The Dominion

Roller Canary News

Canada
~ Roller Canary ~ Bred for Song ~

June 2009
65th Anniversary Edition

The Dominion Roller Canary News 65th Year 1944 - 2009

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, and
encourage the breeding and showing of Roller Canaries. The “News” is the main source of
information for Roller Canary enthusiasts. Opinions expressed in DRC News, might not always
reflect 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/
 The Dominion Roller Canary Association Executive
President, Kent Donnelly, 35244 McKee Road., Abbotsford, Can., V2P6K6
Sec./Treas./Editor Email: drca@shaw.ca (604) 557-1866
Eastern Vice- Fulvio C.DiStasio, 235 Westridge Drive, P.O. Box 639, Kleinburg, Ontario
President Canada L0J1C0 Email: fdistasio@rogers.com (905) 893-0367
Western Vice- Joe Pietrobon, 4468 Wildwood Cr., Burnaby, B.C., Canada V5G 2M5,
President Email: jm4468@shaw.ca (604) 435-7063
DRCA Ring Peter Jaehrling, RR4, Picton, Ontario, Can., K0K 2T0
Secretary Email:zebra_male@hotmail.com (613) 476-2553
DRC News Editor Kent Donnelly, 35244 McKee Road., Abbotsford, Can., V2P6K6
Producer/Webmaster Email: drca@shaw.ca (604) 557-1866

The DRCA Member Clubs and their Executive

President: Anton Schlott, RR3, 2049 - 4th Ave St., Catherines, Ontario,
Hamilton Roller Can. L2R 6P9, anna_schlott@yahoo.ca (905) 685-0638
Canary Club Sec./Treas.: Peter Jaehrling, RR4, Picton, Ontario, Canada
K0K 2T0, Email: zebra_male@hotmail.com (613) 476-2553
President: Kent Donnelly,35244 McKee Road., Abbotsford, Can., V2S6K6
(604) 557-1866 drca@shaw.ca
Vancouver Roller Vice-President: Marvin Haynes, Unit 41, 3096 South Main St.,
Canary Society Penticton, B.C., Canada V2A 8C3 (250) 493-3103
Sec./Treas.: Joe Pietrobon, 4468 Wildwood Cr., Burnaby, B.C., Canada
V5G 2M5, Email: jm4468@shaw.ca (604) 435-7063
President: Humida Bouharira,860,rue Ponsard, Brossard Quebec,
Club de Canaris J4W 1W2, mosta1952@hotmail.com Tel (514) 969-4818
Harz du Québec Website: http://www.canariharz.com
Montréal Vice-President / Secretary Treasurer: Rachid Benaissa 5965, Honoré-
Mercier, St-Léonard, Qc, H1P 1C1 tél: 514-830-9578
Président: Rejean Charland rejeanoiseaux@hotmail.com
Canary Noble
793 Marie Victorin, Desshaillon-sur, St Laurent, QC G0S 1G0
Roller Club of
Vice - President: Marcel St-Arnaud, phone (819) 377 9917
Quebec
Secretary/Treasurer: Richard Verret, phone (418) 527 7549
Trois Rivières
Pending : ~ (Contacts ~ Réjean Lesage & Ron Vrolyk)
German Roller
rlesage@globetrotter.net
Canary Club

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

DRC News Subscription Form

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35244 McKee Road., Abbotsford, Canada, V2S6K6 Phone (604) 557- 1866

DRC NEWS Editor and Producer: Kent Donnelly Updated: March 2009 File: executive2009.doc
 1

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

-The original four page Issue-

2
3
 4

This Back Page Advertisement was on the fourth page of our first edition.
 5

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

6
 7

OFFICERS OF THE DOMINION ROLLER CANARY ASSOCIATION INC.

