Nilo kennels mr. Olin cotton tom cox

[canuckkiller]

These are some of my thoughtrs about Nilo ...

Raymond Little earlier mentioned Cotton, NFC Marten's Little Smokey and Tom Cox.

Much of that has evaporated in the winds and shifting sands of time. However, I
have enduring memories, experiences and appreciation for what Mr. Olin, T.W.,
the men at Nilo, and Tom Cox did for Royal's Moose's Moe and Bill Connor. Not
only in the weeks preceeding the 1972 National at 'Bosque', but in the years after,
when the 10:00 AM break at Nilo for dougnuts became a routine ... much to T.W.'s
chargrin.

Tom Cox was a Springer man, but a trusted companion of Cotton's. Tom was his
'right hand man' for many trials. Tom knew and understood springers and retrievers.
Cox was one hell-of-a-guy!!

At Bosque in 1972 ... before that National started ... Cotton told me that during that week
of that National, Tom was at my disposal. And, He Was!!

Bill Connor


Everything in the SI article about Smokey probably omits much of the man (T. W.
"Cotton" PERSHALL) ... and Mr. Olin.

[jd6400]

Well said Bill!And Moe was a goodin,can still remember Dads thoughts on that national!!!! Jim

[Raymond Little]

Ok guys, you need to come clean and give us a biography of yourselves. Your recollections are great but leave the total history incomplete. You are history and by sharing your lives we get to live those bygone days.

Respectfully,
Raymond Little

[BonMallari]

Ok guys, you need to come clean and give us a biography of yourselves. Your recollections are great but leave the total history incomplete. You are history and by sharing your lives we get to live those bygone days.

Respectfully,
Raymond Little

I know these two men and their modesty will keep them from divulging who they are and their links to retriever history. I on the other hand have no problem "outing these two gentlemen" because I think they have many stories to tell

jd6400 is the son of famed pro trainer Jim Weitzel Sr...Jim Sr. I am proud to say was one of the first pros to befriend my brother Clint when he ran a couple of FT's in the Ohio valley area in the mid 70's,something my family will always be grateful for his dad's hospitality and friendship...Jim Sr was also the pro for Dr Morris Stroud (aka Kippy Swingle's dad)..Jim Sr was a multi National Finalist, most notibly with FC Willowmount El Diablo, he also handled/trained FC AFC Patsy's Thunderchief..Jim Jr has seen the FT game up close and personal, he know the game well and was well taught by his dad

canuckiller is none other that WD "Bill" Connor ..O/H of 1972 NFC AFC Royal Moose's Moe, he is one of a handful of amateurs to win the National, and also have Moose enshrined in the RHOF..WD also titled a golden FC AFC Ripp n Ready...he has judged a National Amateur in '77 and has well over 100 judging assignments in his career...

When WD talks about a FT set up and test, you want to listen and take notes, He knows his stuff and has the "pelts" on the wall to back it up..Why he isnt in the RHOF himself is beyond me

I am proud, and actually honored to call both of these men my friends

[Raymond Little]

Thanks for outing these guys Bon, now the pieces of the puzzle are coming together.

[JustinS]

Thank you for sharing some stories with us

[jd6400]

Thanks for the kind words Bon.Along with Mr.Conner there are a host of others not in RHOF is beyond me also.We can open a can of worms up here about this,but I choose not to.The invitation is always open for you and Clint here,can put you guys on some geese and watch a chessy or two...Ha! Jim

[huntinman]

Good post Bon! We need more of the pioneers of the game like Mr. Connor and Mr. Weitzel on the forum. Their stories are the history of our game that will be lost forever is not told. Just recently, several well known FT's have passed and some of that history along with them.

If any of you know some of these men and women that have been in the game for years and can get some stories about the early trials, dogs or training sessions please do. Or better yet, get them to come on the forum and start a history thread...

[jd6400]

I really should tell the story of Mike Flannery and menopause row at a trial......ahh better not! Jim

[cockbird]

The 1st lab I trained, almost 20 years ago, was done with a book my mother brought me from an antique store she worked at. It was called Training Retrievers: The Cotton Pershall Method. I was in my early 20's and didn't care much about history and didn't appreciate the history of the book or Cotton. Now in my 40's and having become more interested in history, mainly my hunting grounds and ducking hunting, I have been reading some Nash Buckingham books and found that Cotton, Nash, and Mr. Olin rubbed elbows. About 4 months ago, I purchased my 4th lab, future duck chaser and maybe a few hunt tests, and have re-read Cotton's books with a greater appreciation of the dog genious. I would have loved to have seen him run dogs and done some real duck hunting in that era.