RAPID CITY, SD — The sun has not yet cooled from its summer temper, but still walking out behind the maintenance building for the city Parks and Recreation department I could not help but be immediately struck by the comradery between men. Each stood in the shade of an oak tree 20 feet from hive-boxes full of bees, and were more than just a little excited to talk about the creatures. Each a veteran, “Hives for Heroes” has allowed former service members an opportunity to, in their own words, move forward from traumatic experiences while still maintaining the community of those with similar experiences.
Though the organization is national, the chapter in Rapid City began in 2023 on city-provided land with two mentors, five veteran members, two hives, and two pollinator fields, and has gradually expanded to a current five hives, a half dozen fields (used not only by bees but by butterflies and hummingbirds as well), four mentors and a tripled fifteen veterans. Those I spoke to echoed the sentiment provided by one Brent Simon, a retired Army National Guard member who when asked what benefit it brings him says “Peace. Being able to get in with the bees and work with them… It’s very calming. Being scared of them– I got one buzzing around me right now, You know, over here in the past, I would have probably just freaked out. But now it’s, it’s so comforting, very calming. I guess it kind of helps bring you know, PTSD down a notch or two”.
“Brian Maschino out of Sturgis started the chapter here three years ago in the spring, shortly after that, he contacted me about becoming a mentor and helping him. And I thought about it overnight, and was like, you know, for everything the veterans have done for us, I can donate some time back to them and help them too. So that’s how that all got going.” said Slim Buckley, a mentor for the organization and beekeeper of 15 years with his own connection to the armed forces. “My son came home one day and was like, ‘Dad, we should get some bees.’ And I’m like, ‘I don’t know about that’. So in the spring, we got bees.” Buckley explained when asked what got him started in the practice, “That fall, he got shipped off to Afghanistan, and he was like, ‘Dad, what do you want to do with the bees? I’m going to get shipped off,’ And I was like, just leave them here in the yard. So here it is –15 years later, I have three hives at home now”.
Hives For Heroes plans on selling and gifting the 100+ pound harvest of raw honey to friends, family, and neighbors over the coming days, and encourages veterans and first responders to contact the group if interested.