|
We owe a great debt of thanks
to Mr. T. (Thomas) Euclid Raines who was the founder of our organization
and a significant contributor to the advancement of beekeeping in north Alabama.
Euclid Rains was a third
generation Alabama beekeeper and a remarkable man. He
lost his sight in both eyes in an accident as a young boy yet he went on
to work his way through college, operate a very successful manufacturing
business and become a member of Alabama state house of representatives
where he represented the 26th District from 1979 to 1991. We
lost Euclid an automobile accident, when the car in which he was a
passenger went off a bridge in heavy rain, near Geraldine, Marshall
County, Ala., August 27, 2000.
After retiring from the House
of Representatives Euclid became concerned about the relative lack of
honey bees and beekeepers in the NE Alabama areas so he set out to
rectify that situation. He started by organizing the Sand
Mountain Beekeepers Association in 1998. Within one year,
the SMBA had grown under his direction to become high among the top
beekeeping organizations in the state of Alabama.
Euclid was also concerned
that the art and craft of beekeeping in general had dropped to a point
of relative insignificance in the area so he set out to rectify that
situation. To that end he and the SMBA started a drive to
stock the NE Alabama regional public libraries with a complete set of
books and videos on beekeeping. After Euclid's death in 2000
the SMBA completed this program by successfully stocking 7
libraries with a complete section on honeybees and beekeeping.
THANKS EUCLID - WE STILL MISS
YOU!
|
