Pasierb has never feared bees.

“They are my friends because I’m a hard worker just like them,” she said. “From the begining I said: ‘Aha, Vinciana you are not afraid of bees. No I am not.’ ”

That friendly attention must have helped since she won four blue ribbons for her honey at the 1990 Orange County Fair.

LeRoy Kelly, 58, wasn’t supposed to be around this Christmas, or for that matter, the past 10 Christmases.

After four heart attacks and then open heart surgery at St Jude Hospital and Rehabilitation Center in Fullerton, doctors gave him four months to live. But Kelly showed them.

He joined the hospital’s cardiac rehabilitation program and made himself better and then started as a volunteer decorating pillows for heart patients to help soften their recovery.

He calls them “Huggie Bears” and recently presented his 1,000th pillow to the hospital, which distributes them to cardiac ward patients.

“They are really quite a hit,” said the La Habra resident.