RememberingKay Radcliffe
Madame” Queen PHOTO BY KITTEN RODWELL
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“Hi Miss Kay! How are you today?” I would say. “Hi Johnny Ray! Hey!” would be her reply. That is the way Kay and I would start off each telephone conversation… I will miss those calls.
by John Shoemaker
K
ay and I go back a long time. I first met Kay many many years ago when she and her husband Nelson Radcliffe were judging a dog show in California that was superintended by Jack Bradshaw. I was a superintendent with that wonderful organization. After she resigned as a judge and became the AKC Executive Field Representative she was assigned to the West Coast. In those days most reps were assigned to certain locations and those shows in that area and did not go out of their area very often. She and I instantly hit it off. As with most people there are two sides to each person….the serious work side and the less serious fun side. There were many times that I am sure Jack and Marion Bradshaw would have to look away and sort of “disown” Kay and I when we would start laughing and having fun at the superintendent’s table. One such time was at the Long Beach Kennel Club show years
74 Dog News
ago when each one of us decided that we wanted some ice cream. It so happened that someone had placed a stack of dog magazines on the superintendent’s table right in front of Kay and I. Since both of us wanted some ice cream and we each had no money on us at the time each person who came by and would ask, “How much does this magazine cost?” We would say 25 cents and we told them it was going to the “Feed the Hungry” fund. After receiving enough money for each of us to have some ice cream we put the magazines at another location on the table so as not to be temped if we wanted some popcorn…after all we did have our ethical standards! (Ed. Note: We recall the incident well! It was Dog News and we weren’t offered any ice cream!) This is not to say that Kay did not take her job as a Field Representative very seriously as she certainly did. She enjoyed