Of course the darling pup in the picture may not be a greyhound, but that's definitely an old dog truck behind the children. Back in the day, I'm told that greyhound tracks were all so seasonal that the lifestyle was much different for those greyhound families than of the greyhound families of today. Meets at racetracks were short and seasonal, and when they ended, you moved on to the next. Some families decided to separate, the Trainer moving on and the family staying where the family home was until he returned.
If the decision was made to move the whole family, then the dogs, equipment, family, and possessions were all loaded in the dog truck, and off you went. If you were lucky, you owned your own car, so that the wife, children, and possessions could be loaded in the car. If not, everything, and everyone, went into the dog truck! Money was tight, roads were poor, distances great, and gas stations far and few between. Underlying the whole trip was the need to make it in haste, because of the Greyhounds you were hauling, timeliness was vital.
This nomadic lifestyle could not have been easy.
It had to have been the passion within, for the Greyhounds they worked with, that drove the life.
On that regard, not much has changed after all, has it?
Oh, by the way ..... the little guy in the middle "training" that puppy .... is my husband, 3rd generation Trainer in a Greyhound family.
I guess this post makes him officially "Vintage" ~ lol
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| The Nurse, The Greyhound Trainer & The Political Attache' |
Email IOWAGREYHOUNDS@AOL.COM
This story is very true. I made many of those moves.
ReplyDeleteIt also reminds me of a one person Broadway play starring Claudette Sutherland named DOGMAN, about her Father PAUL SUTHERLAND.
I'll have to look through some boxes and see if I can come up with a good picture.
GREAT story Donna,
Well, Donna. That would be me. So glad to see your postings. And thanks for your kind comments about my work. I will gladly send you a "demo" disc of the show. I think you will like it. Let me have your snail mail. It was not, as Ron suggested, a Broadway experiece, though I had plenty of those. This was a small production done here in LA and then invited to the Dublin Theatre Festival some years ago. I had a terrific time telling the story of this sub-culture in America.
ReplyDeleteI recently tried to estimate how many moves I made when I was young. I came up with a ball park figure of 46 moves before I was seventeen. Let's just say I got a good look at America.
Now I live in Los Angeles after having spent the most of my adult life in New York City.
I look forward to hearing from you and your site looks great. Claudette