Patch Hound History

 

1/20/2005: The blue booklet on the left is a new addition to the BEB Archives. The original belongs to Mr. James R. Baker of Del Valle TX, who was kind enough to lend it to us for scanning and posting. He told us that in the late 1960s he wrote to Willet Randall at the Patch kennel in upstate New York. Willet was in his early 90s by then, still working with his dogs (he died in 1970, at age ~95). Jim was interested in buying a 'matched pair' to use for hunting and breeding, so Willet sent him this brochure, dated April 1, 1967. The price for a puppy was $60. Regrettably, Jim never did get to buy the dogs, but he kept the brochure. It's a remarkable document, written by Willet a year or so before the publication of "Wilderness Patchwork", so please do take a look at it. Thanks again, Jim.

In order to view the brochure you will need to have the Flash Player plug-in installed. The brochure file is 649KB, so on a slow line it will take a while to transfer. Click on the blue image above to begin the download.


7/21/2004: The photograph on the right above (click it to see a larger version) comes to BEB by way of John and Sandy Kalinowski in Erie PA.  It was taken in 1920. The 2nd man from the left is John's dad (also John), who went by the nickname 'Pogi'. In faded pencil the men's first names are written on the print - Joe, Pogi, Paul, and Max. John says that Paul's surname was Huzar, but he doesn't know the other two.

John goes on to say that these guys hunted on ground which is now underneath the pavement of downtown Erie. "They used to walk right out of the saloon and start hunting". Now there's some fun.

Not a bad day's take for four guys and a dog.  How many rabbits can you count?  Don't forget the squirrel at the upper right.

Back in 1920 if you had a Patch hound, the man you bought it from was pretty certain to be Willet Randall himself (the blue brochure says that the line was begun in 1896). Unfortunately, John doesn't have the dog's name or any other details, and there's no one still alive to ask. So if you know anybody in Erie Pennsylvania with fathers or grandfathers that hunted rabbits with beagles, ask if they can help us out with the identification! If you'd like to talk to the Kalinowskis, email us here at BEB and we'll help you get in touch with them.