Although it’s been in business since 1959, Clover Blossom Honey could be one of the best kept secrets in Wabash County.
“We’re probably better known out of the state than we are in Wabash County,” said Don Shenefield who started the business.
Today, Clover Blossom Honey, located in LaFontaine, is owned by Don’s son Dave, and includes three generations of family on staff.
On March 10, the Shenefield family will be honored as the 2020 Farm Family of the Year at Grow Wabash County’s annual Salute to Agriculture dinner.
“I started the business in 1959 as a hobby,” Don said. “A friend of mine bought a bunch of bees in Kokomo and he didn’t have the money to pay for them, so he asked me if I would buy half of them, and that was a mistake. Then I had three or four big outfits around that wanted to sell me bees, so I gradually got to the point after 10 years, two jobs and four hours sleep … I decided I either had to do this or that, and if I was going to use my energies to build a business, I might as well build my own instead of somebody else’s.”
But the start of the business can trace its roots back even further.
“My great-grandfather had a couple of bee hives in the orchard,” Dave said. “(Dad) started his hobby in 1959, and, of course, I was a kid and as long as my feet were under his table, I did what he said, and so I worked with the bees.
“I hated bees. I was never so glad to graduate high school so I could get away from bees.”
The Northfield Lady Norse left little doubt of the outcome of its game with Southwood Tuesday night, Jan. 26, running away with a 63-34 win.
Northfield took a 20-10 lead after one quarter and extended the lead to 38-17 at halftime. The Lady Norse outscored the Lady Knights in each the third and fourth quarters, as well.
Kyra Kennedy led Northfield with 19 points, five rebounds, and four steals, followed by Addie Baker with 12 points, nine rebounds, and three assists, Kearston Stout with 10 points, three rebounds, four steals, and two assists, Emma Hoover with nine points, four rebounds, six assists, and four steals, Hannah Holmes with eight points and three rebounds, Kenzie Baer with four points, three rebounds, three steals, and two assists, and Jaycee Krom with one point and one rebound. Eden Hoover had four rebounds, and Addy Rosen had two rebounds and one steal.
Ella Haupert led Southwood with 15 points, followed Bailey Wyatt with 11 points, Maggie Ball with four points, and Aleia Sweet with three points.
Northfield won the JV game 43-21.
Eden Hoover led the way with 16 points, followed by Rosen and Ainsley Dale with seven points each, Holmes, Krom, and Gabby Haupert with three points each, and Ava Copeland and Alex Cartwright with two points each.
Mya Denney led Southwood with eight points, followed by Macey Barney with seven points, Carrie Collins, with four, and Bailey Miller with two.
Northfield 74, Rochester 37
The Jan. 28 matchup between Northfield and Rochester had major Three Rivers Conference championship implications with the Lady Norse looking to win the title outright and the Lady Zebras hoping to share the title with Northfield.
Northfield crushed Rochester’s dreams early, outscoring the Lady Zebras 25-6 in the first quarter, and never let up in the 37-point win.
Kennedy led Northfield with 19 points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals, followed by Emma Hoover with 11 points, five assists, and five steals, Stout with 11 points, five rebounds, five steals, and three assists, and Baker with 10 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals.
Rosen had seven points, three assists, and two rebounds, followed by Baer with seven points and three steals, Holmes with six points, four steals, and two rebounds, and Eden Hoover with three points.
Northfield also had an easy time with Rochester in a 48-22 win Thursday night.
The Lady Norse shut out the Lady Zebras 13-0 in the first quarter and 14-2 in the third quarter.
Eden Hoover led Northfield with 18 points, followed by Krom with 11, Holmes with six, Rosen with four, Dale with three, and Miller, Copeland, and Haupert with two points each.
Southwood 65, North Miami 61
North Miami dominated the first half of its game at Southwood, taking a 38-20 halftime lead, but Southwood turned things around, outscoring the Lady Warriors 26-14 in the third quarter and 19-12 in the fourth quarter to post a 65-51 win.
Manchester 53, Bluffton 46
In a back-and-forth affair, the Manchester girls basketball team came outscored Bluffton 19-10 in the fourth quarter to pull out a come-from-behind 53-46 win Tuesday, Jan. 26.
Bluffton jumped head of the Lady Squires 15-9 at the end of the first quarter but Manchester rebounded to take a 25-20 halftime advantage.
Bluffton responded by taking a 36-35 lead going into the fourth quarter before Manchester scored 19 points in the final eight minutes to secure the win.
Eva Bazzoni led Manchester with 23 points, four rebounds, four assists, and two steals, while Makenzy Meyer had 10 points and three rebounds.
Morgan Parrett had a big game with eight points and 12 rebounds, followed by Emma Garriott with five points and two rebounds, Keilan Creager with five points and two rebounds, Ainsley West with two points, four assists, two blocks, and two rebounds, Beletu Stout with four assists and three rebounds, and Kindra Stetzel with one rebound.
The Manchester JV team used a strong defensive effort to defeat Bluffton 22-14.
Manchester led 8-2 at halftime and 17-6 at the end of three periods on their way to the win.
Aliala Atienza and Chaynee Tennant, each had six points, followed by Kaidyn Howard with three points, McKelvey Espeset, Olivia Neal, Leyna Borgmann with two points each, and Gracie Lauer with one point.
