drc news june 2009, 65th anniversary edition

The Dominion

Roller Canary News

~ Roller Canary ~ Bred for Song ~

June 200965th Anniversary Edition

Published by the Dominion Roller Canary Association Inc., 1934

Composed of affiliated Roller Canary Clubs of Canada

The DRC News is published in Canada four times per year. The intention is to advance, protect, andencourage the breeding and showing of Roller Canaries. The “News” is the main source ofinformation for Roller Canary enthusiasts. Opinions expressed in DRC News, might not alwaysreflect the spirit of the Dominion Roller Canary Association, its constitution, or its’ Executive.

~ DRC News Contact ~

DRC News Editor & Producer Kent Donnelly ~ 2009

~ DRC News Website ~ http://members.shaw.ca/drca/

Canada

The Dominion Roller Canary News 65th Year 1944 - 2009

The Dominion Roller Canary Association Executive

President,Sec./Treas./Editor

Kent Donnelly, 35244 McKee Road., Abbotsford, Can., V2P6K6Email: [email protected] (604) 557-1866

Eastern Vice-President

Fulvio C.DiStasio, 235 Westridge Drive, P.O. Box 639, Kleinburg, OntarioCanada L0J1C0 Email: [email protected] (905) 893-0367

Western Vice-President

Joe Pietrobon, 4468 Wildwood Cr., Burnaby, B.C., Canada V5G 2M5,Email: [email protected] (604) 435-7063

DRCA RingSecretary

Peter Jaehrling, RR4, Picton, Ontario, Can., K0K 2T0Email:[email protected] (613) 476-2553

DRC News EditorProducer/Webmaster

Kent Donnelly, 35244 McKee Road., Abbotsford, Can., V2P6K6Email: [email protected] (604) 557-1866

The DRCA Member Clubs and their Executive

Hamilton RollerCanary Club

President: Anton Schlott, RR3, 2049 - 4th Ave St., Catherines, Ontario,Can. L2R 6P9, [email protected] (905) 685-0638

Sec./Treas.: Peter Jaehrling, RR4, Picton, Ontario, CanadaK0K 2T0, Email: [email protected] (613) 476-2553

Vancouver RollerCanary Society

President: Kent Donnelly,35244 McKee Road., Abbotsford, Can., V2S6K6(604) 557-1866 [email protected]

Vice-President: Marvin Haynes, Unit 41, 3096 South Main St.,Penticton, B.C., Canada V2A 8C3 (250) 493-3103

Sec./Treas.: Joe Pietrobon, 4468 Wildwood Cr., Burnaby, B.C., CanadaV5G 2M5, Email: [email protected] (604) 435-7063

Club de CanarisHarz du Québec

Montréal

President: Humida Bouharira,860,rue Ponsard, Brossard Quebec,J4W 1W2, [email protected] Tel (514) 969-4818

Website: http://www.canariharz.comVice-President / Secretary Treasurer: Rachid Benaissa 5965, Honoré-Mercier, St-Léonard, Qc, H1P 1C1 tél: 514-830-9578

Canary NobleRoller Club of

Quebec

Président: Rejean Charland [email protected] Marie Victorin, Desshaillon-sur, St Laurent, QC G0S 1G0

Vice - President: Marcel St-Arnaud, phone (819) 377 9917Secretary/Treasurer: Richard Verret, phone (418) 527 7549

Trois RivièresGerman RollerCanary Club

Pending : ~ (Contacts ~ Réjean Lesage & Ron Vrolyk)[email protected]

*Note: Material produced for the DRC News cannot be copied or reproduced without written permission from the Dominion RollerCanary News Executive. Please Report any changes or correction to your contact information 1 month prior to publication.

DRC News Subscription FormNew Subscription Renewal

CANADA $ 25.00 (CDN) U.S.A. $ 25.00 (U.S.) All Other Countries $30.00 (U.S.)

Name…………………………………………Address…………………………………………………………….

Country………………………… Amount enclosed $................... $U.S. $CDN. # Year(s)Please make your Cheque “payable to the DRCA”, c/o Kent Donnelly, DRC News Editor, subscription35244 McKee Road., Abbotsford, Canada, V2S6K6 Phone (604) 557- 1866

DRC NEWS Editor and Producer: Kent Donnelly Updated: March 2009 File: executive2009.doc

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D.R.C. News 65th Year June 2009 Summer Edition

-The original four page Issue-

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This Back Page Advertisement was on the fourth page of our first edition.

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DOMINION ROLLER CANARY ASSOCIATION

First Executive Officers:

President: J. Black, Toronto, Ontario

Vice-President: W. Kneller

Secretary: William Smith, Toronto, Ontario

Treasurer: A. Smith, Hamilton, Ontario

Auditors: Mrs. J. Blaylock and W. Brown.

