The Kem and Stuff
There’s only one trophy in our house today. All the others have been given away
over the years. The one that’s
here is the punch bowl from The Kem Memorial Sweepstakes. Now it’s no secret that I had the good
fortune to go BB twice at the National and lots of other wins that would seem
noteworthy, but those trophies are all gone. The Kem holds a special place for me and so the trophy
stays. It’s been my pleasure to
win The Kem once and judge it once.
In May of 2016, if all goes well, I’ll judge it again in Indiana.
The Kem was the idea of Gus Sigritz of Cherivale Collies and
supported by several mid-western Collie clubs which have now dwindled to
two. It was a tribute to the
Lodestone Collies founded by Fred Kem, his wife, Madge, and continued by their
son, Oren. This Kennel was rare in
that while they did not exhibit their dogs were behind many top winners and
producers. The Kems were farm people
and many of their dogs could work stock.
They did not suffer either poor doers or bad temperaments. The list of top kennels that used
Lodestone included Noranda, Cainbrooke, Cherrivale, Parader, Honeybrook and
many others. Fred Kem and later
son Oren contributed great columns filled with wisdom from true breeders.
The year I won the Kem it was held in Cleveland and the
judge was Ed Myers. The bitch was
Highground The African Queen sired by Ch. Gingeor’s Indelibly Blue and bred by
my friend Pat Welle. I had judged
“Keno” at a match and after giving her Best in Match tried to buy her. She was a jet black tricolor with the
best of eyes, ears, and muzzle and a natural shower. Pat wouldn’t sell, but agreed to a co-ownership since she
was unable to get the bitch out to the shows. We agreed that anything she won would go to Pat except the
Kem bowl if we won it. That very
special trophy was important to me.
Keno was in the last class, which was 9-12 puppy bitches and
we were at the end of the ring away from the judge’s table. When Ed Myers turned from the table and
started around the ring she locked onto him and followed him all the way to
us. Ed was grinning when he got to
us and looked down at the bitch, then up at me and said, with a chuckle, “That’s
a fair farm Collie you’ve got there!” Have you even felt you had a show won? After seeing his face, the comment and
the way Keno was showing I started to think where to put the trophy when I got
home. Over the years of showing
dogs you can often be surprised by either a loss or a win, but that one I
knew. It’s too bad the Kem doesn’t
enjoy its former support, because it’s a special event that pays tribute to a
special family and their dogs.
I understand the CC of A is in the process of making some
change to conform to requirements for a non-profit group licensed in New
York. While I don’t understand all
the implications its long been my thought that our organization is very
unwieldy and could use some streamlining.
If we had a vice-president in each of our zones they could get input
from their respective areas and take some work off the president. The office of CC of A president can be
a nightmare and we’ve all seen good folks attacked for their efforts in that
position. Years ago I was asked to
accept the nomination to run for president. It gave me a laugh.
I’m not politically correct enough to be in politics.
We are in one area of the country getting ample
rainfall. It’s green here in
Michigan and my grass grows like crazy.
Mowing over three acres is a chore so the dinosaur is fairly quiet. I’m sure some folks are thankful for that. With some areas in drought and others
with floods, I suppose we have little to complain of by comparison.
I was thinking the other day bout how much I think our
tricolors are not appreciated.
Probably the first color found in breed it was rumored that sables came
about through a cross with an Irish Setter type dog. Likewise was a rumor about a cross to the Borzoi or Russian
Wolfhound to refine and lengthen the short broad heads that Collies had
originally. A dinosaur can remember
faults that would make these rumors seem plausible though today they are no
longer evident.
Though color is not of any consequence in the standard
between sable, tri, blue and white, the tricolor is extremely useful. Though most choose not to breed two
tris together, it creates no issues.
Tricolors do a fine job of putting masks on sables without needing
makeup. Bred to blues you get a
nice mixture of blues and tris.
Bred to whites you can enjoy white factored in whatever color is
indicated by the white parent. Now
this is a genetic simplification, but dinosaurs know that genetics aren’t
always simple. Steve Field used to
talk about limited dominance and things that make you scratch your head. Don’t forget that whatever the color
you need a good dog. That’s
obviously the most important.
Think about it!
