HISTORY of LOVE -ALOFT

Twenty-five years ago, an enterprising, eleven year old boy was working odd jobs at the local county fair. He had spent much of his summer exploring the woods near his house, carefully observing wildlife. He learned the animals’ eating habits and where they chose to make their nests. He could mimic their sounds. But it was the wild birds that fascinated him most. He taught himself to whistle their calls. When he whistled, they whistled back. So when he had free time from work at the Fair, he sought out the domesticated birds in the Poultry Barns. Between rows of Bantam Roosters and Phyllis Diller chickens were several cages of racing homing pigeons. One cage, in particular, caught his eye. A business card read: ”I am moving out of state. I have pigeons for sale.” The boy KNEW he had to have some of those pigeons. He couldn’t explain why, but from the first time he saw them, he experienced a kinship he had never felt before. Several times each day, he raced to the bird exhibits to see his beloved pigeons. The birds’ owner recognized the boy’s interest. He , too, felt the same kind of kinship with the birds. He understood and soon befriended the boy Together they built a small loft out of scrap wood, even to pulling out the used nails and hammering them straight, so they could be reused. Money was in scarce supply. The young man gave the boy several pairs of pedigreed racing homing pigeons. And all the while, he gave the boy his insights and knowledge on pigeon care. Before he moved to his new job, he helped the boy and his pigeons join a local pigeon club, whose members would look out for this youngest, newest member. Twenty- five years later, the two friends still swap birds and stories. The “young man” continues to be the “boy’s” pigeon mentor.

That “boy” now manages Betsy Greene’s Love-Aloft. His skill with the birds is priceless to her. In their first year of working together to raise the healthiest and best Racing Homers around, their bird won Ohio’s most prestigious young bird race: The GNEO Classic.See The Awards Section

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