Tucked off Elliot Street east of Walnut is an old home flanked by two inspiring fir trees. It’s the former residence of a man long since gone who provided our family with honey for decades.

Now, we have to find a new supplier for Lienert’s Honey. It’s a symbol that time brings change.

Let me take you back to the late 1980s when I learned about Frank Lienert, who lived in this old house with his wife. Frank had his own beehives located somewhere in Yolo County and would regularly collect the honey and process it in a backyard shed.

His wife managed the quarter-acre family vegetable garden next door.

After doing a story, Frank presented me with a small jar of his honey, neatly labeled in red and yellow. It stated, “Lienert’s 100% Pure Natural Honey, uncooked, just as the bees made it, unfiltered, U.S. Fancy Grade.”

My wife liked the honey so much that when we ran out, she sent me back for more. When I asked Frank for a larger container, he presented me with a 12-pound monster filled with Star Thistle honey. The cost: $15. He even threw in some honey sticks for our young daughter.

As you might imagine, it took time to consume 12 pounds of honey. So, every few months I would show up at Frank’s doorstep and buy more honey. Often, I would have to interrupt Frank, who was sitting in his easy chair watching a football or baseball game and smoking a cigar.

After a few years, Frank’s wife died and he eventually sold the home and the garden plot. However, Frank Lienert Jr., kept the business going from his home in Sacramento. That meant driving to the Sacramento Farmer’s Market every few months, but no problem.

I’m not disparaging other local honey providers in any way. I have no idea where Lienert’s hives are located, they may not even be local, but the regular “honey run” was also fun.

We moved from Woodland to Ukiah for four years when I became editor of The Ukiah Daily Journal. But when our family returned in 1994, we went right back to buying Lienert’s Honey.

The price for that 12-pound jar of honey kept rising. The last time we bought 12 pounds, it cost $70 ($69 when we returned the jar and got a dollar back).

Frank Lienert Jr., developed health problems over the years and gradually his son-in-law took over the business. Frank Lienert Jr., died relatively recently, but my daughter and I still traveled to Sacramento to get Lienert’s Honey — although we don’t need to stock up as often since there are only two of us now.

A couple of weeks back we made our pilgrimage to the Sacramento Farmer’s Market and Lienert’s Honey booth was gone. Fortunately, I recognized a former worker and asked what happened. He said, the business had shut down, but that Frank Lienert Jr.’s daughter was now with Becker Honey, a company that’s been around since 1920.

We found the Becker booth nearby and decided to try some thistle honey. But they only carry 6-pound jars. We bought one for $48 and will try it as soon as our Lienert’s honey is gone.

Habits are funny. They can be good. They can be bad. They can be harmless. Our family’s “honey habit” is probably a combination of all three. And breaking habits can be hard.

Jim Smith is the former editor of The Daily Democrat, retiring in 2021 after a 27-year career at the paper.