Our First Member Clubs

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OFFICERS OF THE DOMINION ROLLER CANARY ASSOCIATION INC.1944 -1961

YEAR PRESIDENTSECRETARYTREASURER

EDITORVICE-

PRESIDENTSSUB-

EDITORS

CORRESPONDENCESECRETARY

1944-45 B.F. Delsey Alex Ross Alex Ross H.Denike W. Grower

1945-47 B.F. Delsey Alex Ross Alex Ross R. Nixon W. Grower

1947-48 B.F. Delsey Alex Ross Alex Ross A.K.St.James W. Grower

1948-49 A.K.St.James Alex Ross Alex Ross T.RetallackJ.RentonH.Gill

J. Wallbridge

1949-50 A.K.St.James Alex Ross Alex Ross T.RetallackJ.Renton

L.Normandeau

J. Wallbridge

1950-51J.Renton

Alex Ross Alex Ross T.RetallackAdaBairstow

J.DHay

A.Gale

1951-52 J.Renton Alex Ross Alex Ross H.HoffmeisterAdaBairstow

J.DHay

A.Gale

1952-53 J.Renton Alex Ross AdaBairstow

H.HoffmeisterAdaBairstow

J.DHay

Ken SwannAlex Ross

A.Gale

1953-54 AdaBairstow Alex Ross AdaBairstow

T. OakleyG. Smith

Ken SwannAlex Ross

H.Hoffmeister

1954-55AdaBairstow Alex Ross Ada

BairstowT. OakleyG. Smith

Ken SwannAlex Ross

I. Skelton

1955-56 AdaBairstow Alex Ross AdaBairstow

T. OakleyG. Smith

A.Littlechild

Ken SwannAlex Ross

Ken Swann

1956-57 T. Oakley Alex Ross AdaBairstow

H. PrestonG. Weaver

J. Collis

Ken SwannAlex Ross

Ken Swann


H. PrestonG. Weaver

J. Collis

Ken SwannAlex Ross

Ken Swann


H. PrestonC. KnellerJ. Collis

Ken SwannAlex Ross

Ken Swann


J. RentonC.Kneller

G. Wearver

J. RentonJ. Collis


W. TuckerT. Retallack

J. RentonJ. Collis

Continued on page 8

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OFFICERS OF THE DOMINION ROLLER CANARY ASSOCIATION INC.1961- 1974


EDITORVICE-

PRESIDENTSSUB-

EDITORS

CORRESPONDENCESECRETARY

1961-62 G. Weaver Alex Ross AdaBairstow

W. TuckerT. RetallackH. Bolton

J. RentonJ. Collis

1962-63 G. Weaver Alex Ross AdaBairstow


J. RentonJ. Collis

I. Farquhar

1963-64 J. Collis Alex Ross AdaBairstow


J. RentonJ. Collis

I. Farquhar

1964-65 H. Bolton Alex Ross AdaBairstow

W. TuckerT. RetallackP. Ruppel

H. BarnesMrs. Mike

K. Swann

1965-66 H. Preston Alex Ross Alex Ross T. DummaH. BoltonP. Ruppel

T. OakleyMrs. Mike

G. Hamilton

1966-67 H. Preston Alex Ross Alex Ross J. RentonC. KnellerH. Bolton

J. RentonW. Duncan

G. Hamilton

1967-68 K. Swann G.Hamilton G.Hamilton J. RentonJ. CarpayMrs. Mike

W. FriendW. Duncan

1968-69 K. Swann G.Hamilton G.Hamilton T. OakleyA. Gurr

H. Bolton

W. FriendW. Duncan

1969-70 K. Swann J. Renton J. Renton A. GurrC. KnellerH. Bolton

J. GrahamW. Duncan

1970-71 H. Bolton J. Renton J. Renton W. SlocombeG. HamiltonC. Kneller

W. FriendW. Duncan

1971-72 G.Hamilton K. Swann J. Renton Mrs. E. GurrC. KnellerJ. Graham

W. FriendJ. Graham

1972-73 G.Hamilton K. Swann J. Renton W. FriendG. Weaver

R. Mills

W. FriendJ. Graham

1973-74 G.Hamilton K. Swann J. Renton W. TuckerR. DecksM. Jacobs

F. CookJ. Graham

Continued on page 9

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OFFICERS OF THE DOMINION ROLLER CANARY ASSOCIATION INC.1974 - 1989


EDITOR VICE-PRESIDENTS SUB-EDITORS

1974-75 G.Hamilton K. Swann G.HamiltonW. TuckerR. DecksM. Jacobs

W. FriendJ. Collis

1975-76 J. Graham K. Swann K. SwannJ. Young

C. DeBoonE. Dennison

G.HamiltonJ. Collis



G.HamiltonJ. Collis



G.HamiltonJ. Collis

1978-79 G. Wells K. Swann K. SwannJ. Young


G.HamiltonJ. Collis

1979-80 R. Nemeth C. Tataryn K. SwannJ. Young

E. DeLaRieA. Durieux

G.HamiltonJ. Collis

1980-81 R. Nemeth J. L. Grygar K. SwannK. Bell

A. DurieuxN. Prataviera

J. & J. DickinsJ. Graham



G. QuelletJ. Graham



G. MarcouxJ. Graham

1983-85 G.Hamilton J. L. Grygar K. SwannK. Bell


T. FanningJ. Collis

1985-87 G.Hamilton J. L. Grygar K. SwannEd MillikenA. DurieuxA. Schlott

V. SaxtonJ. Graham

1987-89 V. Saxton J. L. Grygar K. SwannEd MillikenA. DurieuxA. Schlott

H. GillG. Lundgren

Continued on page 10

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OFFICERS OF THE DOMINION ROLLER CANARY ASSOCIATION

In the New Millennium

YEAR 2000-2006 2006-2007 2007-2009 2009

PRESIDENT Fred Walcott Peter Jaehrling Kent Donnelly

VICE-PRESIDENTS A. SchlottJoe Pietrobon

Fulvio C. DiStasioKent Donnelly

Fulvio C. DiStasioJoe Pietrobon

SECRETARYTREASURER Fred Walcott

Peter JaehrlingKent DonnellyEDITOR

PRODUCER Bill Friend Kent Donnelly

RING SECRETARY Peter Jaehrling

WEBMASTER Ruben Garcia Kent Donnelly

OFFICERS OF THE DOMINION ROLLER CANARY ASSOCIATION INC.1989 - 2000


EDITORVICE-

PRESIDENTSSUB-EDITORS

1989-91 V. Saxton J. L. Grygar K. SwannEd PardekA. Durieux

M. Nogueira

J. CorcoranG. Lundgren

1991-93 V. Saxton J. L. GrygarK. Swann

J. L. Grygar

Ed PardekA. DurieuxA. Schlott

J. CorcoranO. Troock

1993-95 Fred Walcott J. L. Grygar J. L. GrygarAl DeLeijerA. DurieuxA. Schlott

G. LundgrenJ. Graham

1995-97 Fred Walcott Fred Walcott Ken CromerA. DurieuxA. Schlott J. Graham

1997-2000 Fred Walcott Fred Walcott Fred WalcottA. Schlott

Joe Pietrobon

lex Ross became the first editor of the DRC NEWS in June of 1944.day of that month wasBritish and American troops

launch their massive assault against the German army.great uncertainty. It wasloss and human tragedy took place.survive the war; let alone think thatcould still be around sixty five years laterinformation about the first ten years in the DRCA was ever recorded.

he more you think about thewere living in, the more you appreciatejobs. In those days the News was not sent out to the Printer. The Editor

was the Printer as well as the Producer. Thedid all the proof reading before stapling theorder. Their carefully mainsubscriber would be mailed a copy of the newsdepth on them, let’s just take a break for a minute athat era. I hope you will enjoy the photos and commentsgive you a glimpse of life on

If you had a telephone, you eitheralways responded - “YOUR NUMBER

Radio was

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"Our First Editors”lex Ross became the first editor of the DRC NEWS in June of 1944.

was well remembered as “D DAY”. It was whenritish and American troops had landed on the beaches of Normandy to

launch their massive assault against the German army. It was agreat uncertainty. It was the height of World War II when soloss and human tragedy took place. Who would have known if the

let alone think that such a small newsletterould still be around sixty five years later? Until then, very

about the first ten years in the DRCA was ever recorded.

he more you think about the way their lives were, and the times that theyving in, the more you appreciate the first ones that did those

jobs. In those days the News was not sent out to the Printer. The Editorwas the Printer as well as the Producer. They wrote most of the a

the proof reading before stapling the news together in the cocarefully maintained mailing list helped to ensure that every

subscriber would be mailed a copy of the news. Before I get into a little morelet’s just take a break for a minute and open a

era. I hope you will enjoy the photos and comments I made. It’s meant toyou a glimpse of life on the day Alex published our first issue.

either had to rotate a dial to enter the number, or ask an operator“YOUR NUMBER PLEASE?”

Radio was more popular than television.

lex Ross became the first editor of the DRC NEWS in June of 1944. The 6th

It was when Canadian,had landed on the beaches of Normandy to

It was also a time ofthe height of World War II when so much suffering,

they could evennewsletter such as ours

very littleabout the first ten years in the DRCA was ever recorded.

way their lives were, and the times that theythe first ones that did those

jobs. In those days the News was not sent out to the Printer. The Editorwrote most of the articles andnews together in the correct

tained mailing list helped to ensure that everyBefore I get into a little more

nd open a time capsule ofI made. It’s meant to

our first issue.

