A sweet so long for the owners of Dickey Bee Honey

BARRIE, ONT. -

A sweet era in Cookstown has come to an end.

On Saturday, the owners of Dickey Bee Honey, Peter and Sandi Dickey, checked out their last customers after nearly 20 years of running the family business.

"I took over from my father in 2002 and moved it to Innisfil and never looked back, "said Peter Dickey.

In May, the couple sold their Cookstown property with plans to retire in the Fall, but as the days got closer to saying goodbye, the memories began flooding back of Peter's time learning the beekeeper craft as a child.

"I started out working in my dad's garage," said Peter. "It was mainly a roadside honey stand, and if he [great grandfather] saw this and the honey in numerous grocery stores, I think he'd be proud."

Dickey Bee Honey began in Norfolk County in the early 1900s by Peter's great grandfather. Peter says the honey was harvested as a hobby and sold to neighbours, but the Dickey brand grew over generations.

In 2002, when Peter and Sandi took over, they moved the business to the Innisfil area and opened a store, offered beekeeper equipment and courses and developed numerous honey products.

The Dickey Bee Honey brand can be found on everything from lip balm, candles, and soap.

"I've known them for ten years, and it's a sad day, but it's a good day that they can retire,' said Trudy White, a long-time customer from the Cookstown area.

On Saturday, Dickey Bee Honey staff were busy as customers swarmed the store to get their final Dickey Bee Honey products and say their goodbyes to Peter and Sandi.

One of the customers was Lee Murdock, a local woman who said she kept coming back, not just for the honey, but for the level of service that she and her late husband received during the holidays three years ago.

"We came out for Christmas with my husband, who had dementia, and they could see he was struggling, and they went and got him a chair so he could sit while I shopped," said Murdoch as tears began running down her face.

"I've been loyal ever since."

Over the last decade, Peter and Sandi Dickey were loud voices opposing Neonicotinoids—a pesticide used on corn and soy crops but have proven toxic to bees and other vital pollinators.

In 2014, the Ontario government announced new rules to cut the use of the pesticide, which signalled a victory for many beekeepers across the province.

"Hopefully, we can get back to our normal loss of 10-15 per cent," said Peter in 2014. "Our honey crop should go up because the bees will be able to navigate their way back to the hive and not get lost in the field."

According to the Ontario Beekeepers Association, the restrictions on farmers using the pesticide came into play years following.

In March 2021, Health Canada announced restrictions on using neonicotinoid pesticides in agriculture to protect insects but backtracked on a proposed outright ban.

According to the Vice President of the Ontario Beekeepers Association, Adam Ritchie, even though a ban may not come, the pressure from beekeepers and bee advocates has led to change.

"Through the protests of beekeepers and environmental groups researchers, and general public support that led to restrictions in Ontario and in other countries it led to complete plans and those bans and regulations have forced those chemical companies to develop products that are safer for bees," said Ritchie via zoom on Saturday.

Ritchie says protecting bees in Ontario is vital for honey production and the pollination of fruit nationwide.

"The pollination that bees have on soft fruits like apples, pears, peaches and for all berries and Ontario beekeepers also provide services for the east coast," said Ritchie.

According to him, 40,000 bee colonies are sent to Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island to pollinate low bush blueberries.

As for what is next for Peter and Sandi, they told CTV News they would take some of their colonies with them to their new home and maintain a small hobby honey harvest each year.

When asked what they will miss most about the shop and running the day-to-day operations of Dickey Bee Honey, the couple said the relationships forged with customers and staff.

"Every day I come in here, and they're just such great people we have here… that's going to be hard," Peter said emotionally as he stood outside the shop.

Even though they are retiring, the couple said they aren't retiring the Dickey Bee Honey name as they plan to move solely online.