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West of England Tumblers – Page 26 – Purebred PIGEON
Breed of the Issue - West of England Tumblers
So, my son Jared and I went to the Shawnee Oklahoma all-breed
show, with all of the Modenas that remained in my lofts, and Jared
sold all of my birds for me while I kept myself distracted, away from
the sale section. It was a tough day, but no regrets because it was
done for the right reasons.
Ten years later my life situation had changed, but my love for
the pigeon hobby remained. It was the 2020 show season when
Covid was disrupting lives, and pigeon shows were being canceled
and moved to new venues. My son, Jimmy, and I went to Opelou-
sas Louisiana to an all-breed show that the Southern All-breed
Pigeon Club was hosting. There I met Jay Turner for the first time,
and I spent most of my time there watching and listening to an
old friend, Bill Henderson, judging the Wests and commenting on
the birds. The fire rekindled in me for Wests and I ended up taking
birds home from that show. Jeff Quebedeau and Dan Tucker both
generously loaded me up with Black Selfs, Andalusians, and Black
Mottles. Then a couple months later in January we had another
show at the same venue due to the NPA National being canceled
over COVID protocols, so I called Jay to inquire about purchasing
some Wests at that show. Anyway, long story short, Jay was very
helpful and made it possible for me to acquire several quality birds
in Black Self, Andalusian, Barred and Barred Mottles in various col-
ors, and a few patterned Balds. Since then I have two good breeding
seasons behind me and Wests are now a permanent part of my life
going forward. I’ve been able to pick up a few more key barred birds
from Terry Brechbill, a couple Black Selfs from Matt Matuska, and
Reds, Yellows and Lemon from Jim Cooper and Jay Turner. I am
very grateful for these guys in the hobby that go out of their way to
help people returning to the breed with quality birds. If it wasn’t
for people like these men, it would be easy to move on to a different
breed. But these men have all made quality stock available at a fair
price, and being competitive is what keeps interest and excitement
for the breed and in the hobby.
My favorite colors of Wests quite frankly are too many; I like
them all. But I focus my efforts on my Black Self and Andalusian
along with Mottles in those colors. To make it interesting and chal-
lenging I include modifiers like milky, reduced, and dilute, which
allows me to have even more colors in the same color group. Then
of course Mottles in those colors are appreciated and included in
my loft, and I keep three or four in my breeding program. Then
there are my barred Wests, specifically Silver, Blue, Khaki, Brown,
and of course Indigo Bar, which is my personal favorite. Mottled
Barred Wests are also very striking, and I keep a few of those as well.
As if that wasn’t enough, I am working on Yellow and Lemon. I keep
a few Reds in the mix, but only to help my Yellow and Lemon efforts.
Obviously, there are countless other colors to choose from, and Bald-
heads in all of those variations as well. West of England Tumblers are
truly a great color breed and the West people that I am acquainted
with are the best. If you don’t have any Wests and are considering
another breed, West of England Tumbers are a great choice. •
RememberingChuckZeller
By Jay Turner - Past President of the NWOETC
I
was saddened to hear of the passing of Chuck Zeller in the
summer of 2021. As most know, Chuck had been a fixture in
the West breed for many years. Our hobby owes him a great
debt for the work Chuck had done for the club and the breed all
these years. His book alone is one of the best things that has ever
happened to our club and the promoting of our breed, simply
wonderful work.
When I first got into the breed Chuck was a southern Califor-
nia guy working with the club on the West Coast. So naturally we
did not correspond very much. But several years ago, Chuck left
California and moved in with his son near Asheville, North Caroli-
na, a beautiful mountain area in the southeastern part of the coun-
try. Chuck became a southerner, lol, well not really but we were
pleased to have him in our area. About this same time, I got elected
to the club board and we began a friendship or should I say a rela-
tionship. As I would move up the ranks as a club officer, Chuck and
I would have hundreds of conversations on how the club should be
run and how the breed should evolve. And as one could imagine,
these conversations rarely ended in an agreement. For you see,
Chuck and I were from two different worlds, we saw things differ-
ently but this was never a bad thing. In fact, I think it helped me
with the club business more than what most people would think.
See Chuck was old school; he lived in the past and loved the birds
and breeders from the past. I, on the other hand had only been
in the breed 15 years. I knew nothing but the modern era of this
breed. My job in this breed was to promote the modern West and to
run a modern club. Chuck was quite the opposite. Not saying one
way or the other is better for it’s not about that. What our rela-
tionship was about was the betterment of the hobby, a place where
you can put old and new together. This club should be a place to
remember your past, understanding your present without loosing
sight of your future; just a good place to be, and I still believe that.
As I wound down my time as President of the club, I looked
back on my time with many helpful members of our club. We have
had a wonderful run with a great group. But I will remember Chuck
the most I think, not because of a great friendship because I never
thought it was that. But for a great relationship that was about
respect, knowledge and the betterment of this breed.
Chuck made me think, he forced me to be a better officer and
to always question my breeding and the way I did things. He also
helped me see both sides of the aisle and to be open minded about
our past, present and future of the West breed. To say the least
Chuck was difficult but I am thankful of our relationship and I will
miss Chuck Zeller. •