, or ask an operator, who

than television.

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American and British Governments banned public television broadcast during most of WW11.

Movies were called Picture Shows and only some were in colour. Most were either black and white or “Mono-Colour”.

he wringer washer saved many housewives fromdoing a lot of work. They were first in use atthe beginning of the century and by 1944 they

were in every household. Families were often large insize. Most household chores weredone by hand. Most Women stayed athome while their husbands went towork as the sole wage earner. Thebread man, the milk man, the mailman, and the ice man all madedeliveries to the house. The icebox (right) helped to keep foodfresh for longer periods of time,which meant fewer trips to thestore. There were few disposableitems. Most things could be repaired by hand and reused.

utomobile production for the public was halted in 1942when factories re-tooled to manufacture weapons ofwar. All vehicles prior to and shortly after the war

were made of very solid materials. They had no plastic partson them that would melt from heat. They had chrome bumpers,and a heavier gauge of metal all-around. People didn’ttolerate poor quality, poor service or Self-Serving gasstations. Back then, most gas stations had mechanics thatput down their wrench in order to fill up your gas tank. Atthe sound of a bell, “Ding Ding” caused by tires that rodeover an air hose; they checked your tire pressure, oil, putwater in the radiator, cleaned the windshield and wipers-allin the short time it took to fill the tank. Cars lookedbetter, were more comfortable, powerful, luxurious andstronger. One of the few cars produced in 1944 was thePackard Brown Bomber F, shown on the right.

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he three methods of correspondence in Canada were: Telephone, Telegraphand The Royal Mail. Yes, I said Royal. In Canada, we still had streetletter boxes with “ER” for Elizabeth Regina (The Queen) marked on them.

Very few of these stillexist. They were made ofvery solid metal, similar toa portable home vault. Thesephotos represent a few ofmany designs once used. Thephoto on the right shows the“ER” just under the Britishcrown. “Royal Mail” and“Canada” are clearly marked.They were all taken out ofservice during the mid1980’s. Today, Canada Postemployees no longer have toraise their right hand withthe left hand on the bibleand swear allegiance to theQueen before they are hired.

hey would lock you up and throw away the key if you told them there wouldbe men walking on the moon in twenty five years. It truly was a differentera. In the time that has passed since then, man has witnessed more

change than at any other time in recorded history. In fact, the recent trend byGovernment to censor things like the Lord’s Prayer, the bible, the holocaustand other sacred or royal objects from public display has me wondering if muchof what once occurred in our lives will be known to others in the future.

lex published our first four page edition only knowing that it was whatpeople had wanted at the time. The name DOMINION ROLLER CANARY NEWS issynonymous with the DOMINION ROLLER CANARY ASSOCIATION as well as the

DOMINION OF CANADA. The DRCA was still in its infancy; only coming intoexistence ten years previous. Many of North America’s first Roller Canary clubshad formed years before this. The Montreal and Hamilton clubs appeared during

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the mid 1920’s. In those days Canadians could only buy foreign publicationsthat specialized in the Canary. The earliest of these was “The Kanaria” fromGermany, which began publishing in the last part of the nineteenth century.Canary publications written in English weren’t available until the followingcentury. Many articles in the Kanaria were later translated into otherlanguages, which included English. The first to publish English translatedarticles from the Kanaria was the BRCC ROLLER CANARY JOURNAL. In the years thatfollowed, translated articles from the Kanaria appeared in many other canarypublications. By the time Alex Ross began writing the DRC News, there werealready three very popular Canary publications written in English.

(pictured left)

Cover of The Roller Canary Journal

(No.1 Vol.1 March 1911).

The first Canary Periodical writtenin English came from Great Britain.

It was published by the BritishRoller Canary Club (BRCC).

If you look closely, you can see

the date of March, 1911.

It could be had for the price of

one penny.

You might also notice that the

images of both Canaries closely

resemble the ones on the covers of

both the American Canary Journal,

and the Roller Canary Journal.

t wasn’t until November of 1918, before North Americans finally had theirown Canary publication with the “American Canary Journal”. Two yearslater, in 1923, a second publication called “The Roller Canary Journal”

was issued in America for Roller Canary enthusiasts.

(Early Cover Photos of both American Publications are shown on the next page)

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hile we are on the topic ofearly publications, there isone Canadian in particular that

should also be mentioned. He is onethat played an important role in thepublication of the Roller CanaryJournal some twenty years before theDRC News came out in Canada. He wasBreeder, Trainer and Judge C.C.Mulligan, who owned Premier Aviarylocated at 2022 Ontario Street,Vancouver B.C. His name and title asthe Associate Editor appears on thefirst page inside the Roller CanaryJournal’s April, 1926 edition. He isalso mentioned on page three of ourfirst issue. Mulligan handled all ofthe business correspondence fromEngland and Canada for the RollerCanary Journal. His strain of birdswere being bred and advertised as“Mulligan” by breeders all overNorth America at the time. One proudadvertiser of the Mulligan strainwas even a well known American

editor that wrote for The RollerCanary Journal by the name of Mrs.Junior F. Hayden. Only recently,when I began to read a few of themany articles I have of her, did Irealize how much was already knownabout the Roller in her day.

ne could wonder (with all hisexperience) why Mulligan wasn’tthe first one to establish a

Canadian publication years beforeAlex. I am certain he must havethought on it. As the only businesscontact for all the Canadian andBritish correspondence, he certainlywould have known who all theCanadian customers were. Perhaps theAmerican publications were so wellestablished that he felt it would befutile for him to compete with them.It’s possible that he might havealso developed a loyalty to those healready worked for. Canada hasalways been such a small market bycomparison. There may have been toofew fanciers in Canada to support athird Canary publication during

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those years. I suppose it also makessense that not many Americans wouldwant to drop their own publicationin favor of one from Canada.

don’t know the year when thosetwo American publicationsfolded but I am certain that

our publication benefited by fillingthe void that they left. Even today,our ability to stay afloat dependslargely on our American Subscribers.With that said, we come to the endof this episode in history and moveon to just a little more on thelives of our first editors…

lex must have been verydetermined and very dedicatedto venture as our first editor.