1944 -1961
SECRETARY VICE- SUB- CORRESPONDENCE
YEAR PRESIDENT EDITOR SECRETARY
TREASURER PRESIDENTS EDITORS

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. Retallack J. Wallbridge

J.Renton
H. Gill

1949-50 A.K.St.James Alex Ross Alex Ross T. Retallack J. Wallbridge

J.Renton
L. Normandeau

1950-51 Alex Ross Alex Ross T. Retallack A. Gale

J.Renton AdaBairstow
J.DHay

1951-52 J.Renton Alex Ross Alex Ross H.Hoffmeister A. Gale

AdaBairstow
J.DHay

1952-53 J.Renton Alex Ross Ada H.Hoffmeister Ken Swann A. Gale

Bairstow AdaBairstow Alex Ross
J.DHay

1953-54 AdaBairstow Alex Ross Ada T. Oakley Ken Swann H.Hoffmeister

Bairstow G. Smith Alex Ross

AdaBairstow Alex Ross Ada T. Oakley Ken Swann I. Skelton

1954-55
Bairstow G. Smith Alex Ross

1955-56 AdaBairstow Alex Ross Ada T. Oakley Ken Swann Ken Swann
Bairstow G. Smith Alex Ross
A. Littlechild

1956-57 T. Oakley Alex Ross Ada H. Preston Ken Swann Ken Swann
Bairstow G. Weaver Alex Ross
J. Collis

1957-58 T. Oakley Alex Ross Ada H. Preston Ken Swann Ken Swann
Bairstow G. Weaver Alex Ross
J. Collis

1958-59 T. Oakley Alex Ross Ada H. Preston Ken Swann Ken Swann
Bairstow C. Kneller Alex Ross
J. Collis

1959-60 T. Oakley Alex Ross Ada J. Renton J. Renton

Bairstow C.Kneller J. Collis
G. Wearver

1960-61 T. Oakley Alex Ross Ada W. Tucker J. Renton

Bairstow T. Retallack J. Collis

Continued on page 8
 8

OFFICERS OF THE DOMINION ROLLER CANARY ASSOCIATION INC.

1961- 1974
SECRETARY VICE- SUB- CORRESPONDENCE
YEAR PRESIDENT EDITOR SECRETARY
TREASURER PRESIDENTS EDITORS

1961-62 G. Weaver Alex Ross Ada W. Tucker J. Renton

Bairstow T. Retallack J. Collis
H. Bolton

1962-63 G. Weaver Alex Ross Ada W. Tucker J. Renton I. Farquhar

Bairstow T. Retallack J. Collis
H. Bolton

1963-64 J. Collis Alex Ross Ada W. Tucker J. Renton I. Farquhar

Bairstow T. Retallack J. Collis
H. Bolton

1964-65 H. Bolton Alex Ross Ada W. Tucker H. Barnes K. Swann

Bairstow T. Retallack Mrs. Mike
P. Ruppel

1965-66 H. Preston Alex Ross Alex Ross T. Dumma T. Oakley G. Hamilton

H. Bolton Mrs. Mike
P. Ruppel

1966-67 H. Preston Alex Ross Alex Ross J. Renton J. Renton G. Hamilton

C. Kneller W. Duncan
H. Bolton

1967-68 K. Swann G.Hamilton G.Hamilton J. Renton W. Friend

J. Carpay W. Duncan
Mrs. Mike

1968-69 K. Swann G.Hamilton G.Hamilton T. Oakley W. Friend

A. Gurr W. Duncan
H. Bolton

1969-70 K. Swann J. Renton J. Renton A. Gurr J. Graham

C. Kneller W. Duncan
H. Bolton

1970-71 H. Bolton J. Renton J. Renton W. Slocombe W. Friend

G. Hamilton W. Duncan
C. Kneller

1971-72 G.Hamilton K. Swann J. Renton Mrs. E. Gurr W. Friend

C. Kneller J. Graham
J. Graham

1972-73 G.Hamilton K. Swann J. Renton W. Friend W. Friend

G. Weaver J. Graham
R. Mills

1973-74 G.Hamilton K. Swann J. Renton W. Tucker F. Cook

R. Decks J. Graham
M. Jacobs
Continued on page 9
 9

OFFICERS OF THE DOMINION ROLLER CANARY ASSOCIATION INC.

