Aces of Trades: Lewis brothers doing sweet at Bainbridge's Pap’s Hilltop Honey
BAINBRIDGE – They’re two brothers who learned to combine their talents.
“I was normally the ‘good kid’ in our family,” said Chris Lewis. “I was pretty quiet, and then got involved in music and acting during my junior/senior years of high school.”
“Marc was definitely the wild child in our tribe,” Chris laughed. “He was a popular kid in school. He was ornery and a lot of fun to be around. He’s also a hard worker who has done well over the years.”
Today Marc Lewis is a maintenance supervisor at a company in Leesburg. Chris owns an accounting firm in Hillsboro.
Together they own Pap’s Hilltop Honey in Bainbridge. It all started because when they were kids, their grandfather had bees on his farm in southeast Kentucky.
“Our uncle continued to raise bees on the Kentucky farm,” Chris recalled. “Marc and I are third generation beekeepers. We started Pap’s Hilltop Honey in 2007.”
“Pap’s Hilltop Honey was actually started as a tribute to our father,” he added. “Marc and I were reminiscing about our childhood in the spring of 2007 and decided to formalize a business as a way to memorialize our father. A lot of people come up to us during a farmers’ market or show to ask which of us is ‘Pap.’ The correct answer is neither. We lost our father Joe Lewis in 2007 after a long battle with cancer. He was a popular guy in our neighborhood. Everyone called him Pap.”
Still, Marc added, “When we got into our beekeeping adventure, I would have sworn that would have never happened. As kids, we were told to stay away from grandpa's bees because they would eat us up. After our dad passed away, we talked to our uncle, who lived on the family farm, about bees and from that point on we were hooked. We went from 3 hives the first year, to well over 100 the next few years.”
The brothers, now 58 and 55, grew up in Hillsboro and both graduated from Hillsboro High School – Chris in 1982 and Marc in 1985. Chris went on to earn a degree in accounting from Southern State Community College in 1985, then a bachelor’s in accounting and pre-law from Ohio University in 1990.
“We don’t operate Pap’s Hilltop Honey strictly for the money,” Chris said. “We feel it’s important to keep beekeeping alive. The honeybee is an integral part of our environment. Nothing survives if we lose the bees and their ability to pollinate. We’ve seen a lot of old beekeepers pass on. We’re hopeful we can help and inspire some of the younger generation to get involved in beekeeping.”
They’re also getting involved in Pap’s Hilltop Distillery.
“Our family is from southeast Kentucky near Harlan County,” Chris noted, “and moonshining has probably been in our family much longer than beekeeping! It’s something we were always interested in trying. We’re currently spending our time producing liquor and testing different recipes. We hope to begin rolling out different products this summer!”
“We take as much pride in the quality of our shine as we do the quality of our honey,” Marc added.
“I don’t think either of us envisioned ourselves owning a small business,” Chris concluded. “But looking back, I think we’re both pleased with where life’s path has taken us. We’ve had a lot of adventures over the years. We work hard but we also play hard. It’s every parent’s wish their kids do better in life. I think we’ve accomplished that.”
For more
Pap’s Hilltop Honey is located at117 East Main Street in Bainbridge. For more information, log on www.papshilltophoney.com
Aces of Trades is a weekly series focusing on people and their jobs – whether they’re unusual jobs, fun jobs or people who take ordinary jobs and make them extraordinary. If you have a suggestion for a future profile, let us know at gaznews@nncogannett.com or 740-349-1110.
This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: Aces: Lewis brothers doing sweet at Bainbridge's Pap’s Hilltop Honey
