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SUSAN ATHERTON, APRIL CLYDE, GAY DUNLAP, JEAN HEATH, LYDIA COLEMAN HUTCHINSON, PATTY KEENAN, MICHAEL LYNCH, BARBARA MILLER, SUSAN RODGERS, LISA SONS, BETTY-ANNE STENMARK, NODIE WILLIAMS & AMY RUTHERFORD
GAY DUNLAP In order to explain the importance of October 7, 1973, I must backtrack a bit. Hardly new to the world of dogs, I had a few Poodles early on and in the mid-to-late 60s bred and exhibited Yorkshire Terriers on a small scale. My intro- duction to the Terrier group came in 1970 when I bought a Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier puppy bitch, Innisfree’s Annie Sullivan. I jumped in with both feet, becoming immersed at all levels, including the breed’s parent club, and was subse- quently invited to serve on its board. The primary goal for most of us at that time was to achieve AKC breed recognition. I say most because there were some holdouts: a few of the “old guard” worried the breed would become overly popu- lar, be overbred, all to its ruination and culminating in its demise. But we were a determined and tenacious bunch. We were a competitive lot, too. Our numbers included Barbara Miller (of Norfolk fame!), Jackie and Cindy Gottlieb (Vogels), Carol Carlson, Sue Goldberg, Marjorie Shoemaker and Emily Holden; there were others but I’ve limited the list to those still involved. We were also adept promoters, designing a charming bro- chure to aid in convincing pet owners that they couldn’t live without a Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier. It was not a hard sell given the breeds’ moderate size, tractable nature and the fact that it didn’t shed. Our claim on the back of the brochure was: “No smell, no shed, no yap!” The perseverance paid off with AKC granting breed rec- ognition commencing October 3, 1973, in time for my very first Montgomery. But this was not my first—it was our first! We were there in force, beginning with the Hatboro show on Friday and continuing through until Monday (the club with a name I can’t recall, one no longer in existence). Admittedly, we were barely dry behind the ears and willing to acknowl- edge that we were the blind leading the blind! Primarily an owner-handled breed, things ramped up for the weekend. Jack Simm showed Barbara Miller’s homebred bitch, Max- well’s Star of Capricorn. Peter Green was hired to show Carol “OUR CLAIM ON THE BACK OF THE BROCHURE WAS: “NO SMELL, NO SHED, NO YAP!”
Carlson and Emily Holden’s Irish champion import, Benmul Belma, and I had, somewhat earlier, hired Roberta Campbell to show my “Annie Sullivan”. Then, Jackie Gottlieb decided that, perhaps, she should hire a handler as well, resulting in Cliff Hallmark showing her Stephen Dedalus of Andover. The larger-than-life Mr. Kendrick was our judge at Hatboro on Fri- day and he seemed quite confounded to find Jackie missing from the ring. “Where is that nice Mrs. Gottlieb?” He asked an exhibitor. It’s not hard to imagine how results might have been altered had Jackie been in the ring that day! With this our first opportunity for championship points, we had no specials’ class, so that BOW was automatically BOB. As the weekend played out, an owner-handled dog, Abby’s Postage Dhu O’Waterford, shown by Marjorie Shoemaker, became our breed’s first champion, capturing three five-point majors out of the four shows. As for me, my foundation bitch, Innisfree’s Annie Sulli- van, was BOW and Best of Breed under Judge John Hillman on Sunday at Montgomery, a never-to-be-forgotten moment! Annie and Belma (the Irish import bitch) split the weekend’s points in bitches, each walking away with two five-point majors. Both finished a couple of weeks later and Stephen Dedalus gained his championship title in December. Since that weekend 44 years ago, I have missed but one Montgomery, in 1994 following the tragic death of my hus- band in a plane crash a few months prior. It’s impossible to imagine missing another one. I hold dear the memories of our first MCKC and the friendships that have endured down through the years. Thank you for the opportunity to live them once again! JEAN HEATH I have TWO first Montgomery Counties. The first was in 1957. I was stationed at the Naval Hospital, Philadelphia and lived in a little town southwest of the city and hospital. After purchasing my first Purebred dog, a Miniature Schnauzer, from Herman and Vivian Hayes, in Chalfont, Pennsylvania, I learned about a big Terrier show north of Philadelphia where I could see more Miniature Schnauzers. Even though it was pouring down rain, I started driving to the show, which was being held in the country on the G. Harrison Frazier Estate north of Philadelphia. On the way to the show I got lost sev- eral times due to the poor visibility and poor road signs. By the time I arrived at the show grounds it was late afternoon and still pouring. When I walked onto the grounds I saw a table under a tent and several nice appearing friendly ladies. I asked for directions to the place where Miniature Schnauzers were being shown and they told me that they had already
202 • S how S ight M agazine , S eptember 2017
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