Two beekeepers are channeling hope as they rebuild their business following a warehouse fire.
Boydean Frazier, a fourth-generation beekeeper, said beekeeping is a unique career path, one which he finds rewarding.
“There's something about bees that's just a little beyond just another business,” Boydean Frazier said.
His son Prenten Frazier owns Beehive State Honey, a honey manufacturer in American Fork with roots that go back generations.
“My great-great-great-grandfather Benjamin F. Johnson was a farmer, and he decided one day to order 100 colonies from California,” Prenten Frazier said. “Back then they came in on wagons, so he got his first 100 colonies and most of them had been smothered.”
But that did not stop Johnson from achieving his sweet dream of harvesting honey.
“He took what was left and grew them to hundreds of colonies,” Prenten Frazier said. “He taught that to his son who then passed it on to my great-grandfather.”
Boydean Frazier said that although several of his sons have become interested in beekeeping at some point in their lives, many of them have since left it behind.
“Prenten is the only one hanging onto that interest,” Boydean Frazier said.
Prenten Frazier said he was not always enthusiastic about this buzzing career but has learned to love his hives over time.
“Eat, drink, sleep bees,” Prenten Frazier said. “We did that for years, month after month, and I just fell in love with the bees.”
Then, out of nowhere, an accident nearly put him out of business.
“One morning I got a call, 3:30 in the morning. It was dispatch saying that a fire had broken out,” Prenten Frazier said.
A fire occurred at Prenten Frazier’s facility on the morning of Nov. 16, 2025. The fire was fueled by honey, wax pallets and other materials beside the warehouse, he said.
“We couldn't even get in the front gate, but I could see it was burnt,” Boydean Frazier said.
“We came down to the farm and got here after four in the morning to witness our entire business, everything we’d worked for just going up in smoke,” Prenten Frazier said.
The father-son duo did not have the money to repair the warehouse immediately.
“$3 million to $4 million dollar loss and we had $300,000 worth of insurance,” Boydean Frazier said.
This led to months of excavation, cleaning and reflection, Prenten Frazier said.
“That was just kind of a grim, dark period of time,” Prenten Frazier said.
That time also allowed him to think about the community who inspired him enough to push past the immediate rubble.
“The best thing I can do is try to come back,” Prenten Frazier said.
Boydean Frazier said even though the outside of honey jars might have been left scorched, what was inside was still worth fighting for.
“Some of the bottles broke and some things ruined, but we cleaned the bottles back up and the honey inside is just as good as it ever was,” Boydean Frazier said.
Bottles of honey that survived the fire were marked with a special sticker.
The father-son duo said their business is far from what it once was, but they are hopeful they can get to work and build an even stronger business than before the fire.
“To get all that set back up will be a little bit of work and time, but I'd love to do that again,” Boydean Frazier said.
“You can bounce back from anything. You could lose everything on your person and realize how many blessings you have,” Prenten Frazier said.
They said they have plans to expand into apiary therapy and potentially start a local farmers market. No matter where their six-legged-coworkers take them, both Fraziers are grateful for the chance to keep working with bees and one another.
“I'm happy just to get bees and honey and keep it rolling,” Boydean Frazier said.
“You can bounce back from the worst of the worst, and I've seen that,” Prenten Frazier said.
More information about Beehive State Honey can be found on their website.