History
Sometime in the fall of 1911 it was determined that the New England Kennel Club was going to discontinue holding a Boston dog show every year. This was too bad, especially as the Boston Show had always been the second largest in the country. A new club was formed for social purposes and also to carry on the Boston dog show. The first dog show under the auspices of this newly formed Eastern Dog Club was held on four days April 12 through April l5, 1912 in Mechanics Building where it would continue for all but three of the next 46 years until 1958 when the famous landmark was demolished. There were 899 dogs for a total entry of 1288 and the top award went to the Smooth Fox Terrier Ch. Sabine Rarebit owned and bred entry Sabine Kennels. Fox Terriers of either the Smooth or Wire variety would go on to win 13 of the next 17 shows. (above image: George Saltonstall West Trophy (left) for Best Dog or Bitch 12 Months and Over, and Charles W. Keyes Memorial Trophy (right) for best Puppy at Fall Match)
In 1913, the Show was held on February 25th, 26th, 27th and 28th. That year the Westminster Kennel Club Show in New York, which had taken over the old New England Kennel Club dates, including the 22nd of February, came just before the Eastern Dog Club Show. There were, therefore, eight days of dog showing in less than two weeks, which was a pretty strenuous period for dogs and exhibitors and consequently entries at Eastern fell off somewhat. The Club, therefore, held a show on November 24th, 25th, 26th, and 27th, 1914, in addition to the February show in that year.
During these years T. E. L. Kemp was our show superintendent, but in 1917 the Executive Committee voted to replace them with George F. Foley and that relationship continues to this date albeit in more recent years with
Foley’s successor MB-F.
In 1920, New York gave up the 22nd of February date on account of being unable to get Madison Square Garden for that day, and they went back to a four-day show over Lincoln’s Birthday and Eastern held a three day show February 23rd, 24th and 25th.
The following year, 1921, the Eastern Dog Club was successful in retaining their dates over Washington’s Birthday, although a strenuous effort was made by Westminster to get that date back. The show was held on February 22nd, 23rd and 24th. It was a great success and from then until 1958 we continued to hold shows over the February Washington’s birthday holiday.
At an Executive Committee meeting in 1921 the passing of Charles W. Keyes, one of the original founders, was noted and a resolution was passed to offer a trophy in his name at what was to become the annual Fall Match to be awarded to the best puppy owned and bred by a Member.
The first record of our Members informal Spring match show appears in the notice of the Annual meeting to be held at The Country Club April 1922 wherein it was noted that it would be open to a Member’s puppy, any breed, one day to one year old.
The Club’s finances were strong enough so that at the Annual meeting in April 1923 the Treasurer requested that a committee be setup to recommend investments. Subsequently $19,000 was invested in bonds including $2000 in American Telephone and Telegraph which awarded us handsomely over many years. At the same April 23 meeting it was voted to reduce the annual dues to $10 a figure which holds to this day!
The first occasion of what is now our traditional Fall Luncheon and Match appears to be the Members Fall Meeting and exhibition of puppies and grown stock held at the home of Mr. Clement Burnhome in Newburyport, Mass.
Many of the dogs exhibited at these matches went on to illustrious show careers, perhaps most notably George Putnam’s Standard Poodle, Ch. Puttencove Promise, who won the Charles W. Keyes Trophy as Best Puppy at the 1955 Fall Match and three years later in 1958 won Best in Show at both Eastern and Westminster.
At the May 1939 Annual Meeting it was reported that the membership had increased to 50, the current limit at the time of this writing From day one the Annual Meeting has been held at The Country Club in Brookline to which some of the Eastern members also belonged and do to this day.
In 1958 Charter Member George S. West who, as the Club’s first President presided from 1912 to 1920, resigned from the Executive Committee being unable to regularly attend meetings any longer, and at a June 1958 meeting the Executive Committee voted that the Club offer a George S. West perpetual trophy for the best American Bred Dog or Bitch owned and shown by a member or one of his family at the Fall meeting. Some time thereafter Mr. West passed away and at a subsequent Executive Committee meeting in September 1960 it was also voted to offer another trophy in Mr. West’s name, the George S. West Memorial Trophy for Best American Bred in Show at our annual Show. (subsequent AKC rules prevent us from awarding the trophy in years when the Best in Show winner is not American bred) 1958 marked the last of our Shows to be held in Mechanics Building. The facility was not available in 1959 on our Show dates, and we moved to Commonwealth Armory where we would remain through 1963. There were unsuccessful attempts to obtain a satisfactory date and location combination in 1964, and for the first time since the 1919 World War I interruption the Show was cancelled. We moved in 1965 to the War Memorial Auditorium and reverted to a one day show in December, and for the next 30 years we would stay with one day shows in December; until 1970 at the War Memorial, then until 1984 at the J. B. Hynes Veterans Auditorium and from 1984 on at the Bayside Convention Center.
