This kennel business is a hobby that got out of hand. I became interested in retrievers in the early thirties when I learned the hard way that friends’ spaniels and cross bred dogs would not take to the cold water. I raised the first litter of Chesapeakes in 1936 when I was 19 and raised the first litter of Labradors in 1944. My dad ran a general store in Beardsley and hired extra help in the fall so I could go hunting. I know I hunted many long seasons without missing a day. Dad would buy one or two cases of shotgun shells for us to use each fall.

In 1942 I went into the Army. My experience with dogs got me into the army K-9 camp at Ft. Robinson, Nebraska where I spent almost 3 years training army dogs. There I met some top retriever trainers, namely, Cotton Pershall, Lawrence Martens, Billy Wunderlicht, and Roy Wallace. These people got me interested in Labradors.

My messenger dog partner, Preston Mann and I each put in $100 and bought Tops of Bigstone. At that time we were making $37.50/month in the Army so this was a big investment for us. In 1943, $100 was like a $1000 now. My wife, Louise and I raised the first litter of Labradors in 1944 while in the Army.

The picture of Louise and Tops of Bigstone, our first Labrador, was taken in 1944 at Fort Robinson K-9 dog training camp. I sent this picture to a friend who looked into Top's background and here is what he found. Tops of Bigstone breeding was found in 5 generations of pedigrees as follows: 1 NFC-NAFC, 7 NFC's, 5 NAFC's, 2 CNFC's, 5 Dual CH's, 72 FC's, 77 FC-AFC's, 45 AFC's, 26 CFC's or CFC-CAFC's, 90+ CH's (includes Canadian). This list may be incomplete. He says, "I wish I would have had a bloodline like this." I knew this was an important breeding but did not realize it had this strong of an effect on the breed.

We were lucky at Fort Robinson to get to know Cotton Pershall one of the great all-time dog trainers. He helped us get breedings to Field Champion Little Pierre of Deer Creek, FC Marvadel Black Gum and three time National Champion Shed of Arden. Tops was bred to Little Pierre and it was that litter that got us started in the kennel business. Cotton Pershall took one of those pups as a stud fee and bought another one. He made field trial champions out of both: Ladies Day at Deer Creek and Matchmaker of Deer Creek. We kept 3 females and each of them produced at least 1 field trial champion. Every dog from that litter was exceptional as a hunter, in trials, and as producers. Two of the females, Tops and Blackie, lived their entire lives in our home.

After discharge from the Army, Louise and I and young son, Dale moved back to Beardsley. For some years we raised Labs for field trial work but I got discouraged as it meant shipping our females all over the country to be bred to field trial champions. This became so expensive that the ordinary hunter could not afford to buy our pups. Additionally, some litters sired by field champions did not work out as well as those sired by our own stud dogs.

We have advertised in well-known hunting magazines, but are amazed at the number of repeat sales we have to satisfied customers. A lot of sales are also by word of mouth.

After World War II, I worked as a rural mail carrier from 1951 through 1980. During these years, Louise did most of the shipping from Watertown, SD or from Fargo, ND. This was not always an easy job as the weather in Minnesota can be a challenge. Louise passed away in October of 1998 after suffering from Parkinson’s Disease. In addition to helping with all of the kennel duties, my son, Dale ships pups from the Fargo airport.

In April of 1999, I suffered a heart attack and, after surgery, have fully recovered. I continue to enjoy ice fishing, some hunting, and working with the Labs and the kennel business. I enjoy Muskie fishing during the Summer months.