He pioneered the news for eightyears not knowing if anyone wouldever step in to succeed him until itsuddenly just happened. I supposeit’s been that way with most thingsthroughout our history. We havealways operated a little on the edgewhen it came to planning ahead.Every time it looked hopeless and wethought we weren’t able to continue,someone with an interest always camealong and we were right back inbusiness.

t wasn’t until 1952 before wehad our second editor. This waswhen Alex asked (36 year old)

Ada Bairstow to take over the joband she accepted.Between 1953 and 1956, she served adouble role in the DRCA executive,by filling the positions of Editorand President.Roller Canaries were a familyaffair long before Ada began towrite the News. In the 1920’s herfather (Watson (Jim) Bairstow) wasalready well established in theMONTREAL ROLLER CANARY CLUB. Alexpicked the right girl for the job.She started pulling strings to getthings up and running as soon asshe took over as editor.

da worked at Martin SenourPaints in Montreal where shewas lucky to have a gestetner

press at hand.This is whatshe used toprint copies ofthe News. Afterthe printingwas done, shetook home thestacks of paperto collate andstaple the news

together for mailing. She kept ondoing this once every month for afull thirteen years, right up tothe end of 1964. In the years thatfollowed, Ada remained an activesupporter of the News by donatingher time, money and written articlesto help keep our publication alive.In 1974 she obtained and donated thegestetner from her workplace toreplace the one that DRCA PresidentGordon Hamilton used after it brokedown. She once mentioned in anarticle how she enjoyed writingher bits for the News even thoughshe was not actively engaged inraising Rollers.

ne who remembers Ada well isAgnes (Scotty) Walcot. I spoketo Scotty about Ada just after

her husband (past DRC NEWS Editor)Fred Walcot passed away. Ada was herown lady. She was a Baptist thatattended every Sunday mass in aRoman Catholic Church. She wasalways there to help us. Every timeit looked like things were about tocrumble, she always came throughwith a donation to put us back inbusiness. Her generosity was like ashining light to Roller Canaryfanciers everywhere. Although Inever met Ada in person, I feel thatI owe her my debt of gratitude forall that she gave to the fancy.Ada recently passed away on June 9,2008 at the age of 92.

(Continued pg.30-Faces…)

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Back to the Beginning

In many ways, we have now come full

circle to where we first began with

the news. The jobs of Editor and of

Producer are once again combined

into one. We now use a commercial

printer but they no longer do the

collation and binding. All of the

writing, editing, proof reading,

collation, binding, mailing lists,

subscriptions, postage and envelopes

are jobs of the same yours truly

that also maintains your website.

From the desk of the President

Right from its humble beginning, the

DRC News was destined to mature as

one of the most magnificent

publications ever written for Roller

Canary enthusiasts. This is largely

due to our having editors that based

news content primarily on the Roller

Canary and on the song from which it

became famous. They understood that

we are amongst a select group of

songbird lovers in a specialized

fancy and they knew that our readers

did not want to fish through a

publication filled with a lot of

irreverent material that does not

meet their needs.

Whenever I try to define what makes

the distinct difference of our fancy

unique to the others, I always

remember the explanation given to me

by the late Vancouver Roller Judge

Gordon Lundgren.

“The Roller expresses his song in a

regimental fashion”. “When I say

“regimental”, I mean that he sings

twelve different tours with such

discipline that each sound is

distinctively different from the

other”. For this reason, the Roller

Regular Meeting of the

Oakland International

Roller Canary Club

Date:

Sunday June 28, 2009

Time:

1:00 pm - 3:00 pm

All Regular Meetings are

scheduled to take place on

the last Sunday of every

month.

All are welcome. Bring a

friend and introduce them

to the wonderful world of

Rollerdom.

Plan on attending and let

your opinion be known.

Address:

448 Dowling Boulevard

San Leandro, CA 94577

(510) 914-2525

Contact: (510) 449-3881

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Canary is unlike any other songbird

or other “Type” Canary.

t wasn’t until years later

that I began to better

understand the meaning of his

explanation. The more I heard the

other songbirds sing, the more I

realized that each “Type” had an

overtone that dominated their tours.

Song Canaries such as the Belgian

Waterslager certainly have a melodic

song alright, and they also sing

different tours but there is an

overtone of water in every one of

them. Similarly, all the Choppers

have song but their overtone has the

characteristic chop in all their

tours; bearing a strong resemblance

to the song found in wild canaries.

Eventually, I was able to identify

each song “Type”, by the major

overtone characteristic to each

breed. I also found that the

stronger the overtone was, the less

clearly I could determine which tour

was being sung. This is largely due

to the combination of both TOUR and

OVERTONE merging into ONE VOLUME of

sound, making each of the tours

sound less distinct. To pick out one

distinctive tour when this happens

is sort of like trying to pick out

one person singing in a choir when

the organ is humming. The sound of a

choir and organ can also be very

nice but the sound of each unique

voice is not as clearly defined as

the sound coming from a solo opera

singer like the great Pavarotti or

the great Roller.

For reasons such as these, each

songbird fancier has their own

preference. Some prefer a Type

canary song, while others do not.

It’s all a matter of taste.

There is no disagreement amongst

Roller fanciers about what they want

when it comes to song quality. They

want their birds to sing their song

without any foreign sound in it at

all. They want each and every tour

to be clearly rendered. They want

their birds to switch gears easily

when they change from one tour to

the next, and they want that change

to come often. They want to hear

their birds sing as many tours as

they were bred to sing. They want

each tour to be easily recognized by

the strictly unique sound it makes.

They want as much tonal depth and

clarity as possible and they want

this in every tour, every time they

sing. If a breeder finds one that

sings with an open beak, it is

culled from the flock along with its

parents; the bands are removed and

they are all disposed of as pets.

It’s usually very easy for Roller

breeders to know if they have

quality. They don’t have to examine

the colour of its feathers, measure

his size or even see the bird at

all. All it takes is listening. When

you hear him sing, you know if you

like what you hear. It’s largely a

personal choice. It’s even easier to

determine what type of songbird one

has by following some basic rules.

If you hear chop then it’s a Chopper

- plain and simple. If your Roller

has overtones of “Water” in any of

his tours other that Water Roll,

DBWT and Water Glucke, then your

Roller is not a Roller;-it’s a

Waterslager.

think Gordon explained it

well enough but it still took

me a while to compare song

before I really understood why he

chose to use the word “regimental”.

It was a long time ago (1982) when

we had that chat. I was very new to

the hobby with more questions than

I

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answers. I would remember all the

important questions that I forgot to

ask, right after I got off the

phone. Back then, I didn’t even have

a clue about what makes a Roller a

Roller. Can you imagine that? I

really and truly had no idea! I

really think there is a God in

heaven because I now realize if I

ever asked a question as dumb as

that, Gordon would have had his

heart attack much earlier than he

did.

was a newbie. Newbies had to

learn the basics from someone

with great patience. You would

never ask a question like that at

the meetings in those days. Newbies

were supposed to just sit there and

listen. I always sat next to Joe

Burchack. Whenever I was about to

stand up and say something, he would

nudge me and say-just listen first.

I suppose he felt that I would

likely embarrass myself by asking a

stupid question when others had more

important things to say. I hadn’t

yet been baptised and confirmed into

Rollerdom. It would have been

improper. Not unlike someone

standing up to question a Roman

Catholic Priest during the sermon.

It just wasn’t done. Like the

Priest, our experts also seemed to

speak in tongues but instead of

reciting scriptures in Latin, they

spoke on things like “tours”. It was

a whole new language. Before then I

always thought tours were something

that tourists took. I guess this is

why it took me years just to get the

basics. I was supposed to figure out

pretty much everything on my own by

listening and not by asking.

Eventually I stopped going to those

meetings because I felt I didn’t

understand enough about the fancy. I

would never learn either, because I

wasn’t allowed to interrupt all the

experts that had complete control

over what was said on the floor.

