The Winner's Circle of Stars! Episode Three!!

THE WINNER'S CIRCLE OF STARS!

Episode Three

The Photos above are of the 1984 & 1985 NATIONAL CAGE BIRD SHOW CHAMPION GLOSTER

(Please click on the photos to enlarge them.)

The journey of a lifetime does indeed continue in The House after the 1984 and 1985 victories with Glosters in Chicago, Illinois & San Antonio, Texas!

In January of 1986 having already judged major events throughout North America and beyond and having taken the necessary exams to qualify myself, I was presented with the title of a C. O. M. O. M. J. Judge of the Canaries of Posture (Section D - Type Canaries).

Sadly though, our journey was not what one would have expected it to be in 1986 with a disaster that would devastate The House of Crests and take its' toll on all the canaries! There was a flood beyond all proportions in the northern suburbs of Chicago. A flood of the likes that has never occurred before in this region! When it was all said and done, with the help of many friends, a canoe was used to remove the birdcages from the birdroom, as you will see from the photos below!

Simply click on the following photos to enlarge them. If you place your curser over each image, you can then read the description of each photo prior to opening the image. Click the back (arrow) icon on your browser bar to return to this page after viewing each enlarged photo.

Please note that all these photos are scanned images of analog prints taken before the advent of the digital camera, so some may not be as sharp and detailed as most of the newer shots throughout this website.

The photos above are of the House of Crests prior to the flood during the 1986 breeding season and a Fall photo of The House of Crests in Park Ridge, Illinois.

"Easy Rider" on his bike.

In September of 1986 this first flood ruined home, belongings, birdroom and life as one can imagine!

My good friend, Bill Reichert was there to help during the flood as were many friends from the bird fancy and others who brought in vans to haul our birds to safety. The birds lived as gypsies in a poorly-lit basement in a friend's home but they survived the ordeal! Needless to say, 1986 was not the show season of choice for our birds! Much of the rest of the year and part of 1987 was spent rehabbing our home and birdroom.

Nine months after this disaster and after all the renovations were completed, on a Friday, the day prior to putting in the carpeting, yet another great flood ruined everything all over again!!! Thank God this time I had flood insurance!

As they say though, the show must go on! And it did!

In November of 1987, the National Cage Bird Exhibition was held in Columbus, Ohio. We took a team of Glosters to exhibit under British Judge, Nev Thomas, who sadly has since passed on.

The House of Crests Glosters reigned victorious once again!

Not only was this fantastic individual raised in The House awarded Best Gloster in Show & Best Unflighted (Young) Gloster in Show but it went on to win Best Canary in Show as well as the ultimate award which was The Best Exhibit in Show!!

After the event, Nev was invited to The House to visit. We also visited all the sights Chicago had to offer. Sadly, I never saw Nev again as years after he had passed away. He was one of the finest Gloster breeders in the United Kingdom if not the world and was part of the famous Thomas & Wolfendale Gloster Team!

These are some photos of Nev and I holding the Scannell Trophy awarded to the Best Exhibit or Best Bird at the 1987 National as well as an excerpt from a follow-up issue of American Cage Bird Magazine mentioning the winners at that event and finally the trophies we took home from Columbus, Ohio.

Kellogg Seed Company ran an advertisement that appeared in all the bird publications the following year using my winning Champion Gloster as a testimonial to the success of a bird raised on Kellogg seed!

As you can see, The House Of Crests had continued in its' "quest of producing the best" once again!!

Needless to say, once The House had achieved that ultimate 1987 success in America with the Gloster Fancy Canary, the thrill of victory to me had lost its sparkle and so for the most part, I stepped out of the exhibition arena. In the words of a song by the great B. B. King: "the thrill is gone" and it pretty much was.

This was not to be the end of the journey of The House of Crests for even though I prefer not to show for various reasons, I still wanted to continue the line.

As you review the endless photos on this entire site, you will notice that the quality of the line in the years that have followed and on to this day, you shall see that the line certainly does continue to reign victorious!

It continues not only here but in birdrooms and homes around the world, and that, my friends gives me the greatest of pleasures, for you see, that brings continued pride to The House of Crests!!

The very latest in a continuing list of successful fanciers working with my line of Glosters is a gentleman named, Jorge Rojas who as a rookie exhibitor, at the 2006 National Cage Bird Show, won awards for exhibiting the Second Best Gloster Consort and Sixth Best Gloster in Show with a youngster he produced out of a pair he purchased from me earlier that same year!

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Please Note: These are thumbnail photos which you can click on to increase the size of the images and read the watermarked description. The full images will take some time to download but you will then be able to better read the descriptions of the photo as it enlarges. You can then close out the smaller display Window to return to The Winner's Circle Of Stars again. Please note that these photos are Copyrighted and All Rights are Reserved and as such, may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part without written permission from Donald Perez and National Bird Designs, Inc.

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As The Saga Of The House Of Crests Continues

With More Facts & Photos!!