The Lanier family has been harvesting Tupelo honey from hives in the Apalachicola River swamps for three generations. In fact, the spring 1998 crop was our 100th!

L.L. Lanier Sr. (standing, left) and L.L. Lanier Jr. (holding pole) are shown tending bees in a photo that appeared in the Saturday Evening Post.

Lavernor Laveon Lanier, Sr. started the business in the 1890's with a $500 loan from a wealthy local farmer. Having previously apprenticed as a beekeeper, L.L. Lanier, Sr. knew the trade. He recognized the unique qualities that could allow the swamps around Wewahitchka, Florida to produce a variety of honey that is in commercial production nowhere else in the world, even to this day.

Over the years, the business has grown, and more and more hives have been added to the bee yards along the banks of the Apalachicola. L.L. Lanier, Jr. apprenticed with his father, and assumed the leadership role in the family business in the 1940's. Always ready to spin a yarn about the hardships and the joys of beekeeping, L.L. Lanier Jr.'s name has become synonymous with Tupelo Honey.

L. L. Lanier, Jr. and wife Martha

As one would expect, his son Ben followed in the steps of his father and grandfather before him. Ben and his wife Glynnis operate the family business today, tending what has become more than 900 hives. Ben has made a reputation for himself as a beekeeper, and was asked to provide consulting services for "Ulee's Gold", a movie by award-winning Tallahassee filmmaker Victor Nunez, released in June 1997.

Ben and Glynnis Lanier