Well, today’s Newby might find

meetings a little different. They

might even feel welcome. After all

the old wise men had passed away,

only the meek remained to inherit

Rollerdom. No longer do “Priests”

bask in the glory of having the

whole floor to themselves. No longer

are you banished from Rollerdom for

sinning with stupid questions. No

longer do you have to live your

lives suffering through the eternal

guilt and shame of a Newbie. The

rules that condemned all the many

souls that came before you in the

Old Testament no longer apply. We

can all be healed.

Those that have already died with

sin are also forgiven, for they knew

not what they were doing. We are

children of a New Testament. Only

non believers are banished from the

gates of Rollerdom. I say to you, be

away with you all non-believers.

f you ever come across a

Newbie as ignorant as I was in

a meeting, I hope you will not

discourage him from speaking. Rather

than allowing him to just listen in

silence, try to encourage him to ask

questions. Tell him “There is no

such thing as a stupid question-

there are only a stupid answers”.

If you have to explain to someone

what makes a Roller a Roller, then

it’s time to listen up because the

answer has always been very simple.

It’s in the “rrrooouu” of our

Rrrrooouuuller Canary.

....It Rolls.

I

I

20

Songbirds on the Net

One of the best places to hear all

the different strains of various

birds sing is on the internet. Each

strain you hear is unique. You can

study each of their distinctively

different sounds from the next. In

the past, it took a lot of time and

dedication for someone to hear all

the different sounds that these

different strains produced. One had

to pack a suitcase and travel to all

the different shows that were out

there. Well, that is no longer the

case because today we can accomplish

the same task, right from a chair

while sitting at home. In the last

year alone, the explosion of new

sites (such as YouTube) with videos

of Roller Canaries from all over the

world has grown enormously.

We owe our thanks largely to David

Godman for holding the World’s first

Internet Roller Canary contest. He

was the first one to bring out all

the birds from hiding “down under”

and put them in the eye of the

world. Because of the import

restrictions in Australia and New

Zealand, few outsiders have ever

seen or heard birds from those

countries before this. His work to

change all of that opened the eyes

of many that followed.

Today, there are hundreds of other

“Type” canaries and songbird videos.

It’s easy for us to hear and learn

all their different sounds. Birds

such as the Belgian Waterslager,

American Singer, Russian Singer,

American Harz (chopper), European

Harz Rollers, Wild Canary, and Red

Factor Choppers are only some of the

many birds shown.

There are also videos of every other

kind of animal out there. There is

even a talking Parrot by the name of

Einstein on YouTube that recently

become a television celebrity.

Internet technology has come a long

way in the last few years. We can

now interact in live chat rooms on

any topic. Actually, I am surprised

that our government leaders haven’t

yet picked up on this. Think of the

cost savings that tax payers could

have with online school systems.

With the paid version of the chat

program that I use, you can enter a

room and view an unlimited number of

participant cams –simultaneously.

You can resize each window, chat

privately, or interact with everyone

in the chat room all at once. You

can do this live on camera while

speaking and listening to verbal

messages. You can also send files

and type messages. Teachers could

use program this to teach students

without either of them ever having

to leave their home.

No bus! Less traffic at 7 am and 3

pm., fewer fill-ups, less vehicle

mileage, less pollution, fewer

buildings to build and maintain with

fewer janitors, fewer flu epidemics,

and we haven’t even mentioned the

savings this could bring to other

institutions like Universities.

The more these technologies improve,

and the more readily they become

available, the easier it becomes for

all of us to communicate the way we

want. Right now, we could even use

21

the internet to hold live Roller

canary contests. They could be held

and judged from any country in the

world in multi-lingual chat rooms.

In rooms such as these, an operator

can control which participants he

wants to allow into the room. He can

control the number of participants,

the microphone, camera size, the

chat board, and monitor all the

cameras. He can also boot those that

cause disturbances. Admission can

also be granted with the use of a

password. Passwords could either be

given free or paid for. Sponsoring

clubs could still collect admission

fees and team entry fees if they

wanted to. It’s easy to collect and

send money these days with PayPal.

No longer do clubs have to pay a

Judge for his air fare, restaurant

meals or motel room. All the expense

of holding a show becomes minimal.

In fact, we could have multiple

judges from all around the world

attending the same show. The paid

version of the chat program that I

use is called CAMFROG. It already

has the capability of doing all the

things mentioned above.

Unfortunately, the free version only

allows you to view one cam at one

time. I am hoping that in the near

future, technology such as this will

be free to all.

When I wrote in the news, a short

time before the recent crash, I was

the only one around that used the

word “recession”. Then the news came

out with an article about the H1N1

bird flu virus. Many had not even

heard of H1N1 before that but in the

following weeks the first cases of

H1N1 began to appear in animals,

which later transferred to people

travelling from Mexico. I don’t want

to scare anyone like that again, so

the only “earth shattering” thing I

will announce in this issue is that;

One day, nearly all communication

will be done on the internet.

The DRC News might still exist, but

it will not be on paper that you

take with you to read in the

bathroom. Instead, you will read it

from your computer.

-Kent

“Just For birds”

- The perfect place for bird lovers-

We process PayPal orders for shipment to

anywhere in Canada, USA and the World.

E-mail: [email protected]

View a sampling of our products online:

http://www.justforbirds.net

Located in the Cloverdale Shoppers Plaza:

5730 175 Street Surrey, B.C.Canada V3S 4T7

Call Jerry or Siriwan at: 604-574-5119

Open: 10am to 6pm every day – except:

Sundays and Statutory Holidays

22

Photos of The World’s First Roller

Canary Contest held on YouTube by

David Godman (Daveyg06).

Email: [email protected]

Username: “rollermandaveyg”.

The Roller Canary Journals

-Two Valued Testimonials:

Kent, Bill, and Paul,

May I genuinely thank you on behalf of the Song

Canary hobby! Outstanding work! I received

them today, and can't put them down. Too little

has been written about our hobby and too much

lost.

My heartfelt respect and gratitude.

Richard Rolloff

Western Waterslager Club Newsletter Editor

Western Waterslager Club

Promoting the Breeding,

Training and Showing of the

Belgian Waterslager Song Canary

Visit us online at:

www.westernwaterslager.com


Roller Canaries by Paul

Telephone: (503) 357-7253

Main Website:

rollercanary.com

Northwest Roller Canary Club

website:

northwestrollercanaryclub.com

Southern California RollerCanary Club

Website:

southerncaliforniarollercanaryclub.com

Western Roller Canary Association

Website:

westernrollercanaryassociation.org

I received the six journals

yesterday.

Thanks so much. They are

absolutely wonderful and will be a

wonderful contribution to the

Roller Canary Hobby. The printing,

binding and everything was done in

such a professional manner.

I sent a message to Bill Friend

today as follows:

Bill,

I received my set of the Roller

Canary Journals yesterday. Wow!

You have done an amazing job in

producing these. They are

absolutely great.

And, thanks so much for your kind

words in the next to last

23

paragraph on Page 2 in Journal #6

as well as the links to the Roller

clubs on page 3 of that same

article.

This is definitely a great

contribution to the Roller Canary

Hobby and you are to be

congratulated for doing all that

work.

Again, thanks so much.

