MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — Sept. 27, 2025 marked one year since Helen tore through western North Carolina, leaving behind the destruction of homes, roads and even honeybee colonies that helped keep local farms alive.
For beekeepers like Michael Entrekin, watching the loss from Mecklenburg County was devastating. “For farmers and beekeepers, losing hives is like a cattle rancher losing his herd,” he said.
Entrekin took on beekeeping as a personal project during the pandemic and quickly got involved in the community as vice president of the Mecklenburg County Beekeepers Association…