The Beekeepers at Larchwood
That is how the
Terleckyj brothers, Serhij and Cymtry, were known to the people of Larchwood and the
surrounding area. If anyone was to inquire
about them, they would probably be told that they hardly knew them, and they produced and
sold excellent honey from their beekeeping enterprise, but they were very, very private
persons and “different.” Some folks
referred to the two brothers as “recluses.”
Everyone seemed to agree that the two beekeepers were certainly eccentric.
Serhij, the older of
the brothers, died in a hospital in 1983. Dmytro
later entered a nursing home and died in 1994. Dmytro
made arrangements for the sale of their property while at the nursing home. After Dmytro’s death a box was discovered in
the house that related much of their life story, and that, along with the bee-keeping
equipment, was turned over to the Lyon County Historical Society. As Paul Harvey would say on one of his programs,
“and this is the rest of the story.”
Serhij and Dmytro
Terleckyj were sons of a wealthy Ukranian farmer in the Soviet Union . Their father and older brother were taken from
their home by the Russian government and forced to work in a labor camp where they both
died. At the time the father and brother were
taken away, Serhij and Dymtro escaped. Where
they went or how they managed to stay out of the clutches of the Russian authorities may
never be known. However, in 1929, all of their
property was confiscated by the authorities. In
1943, the brothers must have been in Germany
and were forced into labor camps. They were liberated in 1945 by the American armed
forces.
In 1951, they were
granted permission to emigrate to the United States
and landed in New
York . From
there they apparently worked at a variety of jobs located in the eastern United States and
eventually ended up in Minnesota where they worked for some beekeepers. From there they came to Sioux Falls where they
owned and operated a small grocery store on the east side.
In 1972, they came to Larchwood where they purchased a home on a small acreage
outside of the town of Larchwood . It was here they
established their own beekeeping business. They
kept to themselves, minded their own business, and confided in no one. Soon people respected their way of life and
respected their wish for privacy. After their
life story became known, people realized that in all probability, their life-style was a
result of the terrifying days in the Soviet Union
. They lived in
a very frugal manner, did not seem to trust anyone, and actually always seemed suspicious
of everyone. They had come to the land of
freedom, but it always seemed, in the back of their minds, that someone was going to
locate them and take them back to the labor camps in Russia .
They apparently had no
living relatives in the Ukraine as there was no correspondence available to indicate any. Dolly Zangger arranged an interesting display for
the 2003 fair on the story of the Terleckyj brothers.
On display were also the beehives and honey-gathering equipment used by the pair
for so many years. The museum in Rock Rapids
plans on continuing the display and the story of the Beekeepers of Larchwood.
Written by Evelyn Halverson
Transcribed by Roseanna Zehner
Stories Index