Midatlantic Director BARBARA WASHBURN

MtKittery

In the mid-70’s, our family (my husband Louie, the three kids, two domestic shorthairs, three show ponies and two ram- bunctious dogs) had moved to Malvern, Pennsylvania after Lou finished law school. We had plenty of room for more animals (at least I thought so), but Louie has always imposed a strict quota on the Washburn animal population. He thinks «give Bunty an inch, she’ll make a zoo». He knows me! In the Spring of 1975, we lost Duffie, our collie. Naturally my first thought was to get another dog, but I had be come intrigued with those huge shaggy Maines. When Lou said that I could have another cat if I gave up replacing the dog. I went to Carol Nogle and purchased my first Maine-a female:

Bo Chat’s Kennebec. I guess everyone must recognize that cattery name-Bo Chat’s Lord Chesterfield appears in a great many pedigrees. You won’t see my Kennebec in any pedigrees as she was an alter. But you may recog nize the name of my first breeder cat, Ktaadn Chel sea, who came from Liz Eastmans’s cattery. Chelsea joined the Washburn menagerie in 1977. You could say that she is the foundation of my cattery. And now at the age of 12 she is still in fine fettle and keeps the place free of ro dents.

In 1979, SGC MtKittery Schoodic was born in a lit ter from Ktaadn Chelsea and Illya’s Shem. A num ber of notable cats are de scended from Schoodic and his two main»squeezes»: Heidi Ho Aurora and her sister Tanstaafl’s Molly Brown. (Other «clone» siblings of these girls at were TGC Heidi Ho Richard III of Charmalot, O.S, SGC Lady Arwen of Mary B, QGC Heidi Ho Coon Victoria, Heidi Ho Canth and Heidi Ho Camille). To list a few of Schoodic’s offspring: SGC Tanstaafl Druid of Seelieshire, SGC MtKittery Rumford, MtKittery Calais, SGC Tanstaafl Commodore of Willowplace, SGC Willowplace Lily Snow, SGC Tanstaafl Bacchus of Sophisticats, not to mention SGC MtKittery Mac wahoc. SGC MtKittery Penobscot, a National Award Winner for two years running and a recent CFA Grand Champion, is Schoodic’s grandson.

I have served the Maine Coon in several official capacities: I was the Northeastern Director for TICA for a number of years and am currently Midatlantic Director of MCBFA. As an «early» Maine Coon breeder I’ve seen the changes our breed has undergone in the last decade or so. Sometimes I Iwonder about the direction we’re going these days. I’m not talking about how the cats meet the stand ard-the cats just get better. But even though our breed has grown in refinement and now has a lot more show ring clout, I am sometimes dis mayed at the poor form and shoddy motivation we dis play as a group.

Back in the 70’s salad days for Maines-all the Coon breeder/exhibitors were friends. There were Ron and Betty Llostad, Mary Buck master, Helen and George Andre, Carol Nogle, Liz Eastman and Carol Ped ley…and others to numerous list here. We had the drive and determination to put the Maine that in it’s proper place in the spotlight, and we had a lot of fun in the process. A weekend a show was as much a social occasion as it was serious business. If, by some miracle, a Maine made a final, we all cheered like mad no matter whose cat it was.I wonder if we can preserve the unique spirit of fun that was so much a part of why I got started breeding in the first place. Can we keep our society of friends FRIENDS?I hope the answer is «YES».

The Sracht Shet  spring 1989

You can read the interview of the following photographs in pawpeds https://www.pawpeds.com/cms/index.php/en/breed-specific/breed-articles/mtkittery-cattery