Bulldog Club of Indiana

 

            The distinguished history of the Bulldog Club of Indiana Inc., begins in October 1935, at the Antlers Hotel in Indianapolis where officers were elected, and a decision was made to hold meetings on the last Sunday of each month.

          A document in the archives prepared by Mrs. Claud A. Crum of Indianapolis, who served as the first treasurer and later secretary, indicates that the idea to form a club in Indiana was conceived in 1935 following the Hoosier Kennel Club all-breed show at Indianapolis.

          Lamenting the fact that only four Bulldogs were entered, three of the eventual founders of the club – Mr. A.K.Mayer, Miss Marguerite Vance, and Mrs. Minnie Crum – noted that there were several good Bulldogs in Indiana. So they decided to prepare a list of owners and met at the Crum’s residence at 1220 Sturm Ave. to consolidate them.

          A preliminary meeting was held Oct. 18, 1935, to determine whether the other Bulldog owners felt it worthwhile to organize a club in Indiana. The answer was affirmative, and the date for an organizational meeting was set. Twenty-one bulldog fanciers met formally on Oct. 27th to elect officers. Elected were:

          Frank Hatfield, president.

          Harold Brady, 1st vice president

          A.K.Mayer, secretary

          Mrs. Claud Crum, treasurer

          No club meeting was held in November because of a scheduling conflict involving the Chicago Bulldog Club’s fall specialty show on Nov. 24. However,  four directors were elected at a meeting on Dec 1, 1935:  They were:

          W.T. Morgan

          Noble W. Hiatt

          Paul Maddux

          Marguerite Vance

          Club membership was “limited to those really interested in the betterment of the breed,” according to the archives. There were 20 original members. Ten associate members were added to the roster, including Miss Alice Rosenthal, publisher of Dog News magazine, and Mr. Will Judy, publisher of Dog World magazine.

          An initiation fee of $1 and annual dues of $1.50 were established. At least one benched show and sometimes two specialties were held in the spring and fall. $75.00 was budgeted for silver-plated trophies at each show.

          The club’s first undertaking was to support the entry in the spring of 1936 at the all-breed Anderson Kennel Club show at Anderson, Indiana.

          The following September of 1936 Miss Vance served as show chairman for the club’s first fall specialty show.

“This show was a 3-day affair held in conjunction with the Indiana State Fair in the leaky Poultry Building,” according to the archives.

          The specialty show was judged by Anton Rost, a highly regarded all-breed judge who drew an entry of 28 bulldogs, validating the founders' decision to form a new club here.

          In 1937, the Club refused to return to the Poultry Building and the show’s location was changed to the Manufacturer’s Building at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Dr. Glen Adams judged an entry of 29 bulldogs.

          The Bulldog Club of Indiana also received its charter in 1937 from the Bulldog Club of America, which was based in New York.

          The B.C.I.’s first puppy match was held March 7, 1937, in conjunction with the Cocker Spaniel Club of Indiana and Scottish Terrier Club of Indiana in the show rooms of the Frank Hatfield Co., downtown Indianapolis  The entry fee was $1 and admission was 25 cents for adults, 15 cents for children.

          Several July puppy matches and pitch-in dinners during the 1940s were held on the lawn at Paul and Dorothy Maddux’s Maple Lodge Kennels near Frankfort, Indiana.

          A total of 47 puppies were entered there in 1947. Frankfort’s Clinton County 4-H Building was the site of BCI’s annual puppy match for many years. Members and exhibitors were often hosted afterwards at the nearby home of Beyrl and Edith Gould, owners of Kelly Road Bulldogs kennels at Frankfort, Indiana..

          Despite World War II gas rationing, the new club was determined to sponsor an annual specialty show. In 1942 the Hoosier Kennel Club was forced to cancel its May 31st all-breed show because the entire fairgrounds had been leased to the U.S. Army. So the show was held in conjunction with the Anderson Kennel.Club's all-breed show in September 1942. Defense stamps were offered in every class and silver-plated trophies were awarded for Best of Breed, Best of Opposite Sex and Best of Winners.

          After the war, the 1947 fall specialty show at the state fairgrounds drew a record entry of 100 Bulldogs for judge Frank Carolin, president of the Bulldog Club of America. Dr. and Mrs. George W. Andree’s “Choo-Choo of White Hub” finished her championship, going WB and BOS. Her breeder-owners Dr. Andree, a Rensselaer veterinarian, and his wife Marie, an honorary Life Member of the B.C.I., were elected to club membership in November of 1941.

          The B.C.I., by far the oldest of the three BCA member clubs in the state of Indiana,  has had the distinction of hosting the National Specialty show at Indianapolis several times since the BCA's reorganization. The first one was in late 1949, followed by the BCA National specialties of 1954, 1962, 1994 and 2001.    

          The club's largest specialty show held independently was in 1985, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the club's founding. There were 199 dogs entered, including 45 champions. Dean Anderson of California was the judge.

 

Submitted by G. William Andree, former club historian.