1974 - 1989
SECRETARY
YEAR PRESIDENT EDITOR VICE-PRESIDENTS SUB-EDITORS
TREASURER

W. Tucker
W. Friend
1974-75 G.Hamilton K. Swann G.Hamilton R. Decks
J. Collis
M. Jacobs

J. Young
G.Hamilton
1975-76 J. Graham K. Swann K. Swann C. DeBoon
J. Collis
E. Dennison

J. Young
G.Hamilton
1976-77 J. Graham K. Swann K. Swann C. DeBoon
J. Collis
E. Dennison

J. Young
G.Hamilton
1977-78 J. Graham K. Swann K. Swann C. DeBoon
J. Collis
E. Dennison

J. Young
G.Hamilton
1978-79 G. Wells K. Swann K. Swann C. DeBoon
J. Collis
E. Dennison

J. Young
G.Hamilton
1979-80 R. Nemeth C. Tataryn K. Swann E. DeLaRie
J. Collis
A. Durieux

K. Bell
J. & J. Dickins
1980-81 R. Nemeth J. L. Grygar K. Swann A. Durieux
J. Graham
N. Prataviera

K. Bell
G. Quellet
1981-82 R. Nemeth J. L. Grygar K. Swann A. Durieux
J. Graham
N. Prataviera

K. Bell
G. Marcoux
1982-83 R. Nemeth J. L. Grygar K. Swann A. Durieux
J. Graham
N. Prataviera

K. Bell
T. Fanning
1983-85 G.Hamilton J. L. Grygar K. Swann A. Durieux
J. Collis
N. Prataviera

Ed Milliken
V. Saxton
1985-87 G.Hamilton J. L. Grygar K. Swann A. Durieux
J. Graham
A. Schlott

Ed Milliken
H. Gill
1987-89 V. Saxton J. L. Grygar K. Swann A. Durieux
G. Lundgren
A. Schlott
Continued on page 10
 10

OFFICERS OF THE DOMINION ROLLER CANARY ASSOCIATION INC.

1989 - 2000
SECRETARY VICE-
YEAR PRESIDENT EDITOR SUB-EDITORS
TREASURER PRESIDENTS

J. Corcoran
Ed Pardek
1989-91 V. Saxton J. L. Grygar K. Swann A. Durieux G. Lundgren
M. Nogueira
Ed Pardek
K. Swann A. Durieux J. Corcoran
1991-93 V. Saxton J. L. Grygar
J. L. Grygar A. Schlott O. Troock

Al DeLeijer G. Lundgren
1993-95 Fred Walcott J. L. Grygar J. L. Grygar A. Durieux J. Graham
A. Schlott
A. Durieux
1995-97 Fred Walcott Fred Walcott Ken Cromer A. Schlott J. Graham

A. Schlott
1997-2000 Fred Walcott Fred Walcott Fred Walcott
Joe Pietrobon

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. Schlott Fulvio C. DiStasio Fulvio C. DiStasio

Joe Pietrobon Kent Donnelly Joe Pietrobon
SECRETARY
TREASURER  Fred Walcott
Peter Jaehrling
EDITOR  Kent Donnelly

PRODUCER  Bill Friend Kent Donnelly

RING SECRETARY   Peter Jaehrling

WEBMASTER  Ruben Garcia Kent Donnelly

 11

"Our First Editors”

A lex Ross became the first editor of the DRC NEWS in June of 1944. The 6th
day of that month was well remembered as “D DAY”. It was when Canadian,
British
ritish and American troops had landed on the beaches of Normandy to
launch their massive assault against the German army. It was also
a a time of
great uncertainty. It was the height of World War II when so much suffering,
loss and human tragedy took place. Who would have known if they
the could even
survive the war; let alone think that such a small newsletter such as ours
could
ould still be around sixty five years later?
later Until then, very little
information about the first ten years in the DRCA was ever recorded.

T he more you think about the way their lives were, and the times that they
were living
ving 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 Editor
was the Printer as well as the Producer. They
The wrote most of the articles
a and
did all the proof reading before stapling the news together in the correct
co
order. Their carefully maintained
maintained mailing list helped to ensure that every
subscriber would be mailed a copy of the news.
news Before I get into a little more
depth on them, let’s just take a break for a minute and
and open a time capsule of
that era. I hope you will enjoy the photos and comments I made. It’s meant to
give you a glimpse of life on the day Alex published our first issue.

If you had a telephone, you either had to rotate a dial to enter the number,, or ask an operator
operator, who
always responded - “YOUR NUMBER PLEASE?”

Radio was more popular than television.

 12

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”.

T he wringer washer saved many housewives from

doing a lot of work. They were first in use at
the beginning of the century and by 1944 they
were in every household. Families were often large in
size. Most household chores were
done by hand. Most Women stayed at
home while their husbands went to
work as the sole wage earner. The
bread man, the milk man, the mail
man, and the ice man all made
deliveries to the house. The ice
box (right) helped to keep food
fresh for longer periods of time,
which meant fewer trips to the
store. There were few disposable
items. Most things could be repaired by hand and reused.

