B3 -- Photo contributed by Don Dunkle

 

 


Granddad with (which dog? anybody know?).  I had forgotten the fine conformity of some of the animals he trained.  They must have come from noble lines.  I wonder if they had Elhew blood -- the famous canine dynasty from upstate New York whose genes have dominated the sport for generations.  Elhew is a backwards spelling of Wehle, the name of the family who originated and developed the line.

(According to a book on bird dogs that I read many years ago, the Wehles were the family behind Genesee beer.  "Jenny," as the locals call it, is popular on Pine Creek.  But the only beer I ever saw Granddad drink was Rolling Rock, out of 7-ounce "pony" bottles.  He did this rarely and discreetly: Grandma was a charter member of the local Women's Christian Temperance Union.  She was not particularly zealous about it, however.  She occasionally quoted the WCTU dictum, "Lips that touch liquor shall never touch mine" -- but always in jest.)

"I can’t remember the name of the dog in this picture," says Uncle Don, "but the gun Dad is holding is of historical significance.  It's a Winfield Scott 12-gauge with damascus barrels.  Dad said it was the first series of hammerless 12-gauges Winfield Scott ever made."

If I remember rightly, the front sight of this antique was a pearl.  When firing the gun, Granddad used specially loaded, low-power shells, to avoid damaging the barrels.  Damascus steel (I hope this is correct) was made by weaving fine wire into a tube, and then fusing it in a furnace.  Nowadays, of course, gun barrels are turned and bored from solid steel rods, and are much stronger. 

This picture was probably taken in late July or early August, as the dog is surrounded by the sudsy blooms of Queen Anne's lace.

-- Terry

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