Highwood Norwich History

Blossom Hill and Highwood

My mother, Mrs. John K. Ewing, of Blossom Hill in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, received her first Norwich male as a gift from Mary (Castle Point) Baird’s husband, Matt Baird. Matt was my godfather and a college roomate of my stepfather, John Ewing. This dog was bred by Uncle Matt’s sister, Mrs.Frank Keen of Virginia. Whelped in 1953, he was by Upland Spring Badger out of Halfway Apple Dumpling, and was duly registered as Blossom Jones.

Haygirl was bred several times to Ch. Longways Felix, the son of the Eng. Ch. Whinlatter Allercombe Hiker; Mrs. Amory Alexander had imported Hiker to this country in the late ‘50s. Mrs. Alexander took a bitch puppy from each of Haygirl’s litters, finished both of them under her kennel name “Longways”, and went on to exibit at Westminster two consecutive years with Genius and Nobbi.

A wonderful painting by Peter Biegel appears on the cover of the Norwich Book of Pedigrees, 1991 showing three generations of champions: Allercombe Hiker, Felix, and Genius. Mrs. Alexander gave me Felix’ litter sister as a wedding present in 1961, Longways Fausta.

Mother placed puppies with friends and relatives at no cost. Her placements were careful selections, keeping breeding under her control or neutering the dogs. She never showed her dogs nor placed them in show homes. She had a wonderful eye and could always select the ‘typy’ pup. She liked her Norwich cobby, small, and mahogony red. Although she didn’t favor black and tans, she loved red puppies with black ear tips and tails and with black muzzles and eye rims.

From the very beginning, my mother knew how -- and what -- she wanted to breed. Problems, such as epilepsy, had yet to arise. Mother simply kept the dogs that epitomized her standard. If she identified any problems, the dog was spayed or neutered, and the breeding was not repeated.

Mother passed away at 92. She shared a great many wonderful stories and history with me about the little red terriers that she helped establish in the U. S.

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