A utomobile production for the public was halted in 1942

when factories re-tooled to manufacture weapons of
war. All vehicles prior to and shortly after the war
were made of very solid materials. They had no plastic parts
on them that would melt from heat. They had chrome bumpers,
and a heavier gauge of metal all-around. People didn’t
tolerate poor quality, poor service or Self-Serving gas
stations. Back then, most gas stations had mechanics that
put down their wrench in order to fill up your gas tank. At
the sound of a bell, “Ding Ding” caused by tires that rode
over an air hose; they checked your tire pressure, oil, put
water in the radiator, cleaned the windshield and wipers-all
in the short time it took to fill the tank. Cars looked
better, were more comfortable, powerful, luxurious and
stronger. One of the few cars produced in 1944 was the
Packard Brown Bomber F, shown on the right.
 13

T he three methods of correspondence in Canada were: Telephone, Telegraph

and The Royal Mail. Yes, I said Royal. In Canada, we still had street
letter boxes with “ER” for Elizabeth Regina (The Queen) marked on them.

Very few of these still

exist. They were made of
very solid metal, similar to
a portable home vault. These
photos represent a few of
many designs once used. The
photo on the right shows the
“ER” just under the British
crown. “Royal Mail” and
“Canada” are clearly marked.
They were all taken out of
service during the mid
1980’s. Today, Canada Post
employees no longer have to
raise their right hand with
the left hand on the bible
and swear allegiance to the
Queen before they are hired.

T hey would lock you up and throw away the key if you told them there would
be men walking on the moon in twenty five years. It truly was a different
era. 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 by
Government to censor things like the Lord’s Prayer, the bible, the holocaust
and other sacred or royal objects from public display has me wondering if much
of what once occurred in our lives will be known to others in the future.

A lex published our first four page edition only knowing that it was what
people had wanted at the time. The name DOMINION ROLLER CANARY NEWS is
synonymous with the DOMINION ROLLER CANARY ASSOCIATION as well as the
DOMINION OF CANADA. The DRCA was still in its infancy; only coming into
existence ten years previous. Many of North America’s first Roller Canary clubs
had formed years before this. The Montreal and Hamilton clubs appeared during
 14

the mid 1920’s. In those days Canadians could only buy foreign publications
that specialized in the Canary. The earliest of these was “The Kanaria” from
Germany, which began publishing in the last part of the nineteenth century.
Canary publications written in English weren’t available until the following
century. Many articles in the Kanaria were later translated into other
languages, which included English. The first to publish English translated
articles from the Kanaria was the BRCC ROLLER CANARY JOURNAL. In the years that
followed, translated articles from the Kanaria appeared in many other canary
publications. By the time Alex Ross began writing the DRC News, there were
already 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 written

in English came from Great Britain.
It was published by the British
Roller 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.

