The Family
Thomas Boyd Hall, my great-great grandfather was born in HALL, Virginia in 1858. He headed west and homesteaded in Oklahoma in 1891. He and his wife were farmers and had 13 children. My great grandfather, Fletcher Hall, was the oldest of their children.
Fletcher and his brother, Clarence, came to Mason Valley around 1918 and both were beekeepers. One of their sisters, Nancy, also came to Mason Valley.
Fletcher Hall and his wife Pearl had three children.
My grandfather, Ralph, was one of those children.
Ralph was born in 1906 in Stillwater, OK. He often told the story of him leaving home at the age of 14 on his horse and heading to Texas. He found that life was not always easy so he decided to sell his horse, buy a train ticket and go back home. When he got back to Oklahoma he found that his family had moved and no one knew where they had gone.
In 1925, Ralph married my grandmother, Ruth Pittwood in Ordway, CO. They soon moved to Oregon where Harold Hall, my father, was born. While in Oregon, Ralph found his father, Fletcher, in Mason Valley. The winter of 1926, Ralph moved his family to Mason Valley. There they had two more children, Walter and Pauline.
Ralph and his two sons, Harold and Walter, formed the company known as Ralph Hall and Sons or locally known as Hall's Honey.
After serving in the Marine Corps during World War II, Harold married a local Yerington girl named Ethel Glock. They had four children; Linda, Sandy, Debbie and David. Hall's Honey became one of the largest commercial beekeeping businesses in the state of Nevada, producing tons of honey each year.
Ralph and Harold together served over 50 years on the Nevada Board of Agriculture as the representatives for beekeeping. They were instrumental in making policies effecting every aspect of agriculture in the state of Nevada, especially apiculture.
In the 1970s, the decision was made to sell the company. The bees were purchased by a company in California and taken to California.
In 2006, Debbie Hall Gilmore and Andy Joyner, started a colony of bees. That colony has grown to 70. Their son and daughter-in-law, Ryan and Carrie Gilmore, are carrying on the family tradition.
The Beekeeper's Daughter and Her Honey
Debbie Hall Gilmore and Andrew Joyner
Thomas Boyd Hall, my great-great grandfather was born in HALL, Virginia in 1858. He headed west and homesteaded in Oklahoma in 1891. He and his wife were farmers and had 13 children. My great grandfather, Fletcher Hall, was the oldest of their children.
Fletcher and his brother, Clarence, came to Mason Valley around 1918 and both were beekeepers. One of their sisters, Nancy, also came to Mason Valley.
Fletcher Hall and his wife Pearl had three children.
My grandfather, Ralph, was one of those children.
Ralph was born in 1906 in Stillwater, OK. He often told the story of him leaving home at the age of 14 on his horse and heading to Texas. He found that life was not always easy so he decided to sell his horse, buy a train ticket and go back home. When he got back to Oklahoma he found that his family had moved and no one knew where they had gone.
In 1925, Ralph married my grandmother, Ruth Pittwood in Ordway, CO. They soon moved to Oregon where Harold Hall, my father, was born. While in Oregon, Ralph found his father, Fletcher, in Mason Valley. The winter of 1926, Ralph moved his family to Mason Valley. There they had two more children, Walter and Pauline.
Ralph and his two sons, Harold and Walter, formed the company known as Ralph Hall and Sons or locally known as Hall's Honey.
After serving in the Marine Corps during World War II, Harold married a local Yerington girl named Ethel Glock. They had four children; Linda, Sandy, Debbie and David. Hall's Honey became one of the largest commercial beekeeping businesses in the state of Nevada, producing tons of honey each year.
Ralph and Harold together served over 50 years on the Nevada Board of Agriculture as the representatives for beekeeping. They were instrumental in making policies effecting every aspect of agriculture in the state of Nevada, especially apiculture.
In the 1970s, the decision was made to sell the company. The bees were purchased by a company in California and taken to California.
In 2006, Debbie Hall Gilmore and Andy Joyner, started a colony of bees. That colony has grown to 70. Their son and daughter-in-law, Ryan and Carrie Gilmore, are carrying on the family tradition.
The Beekeeper's Daughter and Her Honey
Debbie Hall Gilmore and Andrew Joyner
Ralph and son Harold with the Bee Truck