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Old German Owls – Page 30 – Purebred PIGEON
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reed of
the
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ssue
- O
ld
G
erman
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wl
A Baker’s Dozen
NewMembers
By Forrest Malcomb
The Old German Owl Club and the Virginia Pigeon and Dove Asso-
ciation (VPDA) are very pleased to have a ‘baker’s dozen’ new members
from the Busy Bees 4-H Youth Club of Gloucester Virginia. Here’s the
scoop. The VPDA is always on the lookout for new members, particularly
those who are new to pigeons and of course youth are always a priority.
Therefore, we quickly reacted when a member noticed the Facebook post
in October 2019 from someone in the area saying they were just getting
started with pigeons and were looking for Racing Homers and show birds.
I called Angela Pearce to learn more about her needs and it turned
out that she is the sponsor for the Busy Bees Youth 4-H group and they
were just starting with pigeons. Angela and I talked for a long time and it
was soon clear that she and the VPDA shared many of the same thoughts
about the value of getting youngsters involved with pigeons. It’s good for
the kids and good for the pigeon hobby. Among other things, I told her
about the VPDA’s informal mentorship program for those just starting out
in pigeons and offered VPDA’s help to the Busy Bees in any way possible.
When asked which show breeds to consider, OGOs were high on the
list for several reasons. Of course, OGOs are very charming and friendly
pigeons. They come in many different colors and have enough decorative
touches to be interesting. Additionally, they don’t require as much special
attention as some other popular breeds in terms of breeding and show
preparation. Also, since five other VPDA members breed and show OGOs,
the Busy Bees will have plenty of support and friendly competition at the
local level. Lastly, the national level OGO club is a really great group. They
welcome new members with open arms and many of the most successful
breeders willingly share advice and quality birds in an effort to help the
club grow and continue to provide a friendly, competitive environment.
The timing worked out so Angela was able to bring several juniors
to see their first pigeon show in November. I think they had a very good
experience as they watched the judging of over 50 OGOs during this “First
Annual” OGO specialty meet at the VPDA Fall Pigeon show. The Busy
Bees were especially pleased to witness a junior, (Kayleigh Haase, Robert
Dryden’s granddaughter) win one of the show’s 10 color classes. The smile
on Kayleigh’s face when receiving her trophy was really special and well
worth the effort involved in tearing down and cleaning up the show hall.
And, as many of you know, that clean up work can be kinda lonely–so its
good to have something as nice as her reaction to think about.
Thanks to the generosity of several VPDA and OGO club members,
the Busy Bees went home with a pretty good “Pigeon starter set.” This in-
cluded a list of VPDA members to call for advice and mentorship as well as
several nice pair of OGOs and homing pigeons and one year memberships
in the NPA, OGO Club and the VPDA.
There’s plenty to learn about raising and showing pigeons and we
wanted to be sure that the Busy Bees have all the support they need to
get off to a good start. We wanted them to know that they have friends in
the pigeon community and we will be there to help along the way. We’re
currently working with Angela to be sure we have some in-
teresting and informative activities for the Juniors when they
come to the VPDA’s three major events of the year: Summer
Lawn Show; Virginia State Fair Pigeon and Dove Tent; and
the Fall Pigeon and Dove Show in Chester, Virgina.
Angela has some really good ideas and it will be fun
to see her and the kids at our events. Additionally, I expect
they will provide some serious competition down the road
because she has already reached out and obtained a couple
of nice breeding pairs from one of our very successful master
breeders and is currently working on a couple of other top
breeders.
Please come meet the Busy Bees at this year’s VPDA
Fall show on 7 November 2020. We expect to have a really
nice turnout of OGOs. Let’s have some good competition and
make it a great experience for the Juniors. •
Junior Kayleigh Haase receiving the trophy for her color
class win in Old German Owls
Kayleigh is the grand daughter of Robert Dryden who
publishes the newsletter for the OGO club