Some of you already know that Dick Kirby helped me in making my longbox caller. He was the first person to step up and offer help with callmaking and he set me on the right path . Dick told me three years ago that in 2011 I would win in the longbox division , and true to his statement I did.
I decided that I wanted to give something back to his family since Dick was not here to thank. I built two calls dedicated to the memory of The Legend , Dick Kirby . I used cherry that was sent to me by Chris Kirby , to make the lids . I enlisted the help of my good friend , Gregg Guthridge , to decorate the lids for me . He did a wonderful job of recreating one of Dick's most popular drawings and added a feather to each call lid too . After masterfully burning the designs , he painted them so well that they actually shimmer like a real feather would . I entered the number 1 caller in the nationals and took second place with it . The #2 caller was presented to Chris Kirby by Gregg and myself .
I also had a picture of Dick working on his calls at Nationals , enlarged and framed for the Kirby family . This is how most people remember seeing him at trade shows . Bent over decorating calls or signing an autograph for someone .
Here are a few pics of the presentations we made during the National convention this year . Like Gregg mentioned in another post , there wasn't a dry eye in the house . It was incredibly hard just to choke out a few words while talking with the Kirby's under the circumstances . It was very moving and I feel like it was all worth the effort to make these gifts .
A huge thanks goes out to Gregg for all of his help with this project . And an even bigger thanks is going out to Dick Kirby for all his support and help !
On a final note , I told Chris that I wished his Dad was there to see me win with my longbox . Chris pointed to the sky and said " Bob , he DOES know !" I was covered in goosebumps when he told me that . Pictured with Gregg and I are Beverly Kirby and two of their children . Chris is the president of Quaker Boy . Thanks for looking !