For the previous 40 years or so of two and three day shows prior to 1965 at Mechanics Building and Commonwealth Armory the number of dogs averaged around 1200 with the actual number of dogs in attendance varying somewhat depending on the weather. Then at the Annual Meeting in May 1966 the President, Mr. Charles R. Miles, reviewed the high-light of the new one day Show and stated with confidence “that we were on a new upswing , with reasonable
expectations of a 2,000 dog entry within the next few years.” This prediction proved true as the number of dogs exceeded 2000 in 1968 and stayed above 2,000 for the next 10 years.
At the 1979 Annual Meeting the Club voted to make its first donation of $2500 to the newly founded Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine, the funds to be used for a scholarship to be awarded to a resident of the New England states who is in no way related to or connected with a member of the Eastern Dog Club. Subsequently we added the stipulation that the recipient specialize in “small animals”. These annual donations continue to this day along with other donations that we have made to the Pure Bred Dog Breeders Referral Service, Greyhound Friends, the Angell Memorial Animal Hospital, Guiding Eyes for the Blind, and Take the Lead.
In 1985 we changed over to the Cluster format and held a four day show with one day each for North Shore Kennel Club, Middlesex County Kennel Club, Ladies Dog Club and Eastern. The results for the first year were somewhat mixed. Logistics and coordination problems prompted complaints from the AKC, and the financial results were not satisfactory to all four Clubs. Subsequently these problems were ironed out, and the Bay Colony Cluster proved to be a great success, albeit with North Shore later dropping out and Eastern holding two of the four shows.
The Cluster with the two days of Eastern Dog Club shows remained among the top events of the dog world throughout the 90s. This successful formula continued until 2012 and in 1996 and 1997 the entries for the Saturday show topped 3500.
In 2009 with the closing of the Bayside Exposition Center we moved the four day Bay Colony Cluster to the Rhode Island Convention Center where we were welcomed enthusiastically by the City of Providence. While the venue was exceptional with a modern open exhibition hall, plenty of grooming area, ample parking and a fine hotel all under one roof, Providence proved to be somewhat outside the normal exhibitor and handler travel path and entries declined to just over 1400 in 2011. There were no shows held in 2012 while we “regrouped” and made plans to move our Saturday and Sunday shows to the Big E in Springfield, MA. However, in September on the grounds of the historic Pierce House in Lincoln, MA we held an AKC Plan B Sanction Match open to all exhibitors.
In recent years our shows have included judges educational seminars, promotion of Rescue organizations and the Pure Bred Dog Breeders Referral Service, various canine demonstrations, and the very popular Meet the Breeds. Also, in addition to our Delegate, several of our other members serve as delegates to the AKC from other dog clubs to which they belong, and they perform an important function representing the local interests of their various organizations.
We are indeed pleased that our shows, even in the face of a multitude of disrupting December and February
blizzards over the years, have provided so much enjoyment to the dog world, and we are proud of the contribution of our members to this wonderful sport of the exhibition of pure-bred dogs as show sponsors, exhibitors, judges, and representatives of the governing bodies.
In 1913, the Show was held on February 25th, 26th, 27th and 28th. That year the Westminster Kennel Club Show in New York, which had taken over the old New England Kennel Club dates, including the 22nd of February, came just before the Eastern Dog Club Show. There were, therefore, eight days of dog showing in less than two weeks, which was a pretty strenuous period for dogs and exhibitors and consequently entries at Eastern fell off somewhat. The Club, therefore, held a show on November 24th, 25th, 26th, and 27th, 1914, in addition to the February show in that year.
During these years T. E. L. Kemp was our show superintendent, but in 1917 the Executive Committee voted to replace them with George F. Foley and that relationship continues to this date albeit in more recent years with
Foley’s successor MB-F.
In 1920, New York gave up the 22nd of February date on account of being unable to get Madison Square Garden for that day, and they went back to a four-day show over Lincoln’s Birthday and Eastern held a three day show February 23rd, 24th and 25th.
The following year, 1921, the Eastern Dog Club was successful in retaining their dates over Washington’s Birthday, although a strenuous effort was made by Westminster to get that date back. The show was held on February 22nd, 23rd and 24th. It was a great success and from then until 1958 we continued to hold shows over the February Washington’s birthday holiday.
At an Executive Committee meeting in 1921 the passing of Charles W. Keyes, one of the original founders, was noted and a resolution was passed to offer a trophy in his name at what was to become the annual Fall Match to be awarded to the best puppy owned and bred by a Member.
The first record of our Members informal Spring match show appears in the notice of the Annual meeting to be held at The Country Club April 1922 wherein it was noted that it would be open to a Member’s puppy, any breed, one day to one year old.
The Club’s finances were strong enough so that at the Annual meeting in April 1923 the Treasurer requested that a committee be setup to recommend investments. Subsequently $19,000 was invested in bonds including $2000 in American Telephone and Telegraph which awarded us handsomely over many years. At the same April 23 meeting it was voted to reduce the annual dues to $10 a figure which holds to this day!