I t wasn’t until November of 1918, before North Americans finally had their
own Canary publication with the “American Canary Journal”. Two years
later, 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)
 15
W hile we are on the topic of
early publications, there is
one Canadian in particular that
should also be mentioned. He is one
that played an important role in the
publication of the Roller Canary
Journal some twenty years before the
DRC News came out in Canada. He was
Breeder, Trainer and Judge C.C.
Mulligan, who owned Premier Aviary
located at 2022 Ontario Street,
Vancouver B.C. His name and title as
the Associate Editor appears on the
first page inside the Roller Canary
Journal’s April, 1926 edition. He is
also mentioned on page three of our
first issue. Mulligan handled all of
the business correspondence from
England and Canada for the Roller
Canary Journal. His strain of birds
were being bred and advertised as
“Mulligan” by breeders all over
North America at the time. One proud
advertiser of the Mulligan strain
was even a well known American
editor that wrote for The Roller
Canary Journal by the name of Mrs.
Junior F. Hayden. Only recently,
when I began to read a few of the
many articles I have of her, did I
realize how much was already known
about the Roller in her day.
O ne could wonder (with all his
experience) why Mulligan wasn’t
the first one to establish a
Canadian publication years before
Alex. I am certain he must have
thought on it. As the only business
contact for all the Canadian and
British correspondence, he certainly
would have known who all the
Canadian customers were. Perhaps the
American publications were so well
established that he felt it would be
futile for him to compete with them.
It’s possible that he might have
also developed a loyalty to those he
already worked for. Canada has
always been such a small market by
comparison. There may have been too
few fanciers in Canada to support a
third Canary publication during
 16
those years. I suppose it also makes
sense that not many Americans would
want to drop their own publication
in favor of one from Canada.
I don’t know the year when those
two American publications
folded but I am certain that
our publication benefited by filling
the void that they left. Even today,
our ability to stay afloat depends
largely on our American Subscribers.
With that said, we come to the end
of this episode in history and move
on to just a little more on the
lives of our first editors…
A lex must have been very
determined and very dedicated
to venture as our first editor.
He pioneered the news for eight
years not knowing if anyone would
ever step in to succeed him until it
suddenly just happened. I suppose
it’s been that way with most things
throughout our history. We have
always operated a little on the edge
when it came to planning ahead.
Every time it looked hopeless and we
thought we weren’t able to continue,
someone with an interest always came
along and we were right back in
business.
I t wasn’t until 1952 before we
had our second editor. This was
when Alex asked (36 year old)
Ada Bairstow to take over the job
and she accepted.
Between 1953 and 1956, she served a
double role in the DRCA executive,
by filling the positions of Editor
and President.
Roller Canaries were a family
affair long before Ada began to
write the News. In the 1920’s her
father (Watson (Jim) Bairstow) was
already well established in the
MONTREAL ROLLER CANARY CLUB. Alex
picked the right girl for the job.
She started pulling strings to get
things up and running as soon as
she took over as editor.
A da worked at Martin Senour
Paints in Montreal where she
was lucky to have a gestetner
press at hand.
This is what
she used to
print copies of
the News. After
the printing
was done, she
took home the
stacks of paper
to collate and
staple the news
together for mailing. She kept on
doing this once every month for a
full thirteen years, right up to
the end of 1964. In the years that
followed, Ada remained an active
supporter of the News by donating
her time, money and written articles
to help keep our publication alive.
In 1974 she obtained and donated the
gestetner from her workplace to
replace the one that DRCA President
Gordon Hamilton used after it broke
down. She once mentioned in an
article how she enjoyed writing
her bits for the News even though
she was not actively engaged in
raising Rollers.
O ne who remembers Ada well is
Agnes (Scotty) Walcot. I spoke
to Scotty about Ada just after
her husband (past DRC NEWS Editor)
Fred Walcot passed away. Ada was her
own lady. She was a Baptist that
attended every Sunday mass in a
Roman Catholic Church. She was
always there to help us. Every time
it looked like things were about to
crumble, she always came through
with a donation to put us back in
business. Her generosity was like a
shining light to Roller Canary
fanciers everywhere. Although I
never met Ada in person, I feel that
I owe her my debt of gratitude for
all that she gave to the fancy.
Ada recently passed away on June 9,
2008 at the age of 92.
(Continued pg.30-Faces…)
 17
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
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
 18
Canary is unlike any other songbird
or other “Type” Canary.
I 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.
I 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
 19
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.
I 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.
I 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.
 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 travelling from Mexico. I don’t want
canary contests. They could be held to scare anyone like that again, so
and judged from any country in the the only “earth shattering” thing I
world in multi-lingual chat rooms. will announce in this issue is that;
In rooms such as these, an operator One day, nearly all communication
can control which participants he will be done on the internet.
wants to allow into the room. He can
control the number of participants, The DRC News might still exist, but
the microphone, camera size, the it will not be on paper that you
chat board, and monitor all the take with you to read in the
cameras. He can also boot those that bathroom. Instead, you will read it
cause disturbances. Admission can from your computer.
also be granted with the use of a
-Kent
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.
“Just For birds”
No longer do clubs have to pay a
Judge for his air fare, restaurant - The perfect place for bird lovers-
meals or motel room. All the expense
of holding a show becomes minimal. We process PayPal orders for shipment to
In fact, we could have multiple anywhere in Canada, USA and the World.
judges from all around the world
attending the same show. The paid E-mail: justforbirds@telus.net
version of the chat program that I
use is called CAMFROG. It already View a sampling of our products online:
has the capability of doing all the
things mentioned above. http://www.justforbirds.net
Unfortunately, the free version only
allows you to view one cam at one
Located in the Cloverdale Shoppers Plaza:
time. I am hoping that in the near
future, technology such as this will
5730 175 Street Surrey, B.C.
be free to all.
Canada V3S 4T7
When I wrote in the news, a short
time before the recent crash, I was Call Jerry or Siriwan at: 604-574-5119
the only one around that used the
word “recession”. Then the news came Open: 10am to 6pm every day – except:
out with an article about the H1N1
bird flu virus. Many had not even Sundays and Statutory Holidays
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
 22
Photos of The World’s First Roller
Canary Contest held on YouTube by
David Godman (Daveyg06).
Email: daveyg@kol.co.nz
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
Email: WWC@WesternWaterslager.com
Roller Canaries by Paul
Telephone: (503) 357-7253
Main Website:
rollercanary.com
Northwest Roller Canary Club
website:
northwestrollercanaryclub.com
Southern California Roller
Canary 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
Peter Jaehrling
Narciso Prataviera Joe Pietrobon, Sec. VRCS
DRCA Ring Secretary
Good Stock of Rollers Master Breeder
HRCC Secretary Treasurer
Enquiries Welcome 4468 Wildwood Crescent
1071 County Rd. 8, RR#4, Picton,
7266 Delaport Drive Burnaby, B.C., Canada,
Ontario, Canada, K0K 2T0
Mississauga, Ont., Canada, V5G 2M4
Phone: (613) 476-2553
L4T 2Y3 Phone: (604) 435-7063
Email: zebra_male@hotmail.com
Phone: (905) 677-9978 Email: jm4468@shaw.ca

