History Of The Blackcreek Bred Beagle
Blackcreek History
(Words of Troy Barber)

BLACK CREEKS - Mr. John L. Landrum was an old brace trialer, sometimes when raising pups
he would get some that were not suitable for brace trials. He would sale or sometimes give these
to people who rabbit hunted. Mr. Malcolm Pearson and Mr. Alan Williams were two of those
people, Mr. Malcolm used Black Creek on his and Mr. Alan used Grapevine and Ox Bow on his,
but both were Skullfork rejects. Black Creek Polly II and Dolly were two of these dogs. There were
times when Mr. John would give one away and later see it run and try to get it back. This was the
case with Polly and Dolly; he had started breeding gundogs and was trying to get AKC to sanction
gundog trials. When he saw Polly and Dolly run he knew they had something to offer in the
gundog world. After failed attempts to buy them Mr. Malcolm agreed to let him breed them. He
bred them to Southfork Jo Jo three times and then Mr. Malcolm decided that he could do the same
thing and keep all of the pups. So he bred them the next two times to Jo Jo also. Now this was a
real good cross that produced many that became foundation of numerous kennels. Then Glynn
Windham bought Blackcreek Polly II for $1000.00, this was around 1980, he first bred her to
Sudon's Drip, then to Mountain Run Jake twice producing Glynn's Smooth-on Preacher, Glynn's
Smooth-on Simon, Sudon's Sueller, Glynn's Smooth-on Lou, and Glynn's little Millie. He later bred
her to her grandson Ben's Creek Sparky, only had one pup, Glynn's Little Timmy. Now this is
actually where the Blackcreek name gained recognition, one great producing bitch Blackcreek
Polly and one great beagler who made her famous, Glynn Windham.  She is behind all the
Blackcreek and just about all the Skullfork pedigrees that were used to develop these lines as we
know them today.

The South fork Jo Jo X Black Polly II cross was made 5 times. It produced Skullfork Reddy Teddy,
Black Creek Teddy, Black Creek Bo Jo which were probably the most popular out of this cross,
then there was Glynn's Little Jephro, Glynn's Little John, Glynn's Little Homer, Black Creek
Freddy, Ben’s Creek Reddy Ted, Black Creek Sam VI which produced Mile Branch Sammy who
then produced dogs like FC Jr's T.J., FC Jr's T-Boy, FC Jr's Preacher, FC Gator Creek Pistol Pete,
FC Tommy's Talking Deacon & Mile Branch Pistol Pete. Females out Polly & Jo Jo were Sudon's
Sally, Sudon's Bobbie, Sudon's Gertrude, Glynn's Little Ginger, & Skullfork Tilly who produced
Twin Pines Ben. There were others but these are the ones that had the biggest impact on the
Skullfork & Black Creek line as we know it today.

South Fork Jo Jo - Mr. John L Landrum (Skullfork Kennels) took two of his favorite females of all
time, Skullfork Josey & Skullfork Princess (littermate sisters) and bred them to Weir Creek Buzz.
This was a complete outcross and also was his first move in transition from brace trialing to
gundogs. The Buzz x Josey cross produced Swamp Run Buzz, the Buzz x Princess cross
produced Gordon's Little Bonnie who was bred to Swamp run Buzz and that is where South Fork
Jo Jo came from. Now remember Josey & Princess were sisters out of G&R Little Joe x Skullfork
Lucky Sally both bred to Weir Creek Buzz, so South Fork Jo Jo was a result of in-breeding, half
brother - sister & first cousins mating. Mr. John Landrum did not make this cross; I think either
Gordon Ladner or Edward Smith was the breeder on Jo Jo. Mr. John bought him and his mother
after he starting running. Jo Jo was sold years later to Henry Daniels I think.

Black Creek Polly ll - Skullfork Princess was bred to Pearson Creek Fred that produced Skullfork
Countiss, Countiss was bred to Blackcreek Peanut this produced Blackcreek Joe III then Joe was
bred back to his mother (Countiss) which produced Blackcreek Polly II & Blackcreek Dolly. So,
Polly was a result of in breeding, mother - son mating. Some of the genes were set so deep that
they carry on even after many generations of out-crossing, some good, some bad. Polly was a
great producer, after being bred to Jo Jo five times Glynn Windham bought her from Malcolm
Pearson at an unheard of price in those days of $1000.00 Glynn bred her to a dog named Sudons
Drip, not many lived out of that cross, then he bred her to Mountain Run Jake twice which
produced Glynn's Smooth-on Preacher & Glynn's Smooth-on Simon and two females Sudon's
Sueller Glynn's little Millie & Glynn's Smooth-on Lou. Preacher & Simon were dogs to be
reckoned with, if they had been trialed no doubt they would have finished. I remember Glynn
going to Paul Shorts looking for some new blood, he put down Simon & Preacher with some of
Paul's dogs and after a few minutes of watching them perform Paul said to Glynn what the hell are
you doing up here looking for dogs? They made a lasting impression on all that saw them run and
you will see them in lots of pedigrees of dogs bred all over the south.

My Beliefs on Blackcreek Bred Beagles

I have bought, tried, and tested several different bred hounds and have settled down to raising
and running primarily Blackcreek bred hounds. As with any other breeding program you will
find/run across bad blackcreek beagles. But for the most part they generally run a medium to
upper medium speed with excellent  line control and are easy to start. The biggest problem I have
seen with the breeding of the Blackcreek Bloodline is not in the dogs, but in the breeders
themselves, which has given my line a beagles a bad taste in some of todays beaglers. First and
foremost, Kennel shyness and hand shyness is not a trait of the Blackcreek bred beagles. It is a
trait of breeders not knowing how to raise dogs. I have never nor has any of my hunting partners
raised a shy blackcreek bred beagle. But I have purchased some that were raised on self feeders.
The beagle breed in general must have human contact. A beagle cannot be put on self feeders for
the first six months of his/her life, then be expected to be easy to handle in the field. Throwing
feed and water to them daily without petting and handling is not considered human contact and
will create a shy dog no matter what breed you are raising. If you do not have the time to handle
pups daily, please do not raise pups. Second, gun shyness is not a trait of the blackcreek bred
beagle. It is a trait of a hunter not knowing how to start young pups. You cannot jump shoot over
a beagle pup that is not running a rabbit. I have seen many young dogs ruined by this practice. If
you want to jump shoot rabbits, why do you purchase beagles? Makes no sense to me at all. Let
the dog learn how to run a rabbit first, then worry about killing rabbits over the hound. And never
shoot a rabbit the dog is not running! Third, you can not start a young beagle with a rough or bad
running beagle and expect the young dog to learn to run the rabbit correctly. If you run him with a
bad dog (meaning over running, over competitive, skirting, barking out of place, etc), you will end
up with another bad dog no matter what line of dogs you are running. These are a few things I
hear from time to time, and as a breeder of the Blackcreek Bloodline, I know that they are false.