History of the Del Sur Kennel Club

Early in 1961, Curtis and Thelma Brown invited a group of people to a dinner at the Town & Country Hotel in Mission Valley. According to the minutes, those present were:

• Thelma & Curtis Brown
• John & Noreen Cade
• James & Donna Case
• Eugene Freeland
• Edward & Mrs. Hornig
• Fon & Audrie Johnson
• Margaret Lowthian
• Charles & Ann Marck
• George & Virginia Miller
• Milton & LaVerne Walker

After dinner, Curtis Brown took the Chair and proposed the formation of an All Breed Club. After due discussion the idea was approved and Officers were elected as follows:

• President Curtis Brown
• Vice-President George Miller
• Secretary Charles Marck
• Treasurer La Verne Walker

May 25, 1961, was the official date of the founding of the club. Meetings were held in homes at first until such time as a constitution, dues and details were worked out. The first public meeting place was the El Nadadero Club in El Cajon, CA. The founding members were:

• Thelma & Curtis Brown
• John & Noreen Cade
• James & Donna Case
• Eugene Freeland
• Edward & Mrs. Hornig
• Fon & Audrie Johnson
• Margaret Lowthian
• Charles & Ann Marck
• George & Virginia Miller
• Milton & LaVerne Walker
• William & Ann Wallace

During the period of May thru July, 1961, 46 persons were accepted into membership including: Arthur L. Carter; Beverly Griffith; Beatrice Gwinner; Dr. & Mrs. Samuel Kurtz; Blanche (Smith) Leahy.

Match & Show History

The first two "B" Matches were held on the lawn in front of the Town & Country Hotel. The two "A" Matches were held at the El Nadadero Club in El Cajon, CA. The 2nd "A" Match was held on November 24, 1963, the day after President Kennedy was shot.

• 1st "B" Match - June 17, 1962
• 2nd "B' Match - Nov. 25, 1962 - Entry 484 dogs
• 1st "A" Match - May 5, 1963 - At El Nadadero Club, El Cajon
• 2nd "A" Match - Nov. 24,1963 - Entry of 207 Dogs at the El Nadadero Club

The 1st Licensed Show was held on November 22, 1964, at Grossmont High School with an entry of 1258 dogs and an obedience entry of 71. The Superintendent was Jack Bradshaw Sr. and Claire Bradshaw. The entry fee was $6.00 and catalogues sold for $1.50. The trophies were Gregorian Copper and the Officers and Show Committee were:

Officers

• President - Charles Marck
• Vice President - James Case
• Secretary - Audrie Johnson
• Treasurer - LaVerne Walker

Show Committee

• Show Chair - James Case
• Obedience Chair - Fon Johnson
• Dr. S.T. Kurtz
• Thelma Brown
• George Miller
• James Griffith
• Carl Sharratt

The 2nd Licensed show was held on May 23, 1965, at Wells Park, El Cajon.

The 9th Licensed show was held in May 1972 and, that summer, the Del Sur Kennel Club became a Member Club of the American Kennel Club.

The 10th show, held on Nov. 4, 1972, was the first show as a American Kennel Club Member Club. Since that date there have been two shows held each year.

The 21st thru the 29th shows were held at Kennedy Park in El Cajon. Thereafter shows were held at Mt Helix High School, Optimist Club in Bonita and, in 1989, 25 years after the first show, the November show, #44, was held at Grossmont High School.

In 1992, the Del Sur & Cabrillo Kennel Clubs combined to start holding shows at the Rancho Santa Fe Polo Club grounds in Rancho Santa Fe. The first show was on Saturday, November 7, 1992, and was Del Sur's 50th show. Cabrillo's show was held on November 8, 1992. The Del Sur show on November 11, 1995, will be #56. With the change in location the club's colors were changed to Red and Gray.

Eugene Freeland, a founding member, originated the name of the club, Del Sur. Roughly meaning "of the South" or "southern", referring to the club's original AKC service area of southern San Diego County. The original Del Sur logo was designed by an employee of Edward Hornig, a founding member. In 1977, at the suggestion of Beverly Holt, the Club logo was refined by John Wixey, a club member, and a die was made for the present Club Medallion which is used for many purposes. A new die was made at a later date but the design is identical to the original. The Medallion was first used for some trophies for the November 1977 show.

The foregoing information was assembled over the years with the help of Curtis Brown, Milton Walker, Audrie Johnson, Douglas Shipley, Georjean Jensen, the official club minutes and show catalogs and miscellaneous letters.

~ Compiled by Art Carter, October 20, 1995