Paul R. Scandlyn

Judging Your own Birds

This article is usually written with

a lot of technical information on

phonetics that describe parts of the

song. Up until now, all I gave was

some in depth description on a few

of the most basic tours. Many that

first come to learn the song can

quickly become bored with a little

too much overkill of this method.

Before I continue using that method

any further, I want everyone to

close their eyes for a moment and

take a few minutes to identify what

your own reasons are for learning

the song. Go ahead now, close them.

You should now have opened your eyes

as well as your mind to what those

reasons are. Hold on to all thought

of them throughout the rest of this

article. This is your purpose to

learn the song. Let me now guess

what some of those reasons might be.

Is it purely because of the personal

satisfaction you have when you hear

the song? Do you want to talk about

your bird’s song with others? Do you

want to identify certain sounds from

a particular strain of Rollers? Do

you want to know if your birds have

faults? Do you want to know if you

have good breeding stock? Do you

want to understand the Judge’s

appraisal from a show? These are

only some of many reasons for having

an interest in learning the song.

First of all, it is important for

each one of us to recognise our own

level. No two people have identical

knowledge or an equal ability to

comprehend. We have different ears;

different brains and we interpret

things differently than others. Some

of us describe the song by making

comparisons with other sounds. Not

everyone will agree with these

comparisons. This is partly due to

our different levels of hearing

ability and partly due to different

variations in sound being produced

from those examples. For reasons

such as this, it is best to have a

look at the many various ways that

this song can be described in order

to better develop an understanding

that is common to others.

Perhaps your motivation to learn was

stirred by your curiosity of the

different strains. To identify these

birds purely through hearing their

song, requires a great deal of skill

and knowledge. In order to just

recognise the most common variations

of their tours, you must compare

examples of each tour sung with each

different strain of birds you hear.

You must also have an ability to

carry their song in your mind well

enough to use it later on when

24

making comparisons with other birds.

Few amongst us have reached this

level. They are the ones who will go

to shows to really have a good look

at all the other birds out there.

You will see them moving about the

hall, carefully listening to all the

different songs they can. When it

comes to song quality, these people

already know what they like. They

will carry the sound of their own

strain in their mind while making

comparisons. The nature of their

quest is specialized by their

listening to only a certain range of

tours that possess the quality they

want. They will ask about in order

to find out who the owners are of

the different teams. They have an

eternal desire within to seek out

birds that they can use to either

maintain or improve the quality of

song in their own flock. They will

be seen gathering amongst some of

our most serious birders in all of

Rollerdom.

The sad truth is that many of us are

not that serious about the song. We

want our birds to do well at shows

but we are handicapped by our lack

of understanding the song well

enough to succeed. Without knowing

their song, we can’t even know if we

guessed it right when we made our

selections for pairing. Now that

they have grown, we again have

difficulty by not knowing which ones

are best to choose for cabinet

training before the show. The best

candidate for the judging table

might never be known unless someone

with experience steps in to help. By

gambling in the dark, these breeders

can cause a lot of permanent damage

to the quality of their Roller

stock. Thank God it won’t have much

chance of affecting the quality of

Rollers elsewhere though. It’s

pretty hard to fool a Master Breeder

or a Judge with junk birds like

that. Who would want to take a low

scoring junk bird home with them

after a show to breed with theirs?

And if they did, the results would

likely be so worthless that it would

only hurt the reputation of that

breeder. Marvin Haynes of Penticton

once gave me an accurate description

of what should be done with junk

birds that are nothing more than a

waste of one’s time. It’s called

“WRING THEIR NECKS”.

We are most fortunate when those

with some knowledge of the song get

together to share opinions on what

they hear. All it takes for them to

do this is to make some phone calls

and gather up some birds. If you can

ever find a way attend this kind of

meeting, you will be sure to benefit

from all the discussion that takes

place. Such meetings will always

produce many differing opinions. One

should go to them with the intent of

enjoying some good argument. This

can be a lot more fun than you ever

imagined -especially when you know

you might be wrong but others don’t.

At first, everyone will try to

identify the different tours, then

as things heat up, they will start

chipping away at the different ways

that each different bird sings the

same tour. Few will get everything

right. Some might think that the

Hollow Bell is a Shockel, while

others think that the Bass Roll is

Hollow Roll-or vice versa, and so

on-and so on.

25

Some of you would never attend such

a meeting. You know who you are. You

are the ones that easily become

embarrassed when asked questions.

You would rather die and go to hell

before letting others discover how

little you know. If this is you,

then please be assured that YOU are

not alone. Many of the people at

these meetings are also lacking

something. I don’t mean to say that

they are missing all their nuts and

bolts but there are many that do

often lack at trusting their own

ability. All you need to break the

spell is to admit that you just

don’t know. Nobody will blame you

for not knowing. You might even be

surprised by how many new friends

you will have once they gain a

better idea of your needs. Nobody

knows everything, even if they act

like they do. Our purpose has always

been to help each other-regardless

of one’s level of experience. I

still ask questions. I am not an

Ornithologist or a Veterinarian with

dozens of degrees posted on the

wall. If anyone knows of someone

like this in the fancy please tell

me their name and number because I

am one that has to pay for

everything that my Vet tells me. If

you need any kind of assistance at

all, then always be sure to ask.

Just remember this though; we

wouldn’t be asking you for your own

opinions in the first place if we

already had a pretty keen idea of

what all the answers were.

-Kent

Thoughts of my

First Roller

The first time I heard a Roller

sing, I could tell right away that

certain parts of his song sounded

different than others. I was

immediately delighted by the way

this tiny little bird could vary his

song by switching from one to sound

the next. Every time he sang, I

would listen to him until he ran out

of steam. Afterwards, I would just

sit there waiting in hopes of

hearing him sing once more. In time,

I realized that he would sing more

often in the mornings and the

evenings. I would often sit near the

cage reading, just waiting for him

to start singing again. When my

mother discovered that he sang soon

after the night cover was removed

from his cage, I decided to get up

earlier, just to hear him sing.

I had six siblings in my family. The

only time our home was silent was

just before the sun rose. In those

days we lived in a cedar post and

beam house that had large windows on

Hollyburn Mountain. We were well

above the clouds that usually hung

over Vancouver harbour, so the

morning sunsets were often a very

beautiful sight. I would get up

early just to enjoy the peace and

quiet of the morning. I always

waited and watched, as the morning

sunrise woke our bird into song.

This experience was so beautiful,

that it soon became a treasured part

26

of my daily life.

We praised our first Roller. It was

hard to believe that someone could

just give him away. He was a gift to

our family that came without

instructions. Someone might have

told one of us that he was a Roller

in the beginning but nobody could

remember later on. It took ages for

him to sing his first song but once

he started, he didn’t stop until the

lights went out. I thought it was so

cool that I didn’t even have to wind

him up or replace any batteries. His

little motor just kept purring and

rolling with no need of special

maintenance at all.

The more he sang, the more thrilled

I was and the more curious I became

about his amazing ability for song.

My curiosity led me to seek more

information. I visited all the local

pet stores and spoke to many people

asking questions about canaries. I

wanted to know why some cost more

than others and if there were

different kinds to chose from. I

noticed that some canaries had a

different appearance, and a

different sound to other ones.

