About Our Company

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Golden Rule Honey was co-founded in Leominster, Massachusetts, in 2008 by Laurie (aka Ramona, aka me) Herboldsheimer, and Dean Stiglitz. Leominster has the unique distinction of being both the birthplace of our American folk hero, Johnny Appleseed, and the iconic pink plastic lawn flamingo!

My adventures with Dean and our explorations in treatment-free beekeeping started in 2001 and eventually led us to small scale commercial beekeepers who were producing honey from bees that were kept without the use of any chemical treatments or antibiotics and minimal use of artificial feeds. Each of the honeys that Golden Rule Honey offers represent a different geographical area that produces different plants with unique nectars, thus uniquely tasting and textured honeys. We are honored to be able to bring you the highest quality most delicious honeys available, while substantially rewarding our suppliers for all their efforts and work as treatment-free beekeepers.

Dean and I established and ran the Northeast Treatment-Free Beekeeping Conferences from 2009-2013 in Massachusetts, and also presented at various conferences, bee clubs, and workshops throughout the country about treatment-free beekeeping and the importance of microbial ecology. See article that Kirk Webster wrote about our Northeast Treatment-Free Beekeeping Conference by clicking here.

We also wrote The Complete Idiot's Guide to Beekeeping, published in 2010, and are cited in Bill McKibben's acclaimed book, "Oil and Honey" as the first honey packagers to offer small scale treatment-free beekeepers (such as Kirk Webster) enough money to keep their operations running sustainably.

In 2018, I became the sole owner of Golden Rule Honey.