The first occasion of what is now our traditional Fall Luncheon and Match appears to be the Members Fall Meeting and exhibition of puppies and grown stock held at the home of Mr. Clement Burnhome in Newburyport, Mass.
Many of the dogs exhibited at these matches went on to illustrious show careers, perhaps most notably George Putnam’s Standard Poodle, Ch. Puttencove Promise, who won the Charles W. Keyes Trophy as Best Puppy at the 1955 Fall Match and three years later in 1958 won Best in Show at both Eastern and Westminster.
At the May 1939 Annual Meeting it was reported that the membership had increased to 50, the current limit at the time of this writing From day one the Annual Meeting has been held at The Country Club in Brookline to which some of the Eastern members also belonged and do to this day.
In 1958 Charter Member George S. West who, as the Club’s first President presided from 1912 to 1920, resigned from the Executive Committee being unable to regularly attend meetings any longer, and at a June 1958 meeting the Executive Committee voted that the Club offer a George S. West perpetual trophy for the best American Bred Dog or Bitch owned and shown by a member or one of his family at the Fall meeting. Some time thereafter Mr. West passed away and at a subsequent Executive Committee meeting in September 1960 it was also voted to offer another trophy in Mr. West’s name, the George S. West Memorial Trophy for Best American Bred in Show at our annual Show. (subsequent AKC rules prevent us from awarding the trophy in years when the Best in Show winner is not American bred) 1958 marked the last of our Shows to be held in Mechanics Building. The facility was not available in 1959 on our Show dates, and we moved to Commonwealth Armory where we would remain through 1963. There were unsuccessful attempts to obtain a satisfactory date and location combination in 1964, and for the first time since the 1919 World War I interruption the Show was cancelled. We moved in 1965 to the War Memorial Auditorium and reverted to a one day show in December, and for the next 30 years we would stay with one day shows in December; until 1970 at the War Memorial, then until 1984 at the J. B. Hynes Veterans Auditorium and from 1984 on at the Bayside Convention Center.
For the previous 40 years or so of two and three day shows prior to 1965 at Mechanics Building and Commonwealth Armory the number of dogs averaged around 1200 with the actual number of dogs in attendance varying somewhat depending on the weather. Then at the Annual Meeting in May 1966 the President, Mr. Charles R. Miles, reviewed the high-light of the new one day Show and stated with confidence “that we were on a new upswing , with reasonable
expectations of a 2,000 dog entry within the next few years.” This prediction proved true as the number of dogs exceeded 2000 in 1968 and stayed above 2,000 for the next 10 years.
At the 1979 Annual Meeting the Club voted to make its first donation of $2500 to the newly founded Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine, the funds to be used for a scholarship to be awarded to a resident of the New England states who is in no way related to or connected with a member of the Eastern Dog Club. Subsequently we added the stipulation that the recipient specialize in “small animals”. These annual donations continue to this day along with other donations that we have made to the Pure Bred Dog Breeders Referral Service, Greyhound Friends, the Angell Memorial Animal Hospital, Guiding Eyes for the Blind, and Take the Lead.
In 1985 we changed over to the Cluster format and held a four day show with one day each for North Shore Kennel Club, Middlesex County Kennel Club, Ladies Dog Club and Eastern. The results for the first year were somewhat mixed. Logistics and coordination problems prompted complaints from the AKC, and the financial results were not satisfactory to all four Clubs. Subsequently these problems were ironed out, and the Bay Colony Cluster proved to be a great success, albeit with North Shore later dropping out and Eastern holding two of the four shows.
The Cluster with the two days of Eastern Dog Club shows remained among the top events of the dog world throughout the 90s. This successful formula continued until 2012 and in 1996 and 1997 the entries for the Saturday show topped 3500.
In 2009 with the closing of the Bayside Exposition Center we moved the four day Bay Colony Cluster to the Rhode Island Convention Center where we were welcomed enthusiastically by the City of Providence. While the venue was exceptional with a modern open exhibition hall, plenty of grooming area, ample parking and a fine hotel all under one roof, Providence proved to be somewhat outside the normal exhibitor and handler travel path and entries declined to just over 1400 in 2011. There were no shows held in 2012 while we “regrouped” and made plans to move our Saturday and Sunday shows to the Big E in Springfield, MA. However, in September on the grounds of the historic Pierce House in Lincoln, MA we held an AKC Plan B Sanction Match open to all exhibitors.
In recent years our shows have included judges educational seminars, promotion of Rescue organizations and the Pure Bred Dog Breeders Referral Service, various canine demonstrations, and the very popular Meet the Breeds. Also, in addition to our Delegate, several of our other members serve as delegates to the AKC from other dog clubs to which they belong, and they perform an important function representing the local interests of their various organizations.
We are indeed pleased that our shows, even in the face of a multitude of disrupting December and February
blizzards over the years, have provided so much enjoyment to the dog world, and we are proud of the contribution of our members to this wonderful sport of the exhibition of pure-bred dogs as show sponsors, exhibitors, judges, and representatives of the governing bodies.