Nobody I asked in those pet stores

seemed to know much about canaries.

The only thing they knew was that

males cost more than females because

they sang more. They couldn’t tell

males from females by looking at

them, so they always welcomed me to

listen all I wanted for any that

sang. Well, it didn’t take much

listening for me to tell that their

canaries sang nothing like the one

we had. After talking with them I

would always turn away disgusted

with how little they knew. In no

time at all, I would be on my way to

another pet store, to use the same

questions on someone else. Everyone

I spoke with gave the same answers

though. It always felt really good

to open the door afterwards and...

GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE!

In time, I began to think that only

our bird had such an ability to sing

that nice. His song was special. He

sang in ways that that all the other

canaries couldn’t. We loved all the

different sounds he could make. We

had no idea that each and every

sound it made had been identified

and named many years before.

Many, who visited our home in those

days, would also marvel at our

birds’ song but not one of them knew

that he was a Roller. -Not until

young John Good showed up one

morning, that is.

John was a buddy of mine that used

to sometimes stop by on his way to

school. His dad (Bill Good) and his

brother (Bill Good Jr.) were both in

radio and television. John always

had tons of free cigarettes because

of the royalties his dad had from

advertising for Rothman’s. That

morning we decided to skip school

and smoke a carton of cigarettes

that he stole from his dad. It was

one of those rare mornings when we

were the only ones in the house.

What a good time to just sit and

puff cigarettes all day. While we

were puffing, we decided to turn up

the stereo and chat. Just as you can

imagine, our little Roller started

to sing as soon as the sound got

loud, and that is when John stopped

27

talking, looked up at him and just

stared.

After a long silence, he turned to

me and asked; Do you know what kind

of bird that is? I said sure-it’s a

canary. His response “That’s not

just a canary” truly insulted me.

His courage to challenge me was a

real surprise too -considering how

much bigger I was than he. Being

bigger meant that I was supposed to

be right about everything, even when

I was wrong. I answered again. Of

course it is John; It’s a canary.

Haven’t you ever seen one of those?

I couldn’t believe it! He opened his

mouth for more with “I meant to say

that it’s not just any canary-it’s a

special kind of canary”. I thought

“special”? Well now, maybe I’ll just

let his jaws flap a while longer. He

must know something after all. If

not, then I can throw him out later.

Well, I swear, that is when I got

the biggest lecture that John ever

gave me. For some reason, this kid

turned into a child progeny on

Roller canaries. It wasn’t just a

canary- it was a German Roller. He

said there are lots of ordinary

canaries, but a Roller comes from

Germany and that’s why they call it

a German Roller. It doesn’t just

chirp or tweet-it rolls different

sounds. John told me everything I

wanted to know about our little bird

and more. He knew even more than the

people in pet stores! He spoke of

the shows, clubs, and prizes that

can be had by entering birds in

competitions. He even mentioned that

his grandfather knew a lot more than

he did about rollers.

It didn’t take a pet store employee,

a teacher, or a relative to clue me

in. All it took was one long smoke

break with thirteen year old little

John to open my eyes.

All the smoke had cleared by the

time everyone in our family returned

home that day and I couldn’t wait to

make my special announcement at the

dinner table. After telling them all

that John told me, everyone in our

family felt we were very fortunate

to have been given something of such

great value. My mom went out and

bought all the best food and

nutrients she could find. We wanted

our bird to be in good health for

him to sing well. Mom did a good job

taking care of him too, because the

older he got the more he sang. More

than fifteen years passed before he

finally sang his last song. He sang

right up until the day he died.

In the silent aftermath, everyone in

our family noticed how much the

atmosphere of our home had changed

without him. As each day went on in

silence, the hopeless feeling of

losing something that precious to us

only intensified. We wanted to get

things back to the way they once

were but we didn’t know how. Where

could we find another bird like

that? It was the only one that we

ever knew of. We felt like we lost a

close member of the family that

would be impossible to replace. We

wished that we could have him back.

Soon afterward, I went looking for a

substitute hoping that I might find

28

one good enough to replace him. I

searched high and low. I looked in

every Pet store and Newspaper that I

could find. I remembered his song

while comparing with every canary I

came across but I never heard one of

them sing anything like our little

Billy. There just wasn’t anything.

After several months of searching;

it still looked as hopeless as the

day I first started. The only thing

that I learned from searching was

that I would never settle for a

plain canary. It was too late. I had

already been spoiled too much to

even consider that. I decided if I

can’t find a roller, I just won’t

have anything. I prefer the memory

of a roller’s sweet melody to the

live sound of anything else. I

finally reached the point where I

had to give up looking altogether. I

had truly run out of places to look.

After this, our family would never

again experience the joy of another

roller while living under the same

roof. The void he left behind stayed

with us long after my siblings and I

had moved from home to make new

lives of our own.

By 1981, I was long-gone from there.

I was raising a family of my own in

Chilliwack after having moved

several times previous.

One evening, I decided to check the

newspaper ads to see what things I

could buy for a Mother’s day gift. I

began to think of my dad also. He

passed away on Mother’s day, 1956.

Because of this, I always tried to

find something special for mom on

that day. I flipped through all the

pages but I could only find the same

junk decorations that mom had

already filled every room in her

house with from Church bazaars. I

flipped a few more pages and my then

my eyes fell on the pet section…

Roller Canaries!

I couldn’t believe it! Real Rollers?

What a perfect gift for Mothers Day!

OK, I’d better slow down and take a

closer look at that ad. After all

the trouble I went through and all

the time I spent looking, there must

be something wrong. I know from

experience that these birds are not

something you find in the daily

newspaper. I already tried that

route, and look where it got me

after years of searching. There has

got to be a catch somewhere. Ahah! I

knew it-just as I thought; the ad

only says “Roller Canaries”. It

didn’t say German Rollers. I knew

there must be something, and that’s

probably it right there in print.

They almost fooled me into buying a

Roller Canary instead of a German

Roller. He thought that nobody who

reads his ad would notice. Being

that the German Roller was extinct

ever since ours died he thought he

could advertise his canaries as

Rollers and nobody would remember or

even notice the difference. Thank

God I still knew the difference. I

still remembered. I know from John

Good that they are called German

Rollers; not Roller Canaries. I’ll

bet the guy selling them just wants

to pawn off a regular cheap canary

by giving them a special name. He

might not even know that “Rollers”

came from Germany. If he actually

29

had the real thing, then why

wouldn’t he advertise them as German

Rollers? I really had to call this

guy. If he was a cheat, then I would

really give him an earful. I doubt

that I could have misunderstood John

Good. After all, he did risk getting

a black eye, to tell me about them.

I thought there would have to be a

piece of the puzzle missing if both

John and the advertiser were right.

I wanted to find out, but I would

first have to carefully plan a

series of questions for the

interrogation. I didn’t want to mess

this one up by accusing someone I

didn’t know of being a cheat if it

prevents me from buying a German

Roller. Also, I wanted to make the

call when wifey wasn’t around. She

was another story that words can’t

describe- so I won’t even try. I

cleared my mind of everything but

the questions I would ask I had to

either catch a cheat lying or learn

more about the German Roller. I

would let him talk a while first.

