Judge Cindy has a Long History with the Angora

 

 

 

 

Judge Cindy Wickizer has a long history of judging the Angora.  This is a photo of her judging in the 1979 convention; this photo came from Candy's collection as this is before my time.






 Cindy was the ARBA president who awarded me the trophy for Chu's Sweet Sixteen winning the 1992 ARBA Convention Open Best In Show at Columbus, OH.

 



Cindy judged the Angora in the 1991 and 2008 conventions.  This photo was taken when Cindy judged the 2008 convention at Louisville, KY.






Cindy has not been judging as much as in the past but in 2012 she judged the Angora at the WCC at Reno.
 

 



It's so good to see old friends, I had a photo taken with Cindy at the Indy convention.




 

Barbara Baird Remembered



In 1981, I took a young 9-year-old friend Edward to Tilton Ranch in Morgan Hill to look for a pet bunny.   We met Barbara Baird, the matriarch of the ranch.   Edward wanted a smaller rabbit but I fell in love with the French Lop that Barbara raised.   Eventually Edward bought an overweight Netherland Dwarf from a pet store and I bought a French Lop from another breeder who Barbara referred me to.   Though no transaction was done, Barbara and I became friends. 

I switched to English Angora in 1982; though Barbara had never raised any kind of Angora, she became my mentor in solving all sorts of rabbits issues.   When I needed advise, she gave; when I needed a shoulder to cry on, she provided; when I needed a wet nurse to help my bunnies, she loaned; when I needed old newspapers to line my stackable cages, she saved the papers; when she put on Dutch specialty shows at her ranch, Angora specialty shows tagged along.   Christmas time and Thanksgiving, Albert and I were treated like a part of her family; and we would go to shows together in the 80s and 90s...   She also worked as the NCAG show secretary between 1986 to 1990, working our specialty shows though she did not have any Angora.

This picture was taken on Christmas day 2006.   By then Barbara was no longer active in shows but still kept rabbits.  

 

In August 2016, it was Barbara's 89th birthday.   We were invited to her BBQ celebration.   Standing behind Barbara are Bernice and I.  We were all members of the South Valley Rabbit Warren in the 80s and 90s; this club had put on ARBA sanctioned shows and educational programs.

Just received the sad news that Barbara had passed away on December 21, 2017 at 90 years old.   She was kind and generous, lived a long and full life.   Her daughters Sally, Joann and Janet will keep the family tradition of running the 2500-acre cattle ranch in Morgan Hill.

Thank you, Barbara, for all the help and for teaching me so much about rabbits and other matters.


 

 

2017 Convention Revisited: ARBA Banquet

 

 

 

There's a slight break in shows during the holiday time, we'll visit some of the convention scenes.

 

 

At this table, most are related to Angora.    The very left with back to the photo is Matt, then next we could see is Gabe, then Kellyjo, Kellyjo's daughter Cassidy, Joyce, Sandra and Distinguish Award winner Ellen.

 

The other side of the banquet.  

 

The banquet was held in a mid size ballroom.   Though 2017 Indy convention had way more rabbits and exhibitors than the 2016 convention at Del Mar, the size of the banquet was a lot smaller.

 

 

The portion of the turkey is huge.   Most people could not finish it.



 

More Convention Photos, 10 Years Apart

At the 2007 convention, a young man came to the Angora area to visit.  He's a fairly new judge who I met for the first time.   He was in his 20s and he wanted to talk Angora.  

In the 2017 convention, the "young man" came to the Angora area to visit again with his better half and best friend.  He is now the president of ARBA, Josh Humphries, a top judge and known for his excellence in judging all breeds including Angora.    His best friend is judge Jim Rowland and better half Sue Monahan. 



Coming to visit the Angora area in 2007 with Josh was Rusty Westoff, though Rusty had been judging since the early 1990s, we did not see him often in the west coast thus I did not know him then.

Between 2007 and 2017, Rusty has been a familiar name on the judges' lists in the west coast shows.    He visits the Angora area again in the 2017 convention; he is now the chairman of the ARBA board of directors.

Convention Photos, 10 Years Apart

 

 

 

 

In the mid 2000s, digital camera became very common.  I got a little Canon that was very convenient to carry around.   In the 2007 convention, the little camera took a lot of photos that are good memories for today.   In the above photo, Judy from UK and Candy are hanging around the showroom though they do not have any entries.   The 2007 convention was held at Grand Rapids, Michigan.

 

In the 2017 convention, exactly 10 years later, Judy from UK and Candy are hanging around the Indy convention together again.    They still do not have any rabbit entries but Candy is one of the two wool/garment/skein judge.   Between Candy and Judy is Colleen who is in charge of the NARBC booth.

What do you think? Do Candy, Judy and I look 10 years older?




 

Merry Christmas 2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Northern California Angora Guild wishes everyone a

Merry and Hoppy Christmas!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Waiting For Santa

 

 

 

 

 

It's Christmas eve, I'm next to the chimney waiting for Santa and the reindeers to bring me presents.