Bill Friend, Richard Smith Richard Verret

Master Breeder Quality German Rollers Éleveurs de Canaris
(New Address) 6359 Hargitt St. Roller Allemand (Harz)
Canterbury Court, #508 - Abbotsford B.C. 104 Ave Proulx Québec
3011 Gateby Place, V3G1M8 G1M1W4
Vernon, B.C., V1T 9S4. (604) 820 8522 (418) 527-7549
Email: billfriend@shaw.ca Email: brenrich@hotmail.com Edelroller@sympatico.ca

Anton Schlott, Master Paul R. Scandlyn

Agnes (Scotty) Walcot Breeder of Champion Rollers
Promoter of the Fancy 2049 4th Ave.
104-1426 Penticton Ave. St. Catharines, Ont.,
Penticton, B.C., Canada, Canada, L2R 6P9
V2A 8C7, Phone: (905) 685-0638
Phone: (250) 770-8789 anna_schlott@yahoo.ca
Claredot Aviary
Hamida Bouharira Chuck & Dorothy Vardy
Éleveurs de canaris Harz Breeders of Show Stock Rollers
(514)-969-4818 16 Cedar Creek Road,
mosta1952@hotmail.com MidhurstOntario,Can.,L0L1X1
www.canariharz.com Phone: (705) 721 5395
Email claredot@hotmail.com
Ron Rowden
Alex Meindertsma 411 Dianne Drive
10825 139 St. NW Oshawa Ontario,
Edmonton, Alberta O1H 7L8
T5M 1P6 Quality Rollers
(780) 454-6824 Phone 705 489 4184
President: SCRCC/NWRCC/WRCA
Breeder/Fancier of German Rollers
449 South 12th Ave., Cornelius,
Oregon, USA, 97113-6815.
Phone: (503) 357-7253
Email: pscandlyn@mac.com
Kent Donnelly, President DRCA,
VRCS. Editor/Producer of DRC News
35244 McKee Road.,
Abbotsford, B.C., Canada, V2S 6K6
Phone: (604) 557-1866
http://members.shaw.ca/rollercanary
Email: grandpaw@shaw.ca
Ken Campbell
Roller Canaries
598 Niagara St. Box 447
Wyoming, Ont. Canada N0N 1T0
Phone: (519) 845 3298
E-mail ken_faye@xcelco.on.ca

Breeder Cards: You can advertise your Card in the News for as little as $5.00 per year. You can
also 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 full
page ads. The annual cost for “page” ads is $25.00 CDN for each ¼ page segment. All ads will
become 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 The
News will appear in this publication as well as online at our DRC News Website
http://members.shaw.ca/drca/ Updated: May 2009 File: Breeder cards.doc
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