NEW PORTLAND – Doing what he loved, a man known as the “beekeeper” died last month while tending his hives.

Emery Hall, 84, took a swarm of bees and turned them into hives scattered around Franklin and Somerset counties over the past 60 years.

While lumbering in his 20s, Hall brought a log out of the woods with a swarm of bees under the bark, starting his apiary interest back in 1943, his sister, Laura Dunham of Kingfield, said Thursday.

A story written about him in 1998, she said, told of his 75 swarms of bees at that time and how he soon became known locally as the beekeeper.

He sold hives for $35 then and collected honey and sold it from his house on Route 16 for years, she added.

Last week, 77 hives were found at seven locations and were checked by state apiarist and bee inspector Tony Jadczak, from the Maine Department of Agriculture, and Matthew Frost of Strong. Some of the bees were not able to be recovered so they combined what was left into 48 hives, Jadczak said Thursday.

Frost purchased 30 hives along with the equipment.

It is believed that Hall would still serve as caretaker of some hives after he sold them to other people.

So, there may be other hives in the area, and the family has requested a call from anyone with Hall’s bees on their land, she said. They may contact Pete Louiselle at 628-5223.

“If they are not fed within the next week of two, they may not survive as they are starving,” Dunham said.

That’s something all beekeepers are facing right now, Jadczak said.

Dry conditions since July means that many hives are light on winter stores.

A lot of flowers had large vibrant blooms this year but because of the dryness, they didn’t have the juice the bees need, he said. Halls’ hives wouldn’t have seen Christmas, he added.

Jadczak said he and other beekeepers have been feeding their hives at a higher percentage than what’s been needed in the past 24 years.

“Hopefully, feeding over the first three weeks of October will reduce winter mortality as it looks like a tough winter for them. The golden rod, aster and bamboo this year left the bees with a lack of winter stores,” he said.

An early summer crop of honey looked like a record year, he said, but the dryness has resulted in a lack of fall honey crops and with a nice fall, the bees are eating more.

While tending the social insects, the hives created a social hobby for Hall also. He had a daily routine, Dunham said, as every morning he would go to the Kingfield Woodsman for coffee then go check his bees. Then, before the diner on Route 27 closed, he’d stopped for coffee and then go tend some more bees, she said. He’d also stop at a friend’s house for coffee, she said, before arriving home around 1 p.m.

“I don’t think he even liked coffee,” she said.

“The day of his funeral was a beautiful day,” she said. “During the service, with about 200 people attending, a honey bee came in and buzzed around everyone’s head making it perfect,” she added.

Hall will be remembered for not only his hobby but also for the buildings he constructed in the area, she said, such as Ayotte’s Store, the Capricorn Lodge (now the Ski Academy), the Poplar Stream Development, many private homes in the Redington East and Redington North Development, homes in North Anson and camps on Embden and Hancock Pond.

He also served on the New Portland Planning Board for more than 20 years and was the first to retire from Sugarloaf Mountain Corp. after 16 years employment, she said.