Good friend and fellow flyer Dan Welch passed away on the morning of Jan 25th. Not only did we lose an excellent pigeon flyer, we lost one of the best one-loft races in this country. The SHASTA CLASSIC was owned and operated by Dan and wife Linda for the last nine years and most of the top one-loft flyers in the country flew birds with Dan. He and the Classic will be missed.
My first hatch has received shots, been fledged and awaiting delivery to various selected one-loft races after the final grading. I have added four more lofts this year. My two primary lofts are now the Sierra Classic and the Southern Belle which I have no problem recommending. If you had perches with the Shasta Classic, you might want to do a little research on the Hoosier Classic, which was one of Dan’s favorites and readily recommended by him. I took his advice and that race is now one I am sending birds to. CAUTION: Several of the more popular races are filling fast with the loss of the Shasta Classic.
This year I have bred for a longer range bird by crossing some of my Alex Bieche birds in with my well proven short distance Alias-Alias birds. I will also enter some straight Bieche birds that have done well for me in the distance races at the club level. Only time will tell if I made the right pairings this year.
Life is short but made much more enjoyable when you have pigeons to race.
Wayne Klein wayne_k_546@yahoo.com
Churn Creek Loft