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Mecklenburg Hounds Inc. |
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MHI History |
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The Mecklenburg Hounds, founded in 1956 by Junius Virgil Fisher, was originally a drag hunting club. Hounds were drafted from the Shakerag, Tryon and Orange County Hunts through contributions from the members. They were hunted by Mr. Fisher and Mr. Hugh H Heafner as the first Joint Masters. The kennels were located at Meadowbrook Stables at the Junction of Highway 16 and 51, south of Charlotte, as well as the hunts. In 1963 the kennels were moved to Mr. Benjamin Horton's farm at the south end of Tom Short Road. Hounds were drafted by the Joint Masters from the Cheshire, Deep Run, Tryon and Oak Grove Hunts. The club acquired it's first professional huntsman, Mr. Anthony Gibbon. That same year, development of a 17 acre horse show grounds adjacent to the kennels was begun. In 1965 with Mrs. Harvey Craig May and Mrs. Arthur Remington White as Joint Masters, the kennels were moved to the Tom Short House. The Tom Short House then became the huntsman's residence, with Mr. William Max Russell becoming Huntsman. Hunt Country grew to include most of the area bounded on the north by Hwy. 51, on the east by Hwy. 16, on the west by Hwy. 521 and on the south by the Union County line. In 1966 the Hunt was granted Recognized status and the following year members and their guests danced at the first Hunt Ball. At the end of the 1974-75 season, after 10 years of service, Mr. Russell had hoped to retire. He was replaced by Mr. Spencer Bumgardner. When Mr. Bumgardner moved to Tryon to become huntsman there, Mr. Russell returned and the kennels were relocated to his current residence on Community House Road. For the 1980-81 season the kennels were moved to the farm of Mr. Edgar Cato, Joint Master. During this season, Mr. Charles Montgomery served as Huntsman. The 1982 season was one for rebuilding the pack, once again under Mr. Russell's direction. In 1988 it had become obvious that an expanding Charlotte would soon overrun the club's hunt country, and Joint Master Dr. A. Allen Wolf acted to see that there would be a future for MHI. He was able to locate land in southern Union County, and arrangements were made with the Wilson family to hunt their land. The following year hurricane Hugo struck and made the old country virtually unusable. After a nostalgic Opening Meet off Blakeney Heath Road, the club used it's new country almost exclusively. In 1991 the Ormond family of Monroe allowed the club to hunt their land which is adjacent to the Wilson tract. With this good fortune, the club has continued to hunt live in mostly open, rolling land, blessed with good footing and interesting water courses. Mecklenburg Hounds was honored to have one of the few female Huntsman in the country, Ms. Sylvia Piccalo. Ms. Piccalo served in that position for 5 years. Starting the 2000-2001 season the club hired Mr. Douglas Russell as the new huntsman. Doug has some big shoes to fill; his father, Bill Russell was MHI's huntsman for over 2 decades. Doug earned his colors in 1993 and whipped in for his father for many years. Today Mecklenburg Hounds is still thriving, and our club continues to grow. We look forward to celebrating our 50th year next year. Come grow with us and join in on the festivities.
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