It took the rest of that morning

before wifey was out the door.

I called immediately.

I guess some ancestral luck of the

Irish was with me that day because

none other than Roller Judge Gordon

Lundgren answered the phone.

Soon afterward, I found myself

tucked under his wing, with flight

plans to Rollerdom. He dispelled all

the myths I had about “Rollers”. I

learned their history from Germany,

Great Britain, Europe, and other

countries of the world. He explained

that “Rollers” is a nickname we use

in countries other than Germany.

Gordon was a wonderful mentor. He

always asked a lot of questions and

gave advice on all I needed. In

fact, his advice was so good; I

always forgot what my reason for

calling him was as soon as he

started talking. I guess that’s why

some things just never got asked.

Gordon left us many years ago. There

are still a few that remember him

and how much activity there was in

the fancy during those years.

We have since moved on to a new era

in a new millennium. Memberships are

down, subscriptions have fallen, and

our faces have aged. Our desire to

share the experiences we have with

Rollers has not changed. Seldom do

our new members hear of the glorious

times that we once enjoyed. Members

like Kathy Newman and Farid Djouder

now walk in our tracks. I swear –

they were planted here by God to

remind us of the way we once were.

So eager to learn and so willing to

try. I sometimes feel that I have

failed to give enough to them.

Once in a while I am prompted by

things they say or do, to make me

remember. -Like when Kathy, bought a

roller from me to replace her mom’s

after it died.

It was a gift to her mom for

Mother’s day.

-Kent

30

A little Irish humour

Muldoon lived alone in the Irish countryside

with only a roller canary for company. One

day the canary died, and Muldoon went to the

parish priest to ask- ‘Father, my canary is

dead. Could ya be sayin a Mass for ‘is poor

little soul?”

Father Patrick replied, “Oh dear, I think not

Muldoon. We cannot be havin’ a church service

for the canary now. Have ya tried the

Baptists down the lane? There's no tellin'

what they will do. They might say a few holy

words over the little creature.”

Muldoon said, “God bless ya father, I'll go

right away. Should €5,000 be plenty enough

for a Baptist to pray for his wee catholic soul

then?”

Father Patrick exclaimed, 'Sweet Mary,

Mother of Jesus! Why’d’ ya not tell me it was

Roman Catholic canary service ya wanted?

Faces from the past

Continuing on the heels of Ada

Bairstow, the three DRC News

Editors (pictured lower left)

covered the next twenty eight

years of our history.

Master Breeder and DRCA Judge,

Gordon Hamilton (left)served as

DRCA Secretary-Treasurer while his

wife (Kae) served as Secretary

Treasurer of the Saskatchewan

Roller Canary Club (don’t confuse

this with the Saskatoon Roller

Canary Club) in the late 1960’s.

Gordon later moved to Vancouver,

where he served as President of

the Vancouver Roller Canary

Society. He would swap birds (and

executive titles) over the years

with his long time friend Ken

Swann.

Ken Swann served as DRC NEWS

Western Sub Editor and as

Treasurer of the Edmonton Roller

Canary Society when he lived in

Edmonton in the early 1950’s. He

later moved to Regina where he

continued to serve as Western sub

editor of the News during the late

1950’s and early 1960’s. Later in

the 1960’s, Ken was back, living

in Edmonton, serving as DRCA

President. He held this position

numerous times during his last 30

years with us. Ken spent his last

years living in the Okanagan town

of Westbank B.C. with his wife

Jean. He remained very active in

the DRCA until his resignation as

editor in October of 1991.

Joe (and his wife Marlene) Grygar

were both with the Calgary Roller

Canary Club, when he served as

editor between 1991 and 1995.

The Dominion Roller Canary News Breeder Cards

Breeder Cards: You can advertise your Card in the News for as little as $5.00 per year. You canalso purchase additional seven line segments at $5.00 each if a larger card is required.For additional advertising that can include photos, you can purchase ¼ page, ½ page or fullpage ads. The annual cost for “page” ads is $25.00 CDN for each ¼ page segment. All ads willbecome due for renewal in January of each year. To advertise, please send your cheque to:

Kent Donnelly,35244 McKee Road.,

Abbotsford, B.C., Canada,V2S 6K6

Make your cheque payable to the “DRCA” or “The DRC News Editor”. All advertisements in TheNews will appear in this publication as well as online at our DRC News Websitehttp://members.shaw.ca/drca/ Updated: May 2009 File: Breeder cards.doc

Narciso PratavieraGood Stock of RollersEnquiries Welcome7266 Delaport Drive

Mississauga, Ont., Canada,L4T 2Y3

Phone: (905) 677-9978

Joe Pietrobon, Sec. VRCSMaster Breeder

4468 Wildwood CrescentBurnaby, B.C., Canada,

V5G 2M4Phone: (604) 435-7063


Peter JaehrlingDRCA Ring Secretary

HRCC Secretary Treasurer1071 County Rd. 8, RR#4, Picton,

Ontario, Canada, K0K 2T0Phone: (613) 476-2553


Bill Friend,Master Breeder(New Address)

Canterbury Court, #508 -3011 Gateby Place,

Vernon, B.C., V1T 9S4.Email: [email protected]

Richard SmithQuality German Rollers

6359 Hargitt St.Abbotsford B.C.

V3G1M8(604) 820 8522


Richard VerretÉleveurs de Canaris

Roller Allemand (Harz)104 Ave Proulx Québec

G1M1W4(418) 527-7549

[email protected]

Agnes (Scotty) WalcotPromoter of the Fancy

104-1426 Penticton Ave.Penticton, B.C., Canada,

V2A 8C7,Phone: (250) 770-8789

Anton Schlott, MasterBreeder of Champion Rollers

2049 4th Ave.St. Catharines, Ont.,

Canada, L2R 6P9Phone: (905) [email protected]

Paul R. ScandlynPresident: SCRCC/NWRCC/WRCABreeder/Fancier of German Rollers

449 South 12th Ave., Cornelius,Oregon, USA, 97113-6815.

Phone: (503) 357-7253Email: [email protected]

Hamida BouhariraÉleveurs de canaris Harz

(514)[email protected]

www.canariharz.com

Claredot AviaryChuck & Dorothy Vardy

Breeders of Show Stock Rollers16 Cedar Creek Road,

MidhurstOntario,Can.,L0L1X1Phone: (705) 721 5395

Email [email protected]

Kent Donnelly, President DRCA,VRCS. Editor/Producer of DRC News

35244 McKee Road.,Abbotsford, B.C., Canada, V2S 6K6

Phone: (604) 557-1866http://members.shaw.ca/rollercanary


Alex Meindertsma10825 139 St. NWEdmonton, Alberta

T5M 1P6(780) 454-6824

Ron Rowden411 Dianne DriveOshawa Ontario,

O1H 7L8Quality Rollers

Phone 705 489 4184

Ken CampbellRoller Canaries

598 Niagara St. Box 447Wyoming, Ont. Canada N0N 1T0

Phone: (519) 845 3298E-mail [email protected]

HARI-AD-v2 8/2/07 8:23 AM Page 1

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drc news june 2009, 65th anniversary edition

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