Looking Back With Lee
Click here to read the complete article
Who Will Be The ‘Tellers’?
By Lee Canalizo
The American Indians, Desert Bedouin Chiefs and many others from tribal lands around the world knew it was important to convey their ancestors’ history and heritage to the next generation. The recorded family trees as well as pedigrees of their stock were passed down from one generation to the next. The preservation of this history was the task of “the Tellers”. Early on this information was communicated verbally and later was recorded for posterity in writing. There was no “Google” to fact check something …one sought out the “Elders” who had a story to tell and you were entrusted to pass their story along.
During the past few years the number of “tellers” in our sport has dwindled. The assemblage that passed down their stories from the first generation of the dog sport is now but a few treasured icons. Over the last two weeks, the little sector that is closest to me lost some great hound breeders/owners such as Gloria Reese, Nadine Johnson, and Henry Dietzgen. All had a wealth of knowledge about the history of their respective hound breeds, and some of them were well-versed in many other breeds. The German Shepherd breed said goodbye to Joe Bihari, and the Poodle world shed a tear with Gary Witmeier’s passing. All of these wonderful minds (and sadly many others far too numerous to list) took with them irreplaceable knowledge. Thankfully, all shared much of what they knew with friends close to them.
I read the stories in eulogies written about these icons of the sport; many are shared by close friends of them. I’m not sure that’s where anyone should discover their productive and insightful contributions to the fancy. I deduced that each had special people in their lives that are now the keepers of their stories and some of their wisdom. Some of these oustanding breeders had the insight to preserve their lines, which were developed over decades, by entrusting their great dogs to a select few. Some were incredibly generous within their breed. They helped foster newcomers and armed them with their extraordinary knowledge.
Where is the next generation that will carry this knowledge for those fanciers of the future? I worry about the loss of the history of our sport. Tradition is being replaced with technology.
It still boggles the mind that not so long ago we bred to a dog that was living and within driving distance. We never collected, froze or shipped semen, and God forbid one intentionally had a multiple sired litter which is now deemed acceptable. We accepted the fact that if the male refused the bitch, there was usually a reason. If a sage breeder gave a subtle warning on why not to use a dog, we heeded that advice. Sunny told me that her male, Infashia, produced good bitches. She said keep the best bitch, but what she was really telling me he threw monorchids! These old breeders were very clever and, of course, in the entire dog world there was no better “Story Teller” than “The One and Only” Miss Sunny Shay. She influenced an entire generation with her tales… some so outlandish they had to be real!
So? What does the future hold for the next generation? I have to assume that the internet holds the answer to that question.
I know many Parent Clubs made the investment to record their breed’s history on their website. I think that’s great. Thankfully there are also some marvelous historians that also have outstanding internet skills. (I’m not one of them. You will need to take me to lunch and have a nice chat if you really want to know what I’ve seen and experienced!) In the Afghan Hound breed we have a few devotees that have built incredible resources of information. Much of this is information took years for me to acquire from the “Tellers”. Now it is all there for ones taking. The breed has Steve Tillotson to thank for his amazing records of Aghan Hound history. I urge everyone to view his Afghan Hound Times website at http://afghanhoundtimes.com/stanwork.htm to see what one’s breed could have if there was someone inclined to tell the story.
I hope this article takes you back in time and helps you realize that it might not always be ones’ goal to improve a breed. Sometimes it’s more important to preserve a breed. So say the “tellers”!
Short URL: http://caninechronicle.com/?p=77486
Posted by ralbee
on May 17 2015. Filed under Current Articles, Editorial, Featured.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Comments are closed
