Machines Bees Are Humming
May 31st, 2008, 3:43 am Hobbies And Interests
At Monument Machine Shop, Andy Schutz has been running a full-service machine repair business for the local area for about five years. In his large, busy and noisy shop just on the outskirts of town, Schutz can handle any type of job and any type of metal, including milling, lathework, welding and keyseating. Multi-colored metal corkscrew curls, leftover from past jobs, fill the nooks and crannies on the floor around the machines.
Originally from Switzerland, Schutz lived for about 40 years in Central Oregon, working as a machinist for Jeld-Wen in Bend for 18 years and also for Mel’s Tractor in Redmond.
He and his wife Tiina Allyce, met in Central Oregon and have been married for about six years. She taught school in British Columbia for 20 years and also spent about a year and a half in China setting up a school there. She currently teaches English at Long Creek School.
After falling in love with the Monument area on a trip, they moved there about five years ago, settling in a home with a hilltop view overlooking the town.
Schutz jokes that he’s “semi-retired.” But he also says he enjoys keeping busy and there seems to be enough work in the area to keep the machines in his shop going on a regular basis.
Something else is buzzing at the Schutz home too, just outside the back of the shop - a small colony of bees. A man of several interests and hobbies, Schutz says that his interest in bees dates back to his boyhood days in Switzerland when his father kept bees. Later he had a friend in Central Oregon who pursued the hobby, inspiring Schutz to do likewise.
At his “Flying Bee Ranch,” Schutz processes the honey about once a year, in late summer around August and September, selling some of it locally, as long as the supply lasts.
Tags: 18 years, august and september, bee ranch, boyhood days, british columbia, central oregon, colony of bees, corkscrew curls, Hobbies, Hobby, honey, interests and hobbies, local area, machinist, milling, nooks and crannies, outskirts of town, repair business, setting up a school, six years, switzerlandRelated posts
