clayton — Ken Ensminger was a happily retired truck driver when he got an offer he couldn’t refuse.

He was asked to haul beekeeping equipment for a large-scale honey manufacturing operation.

And after a few years of hauling their equipment, Ensminger started managing some hives of his own.

“At first, it was really just for recreation,” Ensminger said.

But Ensminger soon came to realize there’s more to beekeeping than just recreation.

“Oh, there’s money in honey,” he said in his truck on the way to inspect some of his hives in Clayton.

Ensminger said it didn’t take him long to realize the profits that could be made by cultivating his own honey.

Just off the banks of the Tensas River, Ensminger has 40 hives, and that is only part of his operation.

Across the river he’s got approximately 60 more.

“It keeps me busy,” he said.

And it’s work Ensminger has been doing for the past eight years.

Ensminger said he was told by fellow beekeepers that if each of his hives yielded 40 pounds of honey, he would be doing great.

But last year, the unimaginable happened, Ensmiger said.

He netted 100 pounds from each of his 100 hives.

“It was unreal,” he said. “And I wish I knew why. No one knows why, or how that happened. I wish I knew what happened.”

Ensminger is only hoping for another such year when it comes time to harvest.

On Friday, he was starting the first of many feeding cycles for his bees to ensure a good crop this year.

Ensminger said while many beekeepers feed their bees corn syrup, he uses unused honey from the year before.

“I think it makes a better honey,” he said.

While Ensminger’s honey is sold locally, it’s known far beyond the confines of the Miss-Lou.

Ensminger recently shipped several gallons to Egypt, after some locals there got a taste of his locally made product.

“It makes you feel great to know that people really like what you make,” he said.

And Ensminger, now 68, said he has no plans to stop making honey anytime soon.

“As long as I can work, I’ll be out there doing it,” he said.