The Secret Samaritans
Images by Terrell Manasco“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” -Matthew 6: 2-3 ESVOn a sunny October afternoon, Sonny Bennett strolls through his back yard toward a a large tan, metal building behind his Curry home. To the right of the entrance hangs a large sign with the words Bzz Honey House painted in bright yellow lettering on a black background. Dressed in jeans and a cobalt blue shirt matching the color of the brilliant autumn sky, he swings the door open and steps inside, making his way across the concrete floor to a small table, where he slides into a chair beside his wife Brenda. To his right, five various sized glass jars filled with raw honey are lined up on a window sill like boot camp recruits, each container pierced by blades of afternoon sunlight, rendering its light brown colored contents a soft golden amber hue.
Sonny Bennett was born on July 20, 1945, just before the end of World War II. The only son of a farmer, Sonny and his three sisters grew up in the 1940s-50s in the small community of Curry, Alabama. “There wasn't a lot of inside plumbing,” Sonny remembers. “Everybody had a milk cow. My daddy farmed with a team of horses, and grew cotton and corn. He got his first tractor in 1952. He farmed in the summertime and cut logs in the winter with a crosscut saw.”While some of his fellow Curry High classmates practiced sports after school, Sonny helped his father work on the farm until he graduated in 1963. He and Brenda began dating during his days at Walker College. “We were in high school together,” Brenda adds. “I was actually two years behind him in school.”They exchanged vows on July 30 1965, the summer after Brenda graduated high school. After briefly living in Birmingham, they moved back to Curry in 1966. Their daughter Angie was born that July, in a time where local jobs were scarce. “There were not a lot of jobs here,” Sonny says. “We were involved in farming operations, we had cattle, just trying to make a living.”For several years the Bennetts eked out a living by farming and side jobs. Then one day Sonny’s path suddenly changed directions. “On Feb 13, 1977, I confessed a call to the gospel ministry,” Sonny says. “I began pastoral work with some churches in Winston and Walker County. I really enjoyed that part. I had the opportunity serve a lot of great people.”In 2000, Sonny became a full-time minister while at Philadelphia Baptist Church, then later at Pisgah Baptist Church in Sipsey. “The Lord just opened up an opportunity for us to work through Sipsey Jr. High School,” he says. “We discovered that a lot of children did not have the home life we did with both parents in the home. There were a lot of needs, not only physical like clothes, coats, shoes, and school supplies, but also spiritual needs. We really got our feet on the ground working with children there, and it was such a joy.”
In Jan 2007, Sonny accepted a call from Farmstead Baptist Church to be their children’s minister. During that time he also became involved with Farmstead Junior High School. “There again, we found many children with not only the same physical needs, but they also needed food,” he says. “A lot of children nowadays get two free meals at school, breakfast and lunch, but the evening meal, they may or may not get much. Brenda and I were always used to having plenty of food [growing up]. We began talking with the cafeteria managers and found out that a lot of these children come in on Monday morning and they are so hungry. They haven’t had a lot to eat during the weekend.”After meeting with the Farmstead School principal, and upon approval of Farmstead Baptist Church, Sonny and Brenda felt the need to begin a ministry at the school. With help from five teachers at the school, they began after school tutoring classes. They also created First Priority, a program in which student voluntarily meet on Wednesday mornings for Bible study and prayer before classes begin. Later, through the church, they began the Food Pack ministry, providing food each Friday for children during the weekends.In 2011, they retired after twenty-eight years of active ministry, but it wasn’t long until they were active again. “We visited West Jasper School to see if there were needs that we might help with,” Sonny explains. “After talking with the principal there, we felt led to begin a children’s ministry similar to that at Farmstead. We talked with Brother Jerry Boyd about using his facility at Maranatha for after school and he graciously agreed.”They are still providing all three ministries for the children at West Jasper School: After School, with the help of five West Jasper teachers, and the use of facilities at Westside Baptist Church; First Priority each Wednesday morning; and Food Packs. Each Pack contains three microwavable entrees, like ravioli or macaroni and cheese, as well as a juice cup, dry cereal or oatmeal, cookies, chips, Pop-Tarts or other items. “We are doing about thirty-six packs a week,” Brenda says.
One primary goal of the Food Pack program is anonymity. “The kids don’t know who brings the Food Packs,” Sonny affirms. “We don’t know the kids that get them and we don’t want to know. We just want to supply the need. That is our main goal. I praise God that, with help from private financial supporters, we are able to provide these children with food and other needs. We just can’t stand the thought of these children going hungry. That’s something we’re not gonna let happen, if we know about it.”When he’s not delivering food to the school, Sonny has another passion which keeps him busy as a bee, and is the reason for the jars on the shelf. “My father was a beekeeper, so I’ve followed in his footsteps,” he says. “Beekeeping is a lot of fun, getting to see how the bees work, understanding how the bee colony functions. The queen bee lays all the eggs. There’s the worker bees that gather all the nectar. They are unfertilized females and they are the ones that sting. Then there are the drone bees. They are the males and their only function is to fertilize a virgin queen.”
Inside this building, called Bzz’s Honey House, the Bennetts process around one hundred seventy-five gallons of honey each year. Bear in mind there is a narrow window for gathering the honey nectar. “The nectar flow starts around March 20th and is usually over by June 1st,” Sonny says.Second, only fifty percent of the colonies can be expected to make honey. Third, they must factor in the annual forty-four per cent average loss of hives, due to cold winters, herbicides, and varroa mites. “If you’ve got fifty hives, you're going to lose about twenty,” Brenda says.
The work itself is also hard on the beekeeper. “It’s very hot and very strenuous. You have to have a strong back and mind,” Sonny says.Despite all the challenges, Sonny says he considers it a joy, a sentiment apparently shared by their local customers. “There is such a tremendous market for local raw honey, most of our honey is sold before we ever take it all. We are so blessed,” Sonny says.Perhaps raw honey might someday even be included with the Food Packs.Only the Secret Samaritans know for sure. And they’re not telling. 78