Will your kids hate you after you’ve gone? An article in the AARP magazine suggested your children might not think kindly of you after you’ve tripped over the rainbow bridge if you leave them with a hellacious mess of odds and ends. That worries me. I’ll readily admit I’m a pack rat. And I hate to think of saddling my son with my copious collection of collectibles. Most numerous of all the items I’ve saved are the books and canine magazines. Looking around, I’m faced with five overflowing book cases. And that’s just in my bedroom. There are four more in my den and a few others here and there.
It seemed like the best place to start was with the magazines, some of which date back to the 1970s. In the midst of purging the collection, I happened up a long-forgotten assortment of The Bearded Collie magazine. Published from February 1978 through January 1982, the independent publication was published by Joan Surber of Woodside, California. Later issues listed California Beardie enthusiasts, Mary Edner and Cathi Cline, as co-editors. The 5-1/2” by 8-1/2” format usually averaged about 50 pages and was published bi-monthly.
At that time, the only other Beardie publication in the States was the BCCA’s Beardie Bulletin so owners of the breed welcomed more reading material about our furry friends. Somewhat surprising was the fact so many enthusiasts supported The Bearded Collie with ads and by contributing articles. The first edition featured Ch. (Am & Can) Brambledale Blue Bonnet CD on the cover and started off with an article about Beardie great, Ch. Osmart Bonnie Blue Braid by Jennie Osborne, his breeder. Believe it not, nobody wanted him as a pup. They claimed he was untypical. Wondering what to do with him, Jennie decided to give him to her daughter, Catherine, as a birthday present. But first, she wanted to take a chance and show him. The rest is history.
Other articles included Finishing Your First Beardie Champion by Anne Dolan, Where Do We Go From Here by Barbara Roark, The Old Type Beardie by Pat Kaub, The Behavin’ Beardie by Catherine Cline, My First Show Dog by Lorella Warren, Carousel of Colors by Carol Lang, Notes From Australia by Keith Higgins, The Breeder’s Edge by Barbara Reieseberg, Hip Dysplasia by Ruth Tompkins, The British Show Scene by Joyce Collis and News From Canada by Carol Gold. Obviously plenty of things to read on a variety of subjects. Looking at many of the ads, it appears that both grooming the Beardie and the art of photographing them had a long way to go at that stage.
Thumbing through following issues, lots of noteworthy items appeared: an ad for Ha’Penny Moon Shadow taking Best of Breed from the Puppy Class over specials at the Hunterdon Hill K.C., the start of an illustrious career. That same issue, November 1981, featured Moon Shadow’s sire, Eng. & Am. Ch. Chauntelle Limelight on the cover while the results of the National Specialty listed Limelight as BOS to Blue Blossom, his dam. Fun fact – Dick Schneider, importer of Limelight, also hosted a visit for his breeder and suggested her to the Bearded Collie Club of Canada as the sweepstakes judge for its specialty. At a speech and Q and A session after the sweeps, the breeder admitted she didn’t really know much about the breed since Limelight came from the first litter she ever bred.
The September 1981 issue relates the amazing story of Molly, a Beardie frightened by fireworks on the Fourth of July and disappeared for two months. September 4th saw a telephone repairman called to a house across the street from Molly’s home. Crawling under the house, he found Molly, her leash tightly wound around some pipes. She had been without food or water for two months but somehow the moisture from the flooring and pipes near her had been enough to keep her alive. She was cut loose and taken to a veterinarian to be rehydrated. It wasn’t long before she bounced back to being happy self again. Such stamina!
The April 1978 issue listed a thought-provoking article that delved into the problem of fading pigmentation. A 1980 edition celebrated the accomplishments of Ch. OTCh Windcache A Briery Bess UD, the first Breed and Obedience champion in the history of the breed with help from her owner Barbara Prescott. And in the June 1978 issue, breed pioneer Carol Gold explained the inheritance of Beardie coat color in clear and concise fashion. In June 1981, famed judge Tom Horner warned against over angulation with the words, “The earliest stock breeders learned to their cost that a desirable quality exaggerated beyond utility becomes a fault.” And in an issue that does not have a date listed anywhere, J. Richard Schneider supplied some Murphy’s Laws as applied to Beardies. A few are: Genes carrying faults tend to be dominant. In any given litter, the tendency toward hip dysplasia will be greatest among the most attractive pups. The possibility of rain the day before a dog show is 100%. The judge will only ask you to move your dog coincident with large bursts of applause from the Afghan ring.
So there you have it. Lots of fun reading from days long past. I really hate to trash them. Maybe that’s why I’m a pack rat. Maybe I can find them a good home. –alice bixler, alice@bedlamkennels.com., Bearded Collie Club of America.
