Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Another link to Aldo Leopold A couple weeks ago, Shivani and I attended a seminar at the Aldo Leopold Shack presented by University of Wisconsin Prof. Jon Foley, who made a very strong case for the inevitability of global warming. I will post Shivani's notes soon, but for now, I want to mention another chance meeting that night. In the small crowd attending the seminar (held, BTW, in the "front yard" of the "Shack," which served the Aldo Leopold family as a weekend retreat in the 1930s and 40s), I noticed a familiar-looking man with a German Shorthair on a long lead. Afterward, when others were chatting with Prof. Foley or scarfing down the remains of the potluck dishes folks had brought to share, I heard Aldo Leopold Foundation executive director Buddy Huffaker say "Good-bye, Ken," to the man with the GSP. "Is that Ken Blomberg?" I asked, suddenly recognizing him. "Yes," Buddy said. I excused myself to go say hello. As we talked, I asked him about his dog and learned that Rocky is a direct descendant, 14 generations removed, of Aldo Leopold's shorthair, Gus! Needless to say, I was flabbergasted. Ken had brought Rocky along so he could take some photos of him in front of the shack. He told me he had acquired that line of GSP years ago, but at the time did not know that Leopold's Gus was an ancestor. In fact, I hunted with Ken's bitch Tina, also from that lineage, back in 1985 or 86 and I have footage of her on my Field to Feast Ruffed Grouse video. Ken raises and trains shorthairs at his Eau Pleine Kennels in central Wisconsin. Ken told me that Art Hawkins had given Gus to Leopold and that Hawkins had kept meticulous track of the lineage. He also said Rocky was Hawkins' favorite of Gus' descendants and that Rocky looks the most like Gus. From the photos I've seen of Gus, I'd have to agree. Hawkins passed away in March of this year, at the age of 92. He himself wrote a marvelous piece on the death of his colleague and friend, Frank Belrose, just a month before his own death. I have not had a chance to get back in touch with Ken to learn how he acquired the lineage, but I'm guessing it was through Hawkins.  At any rate, it was just too much for words to meet a direct descendant of Leopold's own dog, who is featured in A Sand County Almanac, and who led his master on many a journey of discovery as they hunted the sand country of the Wisconsin River bottoms. Later... 6:17:29 PM    comment []