At the 1987 Al Khamsa National Convention in Memphis Tennessee,
the general membership voted to set up a committee to select an
Al Khamsa volunteer of the year to honor for their hard work and
dedication to the organization. The membership also voted to begin
this series by first honoring Charles Craver so we present for you
the following tribute:
If you ask Charles Craver who first conceived
the idea of an organization dedicated to preserving the desert
Arabian, he will say, "Jeanne".
Jeanne Hussong was a music teacher in
southern Illinois who had made a start in horses of the BLUE
CATALOG and began publishing a mimeoed
newsletter named the Breeders'
Service Bulletin
in 1972. The production quality, the content and the mailing
list blossomed with each issue. It was proposed that those interested
in meeting each other face to face gather in the basement of
Walter Schimanski's then unfinished house in Decatur, IL.
People from several states attended,
a good time was had by all, and they decided to do it again.
In February or March of 1974 they met in Nan Burket's kitchen
in Decatur. The long distance award belonged to Jim Bullard
for coming from Virginia to attend. He made the time sequence
unforgettable by greeting Jeanne who had just become engaged
to Charles with "I sure would have lost a hell of a lot of
money on a bet on whether or not Charles would get married.
I just wanted to see the woman who was going to marry him."
If you ask Jeanne the same question about
the origins of Al Khamsa, she will admit that perhaps she proposed
the first get together, but it was Charles who had the idea
of the scope that such a group could ultimately assume.
"Obviously there was a need for such
an organization." Charles recalls. "Obviously there was also
a large constituency in Illinois. The next step was to see if
there was a national need. 'Chub' (H. B.) Stubbs, who had attended
the first two informal get togethers, volunteered to make arrangements
at his hometown Edwardsville (IL) Holiday Inn."
Charles Craver chaired the first two
national meetings held at Edwardsville in 1975 and 1976. There
the group committee system was instituted. Various areas of
interest were proposed: education, advertising, by-laws, finance,
etc. An area was designated for each interest. Anyone attending
the convention could make himself a member of the committee
by moving to that area and taking part in the discussion that
ensued. Each group informally selected a spokesperson who then
reported the ideas of the committee back to the Board of Directors.
The beauty of having no funds in Al Khamsa's treasury meant
each committee not only had to conceive ideas to serve their
particular interest, but had to also figure out a way to implement
them.
A great deal of time and often financial
resources as well were donated to the club by committee members
who wanted to see their ideas come to fruition.
"One of Al Khamsa's great
strengths," Charles says, "is that it has always
offered support to those with worthwhile projects whether
it is research, preservation of an endangered line, or the
establishment of a world-wide list of foundation horses.
Now the support may end up being nothing more than a listening
ear and a "Well done". But that kind of support is
also needed, sometimes even more than the monetary kind."
When Jeanne was asked what she felt were
her husband's greatest contributions to Al Khamsa, she answered,
"Charles has this knack to see long
range problems. He knows that the issue today, with the people
involved today, is no problem, but as time rolls on and the
organization grows, the same issue can be very thorny and therefore
needs careful attention now. He also has been very strong in
his stand against any form of commercialism creeping into Al
Khamsa activities. That has helped make the organization unique
in its service to the Arabian community. Its focus has always
been education and service."
Those of us who have been fortunate enough
to know Charles Craver for many years are aware he was promoting
desert breeding long before any formal organization existed.
For years he advertised in the classified section of various
horse magazines: "Wanted: Interesting visitors to enjoy our
herd of Davenport Arabian horses." The visitor may not have
been interesting but the owner of the Davenports certain was.
Before the visitor left, gentle seeds of the desert breeding
had somewhere been planted in his mind. The first time visitor
may well have been unaware of what he was hearing but as further
visits unfolded the concept was enlarged upon until the preservation
of horses of desert breeding was paramount.
Through his own research by 1955 Charles
had established the lines of Arabian breeding in this country
he thought were most promising for the future. His thoughts
on the subject were clarified and enlarged upon by visits and
correspondence with Alice Payne,
Jimmie Wrench, Dr. J. L. Doyle, articles in the Arabian Horse
Journal by Jane Ott, a continuing friendship with
Carl Raswan, and contacts
with Jane and Kathleen Ott. There was no organized "purist"
group at that time, just a handful of breeders having the same
general goal. Serious thinking and active "Al Khamsa" type breeding
was being done by a number of breeders, among them the Krausnicks,
Dr. Doyle, Craver Farms, Babson Arabians, Richard Pritzlaff
and Judith Forbis.
