Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/68594
American tribe that lived along the Columbia River. It's also the name of a village, a dam, a state park, and it was the name Eddie Bauer adopted for the kennel he started in 1960, the kennel that in 1974 earned him the Professional Retriever Trainers Association "Breeder of the Year" award, the kennel that produced some of the most successful dogs in Labrador history. It is still a bloodline known and recognized by Lab aficionados across the country. Eddie's love affair with Labradors began in 1930 with a dog named Blackie that he bought in Canada. Blackie was the very first Lab in Washington State, and the year is significant. The late Richard Wolters, who wrote one of the definitive (and best illustrated) histories of the Labrador retriever, pointed out that prior to the late 1920s and 1930s the American sportsman ". . . understandably took little interest in the Labrador. What could the Labrador do for him that his own American dogs" [notably the Chesapeake] "could not do?" Wolters goes on to document that the Lab's gradual acceptance in America was largely due to wealthy Americans aping British aristocracy, from Scotch whisky to "best" shotguns built by the finest London firms, to driven shoots where the famous guns could be used. In the eastern U.S., the established sporting clubs imported Scottish gamekeepers for managing this kind of shooting. The seriously wealthy did the same thing on their private estates. And with the guns and the gamekeepers came the Labradors favored by the British royal family and their aristocratic cousins. Less affluent American sportsmen enjoyed rougher and more homespun hunting, with rougher and more homespun dogs. But in the Pacific northwest, a quintessential American sportsman – the son of immigrants, hardworking, self-made, successful, innovative and smart enough to recognize quality when he saw it – fell in love and paid $65 for a Lab named Blackie. (Keep in mind that in 1930 the Depression was in full swing, the average annual salary in America was between $500 and $1,500, and if you earned $2,000 you considered yourself well-heeled.) It was the beginning of a life-long love affair with Labradors, but – as is usually the case when a man falls in love with a specific breed – it was Blackie's memory that lingered, even after all the years and awards and accolades, so that Eddie would finally write: "The greatest of all the great dogs I have ever known; one I have loved above all others. I hope, when I go to the Happy Hunting Grounds, Blackie will come to my side, as I will try to go to his." company that expands is like a waistline that expands. Both require some re-tailoring. Over the years the Eddie Bauer Company has grown and diversified, ownership has changed, and its focus has sometimes changed as well, with more emphasis put on Himalayan expedition gear (multiple ascents, starting in 1963 and continuing through 2009) than A SPOR TIN G CL ASSICS 54