http://www.culturalcorridor.org/calendar_details.asp?R=363708 I will give a presentation on the history of hive innovation and humane beekeeping at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, February 23. The title is “Humane Beekeeping: How Hive Innovation Saved Honeybees,” and it will take place at the History Center in downtown Cedar Rapids. I know most people have never heard of "humane beekeeping," but that's the point. Years ago, particularly in Europe and Britain, beekeepers often used a straw hive that looked like this: Beekeepers, especially in the British Isles, generally killed their bees in order to harvest safely from such straw hives. That practice persisted for centuries. The presentation will discuss how, and why, bees were massacred for so many years. Then we will review how hive innovation helped to stop that practice from being conventional any longer. Drop by if you are interested in beekeeping history, and there will absolutely be an opportunity to ask questions! And of course, Happy Valentine's Day!!!