In 1961 the Blue Catalog by Jane
Llewellyn Ott was published and became an important part of
this context, providing a systematic approach and organization
of data and thought.
"It was," Charles continued, " an essential publication
for the preservation of the desert Arabian horse."
The organization owes a debt of thanks
to Charles for the uncounted hours he spent editing the Anthology
section of the Al Khamsa Arabians 1983 Directory. He
gave reading assignments to as many people as he could rope
into it, but the selection process meant reading and re-reading
hundreds of volumes to present the gems of the collection to
the members of the Education Committee for final selection.
He was adamant that the effusion common to so many works about
Arabians be eliminated. He demanded footnotes for everything
and positively would not use something, no matter how tempting,
if it could not be nailed down as to source. Every item used
in the Anthology was checked against the original source in
case subsequent reprints contained errors in transmission.
"Al Khamsa today is certainly
different than when it was established." Charles says.
"Its future depends on which route
it chooses. It can be a pleasant organization with a nice
annual meeting that gives cordial support to a fine magazine
which we are extremely fortunate to have. Certainly some
of my favorite moments in Al Khamsa have occurred at the
annual convention. One great thing is that Al Khamsa can
be just plain fun. Everyone can enjoy it and have a good
time.
"There is a tremendous diversity
within the horses of Al Khamsa; there is a tremendous diversity
within the people involved with Al Khamsa. It is a leveling
experience to be part of such a diverse group and to enjoy
the atmosphere of friendship and cooperation. Al Khamsa
needs to be careful that we do not become so concerned with
having a good time that we forget there is an urgency to
educate ourselves and the Arabian public to the danger that
the blood of interest to us can be lost. Education is the
key to Al Khamsa's future."
from the StarWest
Ad of that issue
What the Arabian world (every pun intended)
needs is more Charles Cravers. My father and I were on our three-state
swing in 1963 to purchase my first Arabian mare. We had gone north
from Effingham, Illinois to Munsons, Friendship Farms, into Iowa
to several places, dropped down into Missouri, and decided at rather
the last minute to stop at this place that advertised in the classifieds
of Western Horseman. "Wanted: Interesting visitors
to enjoy our herd of Davenport Arabians." That seemed intriguing
enough to warrant the final stop of our long weekend trip.
We met the nicest low-key man who seemed
in no hurry to show us his horses one-by-one. I fell in love with
Sir, but we were looking for a mare. My father, not incidentally
a good judge of character, wanted to buy the mare from this man.
Unfortunately he would not sell us one.
"How old are you?" Charles
asked me.
"Sixteen," I replied.
"How much money do you have
to spend?"
"Two thousand dollars."
"Alice," he said. (We were
now on a first name basis and it was a good thing for Charles
introduced my father and me for years as the Watsons from Martin,
Illinois.) "you take that $2,000, go buy books on the Arabian
horses with the money, study, and if in a year you still want
a horse, come back and we'll see that you get one."
The only flaw with than wonderful plan was
if I spent my $2,000 on books, I would not have had any money to
buy my horse. The only flaw in my reasoning is that Charles Craver
didn't say anything about buying a horse, he said that he would
see that I got one. Now I know his advise was the soundest and would
have saved me countless dollars in the long run, but at 16 a horse
in the hand was worth two in the book.
We bought a yearling filly in Iowa, but I
remembered Sir when it came time to breed her. She produced my favorite
riding horse Star Sir Tristam and made sure that we continued visiting
Craver Farms on at least an annual basis ever since. I am sorry
Charles did not sell me my first mare. Charles is sorry he did not
sell me my first mare, but we are both glad we met over that incident.
Charles remains to this day the wisest of my horse friends, the
worst punster I've ever known, the one I turn to for advice with
a breeding or veterinary problem, the one I argue with about lunging
a horse, the one I send dressage books to, the one who has been
responsible for breeding the best riding horses I have ever been
on. the list could go on and on, but the ad cannot.
Thank you Charles for all that you have
given me of your time and talents over the years. You're the
best.