Tippecanoe Valley 62, Manchester 49
In a game that was closer than the final score would indicate, the Tippecanoe Valley girls basketball team turned outscored Manchester 22-9 in the final seven minutes to defeat the Lady Squires 62-49 Thursday night, Jan. 28.
Manchester took a 24-23 lead in the final seconds of the first half and led the Lady Vikings for much of the third quarter.
Valley led 40-39 going into the fourth quarter and used a 10-2 run to lead 50-41 with 3:37 left in the game and didn’t let Manchester any closer.
West had a big game with 17 points, three assists, and three rebounds, followed by Bazzoni with 17 points, 10 rebounds, four steals, and three assists, and Garriott with nine points, two rebounds, and two steals.
Meyer had seven points and six rebounds, followed by Parrett with four points and four rebounds, Creager with two points and two assists, and Stetzel with one rebound.
The JV team lost to the Lady Vikings 42-19, scoring just three points in the first half.
Atienza led Manchester with six points and two rebounds, followed by Schroll with five points and three rebounds, Neal with three points, eight rebounds, and three steals, Tennant with three points and two rebounds, Lauer with two points and two rebounds, Howard with three rebounds, three assists, and two steals, Borgmann with two rebounds, one assist, and one block, Espeset with one steal and one assist, and Kelsey Blum with one rebound.
Wabash 56, Peru 40
The Wabash girls basketball team took a 13-10 first-quarter and slowly pulled away from Peru to pull out a 56-40 road win at Peru.
Mariah Wyatt led Wabash with 19 points and 11 rebounds, followed by Rylee Yoakum with 14 points and three steals, Alivia Short with 12 points and three rebounds, Nici Gunderman with four points, five rebounds, and three steals, Jordan Stumbo with four points and five rebounds, and Madison Lutz with three points and five steals.
Wabash lost the JV team 32-21.
Peru took a 13-4 lead but the Lady Apaches stayed in the game trailing 31-21 after three quarters. Peru scored the only point of the fourth quarter to hold on for the win.
Kierra Wilson led Wabash with six points, followed by Hannah Layne with five points, Bella Vail with four, and Jade Stumbo, Talia Carrillo, and Kianna Jones with two points each.
Wabash 44, Whitko 20
Wabash had no trouble with Whitko in a 44-20 road win Friday night, Jan. 29.
The Lady Apaches held Whitko to single digits in each quarter taking a 12-3 first quarter lead and cruising the rest of the way.
Wyatt led Wabash with 11 points and nine rebounds, followed by Short with 10 points and eight rebounds, Lutz with 10 points, three steals, and two rebounds, and Davis with six points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
Gunderman had three points, four steals, and two rebounds, followed by Jordan Stumbo with two points and seven rebounds, and Jade Stumbo with two points and three points.
The JV team defeated Whitko 41-15.
Jade Stumbo led the way with 14 points, while Jones had nine points, and Wilson added eight points.
Wabash 66, Maconaquah 53
The Wabash girls basketball team turned a 39-32 halftime deficit into a 66-53 win, outscoring Maconaquah 34-14 in the second of their TRC contest Saturday, Jan. 30.
Wyatt led Wabash with 20 points and 12 rebounds, followed by Short with 19 points, five rebounds, and three blocks, and Gunderman with 10 points, seven rebounds, five steals, and three assists.
Yoakum had nine points, five rebounds, and four steals, followed by Davis with four points, two rebounds, and one assist, Lutz with three points and two assists, and Layne with one point.
The JV team defeated Maconaquah 36-20.
Wilson and Layne each had eight points, while Stumbo added seven points.
Rosemary Lynch of Silver Lake will be celebrating her 90th birthday on March 9.
For the first time in a year, the Woman’s Clubhouse will open up for its regularly scheduled luncheon and program on Tuesday, March 9.
The program will feature Jason Kissel of ACRES Land Trust discussing “The Wildflowers of Wabash.” Emmilee Dewey will provide a special desert for those attending.
“Since we’re starting back up, we’re trying to get momentum back up,” Vice President Ellen Stouffer said.
Although closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, much work has taken place at the Clubhouse.
Work on the back porch has progressed, and brick pillars are scheduled to be laid over steel supports at the back of the building later this spring by Russel Quillen. Tim White has agreed to spray paint the port and stairs later this summer, and
Quality Electric has installed security lights and porch lighting over the winter.
Officials at the Indiana Office of Work-Based Learning and Apprenticeship (OWBLA), along with participating partners, officially recognized seven certified State Earn and Learns (SEALs) at Heartland Career Center at an event on Thursday, Feb. 25.
These SEALs include Diesel Services, Networking/Cyber Security, Criminal Justice, Auto Collison Repair, Industrial Electronics/Robotics, Construction, and Culinary Arts.
SEALs are structured, but flexible, programs that include an education component and on-the-job training component.
SEALS focus on employer needs, with sustainable partnerships and embedded industry certifications.
They can last from weeks to years depending on employer, education, certification, or licensing requirements. They are designed to develop the skills that employers seek and are geared toward both adult and youth populations in any business or industry sector.
