Henk with Charel and Louis (click on picture to enlarge)
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Introduction - By Ray Knight
In 1995 I made my first visit to Reusel a small village in the south of Holland which could be justifiably described as the Capital of Dutch Pigeon Sport. The purpose to visit one of Holland's champion lofts, that of the Family van Limpt De Prut like most of the fanciers in Reusel, birds of Janssen origin have played a part in the success achieved, however only a few of Reusel's fanciers ever had 'direct Janssen pigeons' amongst them Jos van Limpt De Klak, Bol De Bryun, and of course the Family van Limpt 'De Prut' in fact over the years no less than 25 direct birds came to their loft, Henk van Limpt the youngest brother has made the visit to number six Schoolstraat probably more than most, he and his family have been close friends through the years as Henk said "I was in short pants the first time my father took me". After the death of Jeff and Charel racing ceased and sadly Louis is the last remaining brother, although there is no racing there remains 42 pigeons breeding pigeons in the old lofts.
Living in Reusel so close to Arendonck its hardly surprising that visits to number six Schoolstraat were frequently made and his first was when he was still in short pants. Henk and his family have been close friends through the years with the Janssen family.
After the death of Jeff and Charel, racing ceased and sadly Louis is the last remaining brother, although there is no racing, there remains 42 pigeons breeding pigeons in the old lofts, what follows is an article written by Henk Van Limpt 'De Prut'.
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Click on picture to enlarge
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THE WORLDS MOST FAMOUS PIGEON FANCIERS
The Janssens brothers in their famous chairs. From left to right:
Charel - Jeff - Louis
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Introduction by Henk Van Limpt 'De Prut'.
Arendonk a famous village in the north of Belgium, well known because it was the birth place of 'Rik Van Steenbergen' one of Belgium's most successful cyclist.
Next to this however Arendonck also is the home of the Janssen Brothers the biggest name in the world of pigeon sport ever.
With huge racing successes spanning an amazing 75 years and one of the best breeding programmes the Janssens now and in the future will be the most important key persons in pigeon sport worldwide after all their bloodlines can be found any where pigeon races are held.
As I am a good friend of the family and still visit Louis on a regular basis I will try to give you a good impression of their history and success.
The Beginning
In 1872 Henri Janssen was born in Arendonck Belgium, little did he know that two centuries on his bloodline would be the most sought after. At the age of 14 he started with a small number of pigeons, after which he was given his nick name 'Drieske de Pauw' (Peacock).
Henri married his wife Pauline and raised a large family comprising of 7 boys and two girls, during this time a pigeon club was formed in Arendonck of which Henri was one of the founder members.
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Father Henri, sister Irma and mother Pauline (click on picture to see enlargement)
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Between 1908 and 1914 he had already got many first prizes to his credit and had some good pigeons around him for instance. Het Blauwjte (small blue hen) who herself won twenty races and several bicycles for his owner (in that time bicycles were given as prizes).
Remarkable to say Henri Janssen was a lover of nature, and he refused to manipulate or change the natural conditions for his pigeons, hence no winter breeding and absolutely no 'widowing' in order to improve results.
With loving care and the eye of the master the Janssen family were forming a basis of a legendary bloodline.
All the children were raised as pigeon fanciers both boys and the girls from an early age were involved in cleaning the lofts. Henri Janssen or Drieske De Pauw as he was known died in 1947 after which his wife Pauline became the engine inside the family. She was well known for her goodness and the loyalty towards her family, which she maintained until her death in 1967.
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As mentioned earlier the first Janssen did not like the widowhood system as amongst other things he anticipated the danger of loosing his good strain, because there would be less possibilities of breeding with the young pigeons. More than this though was the fact that his hens were his best fliers and was afraid that by not putting them in the basket his results might fail.
After the death of Henri his sons continued his lifework, some were now married and now all members together made a deviation for differing tasks around the lofts.
Adrain took cars of the natural system and youngsters, Louis did the book keeping and the breeding loft, Jeff washed the drinkers, walked the dog, put the pigeons in the baskets and went up and down to the club house and Charel was responsible for the widowhood cocks, yes that's right the Janssen brothers had decided to go along with the new trend and started to play the widowhood system, first with four cocks 'De Oude Donkere (Old Dark One), De Oude Litche (Old Light One), De Rode Vos (the Red Fox) and De Litche Vos (the Light Fox). They did however not forget the words of their father and made sure that their breeding programme had the first priority.
© Copyright Ray Knight - July 2002 - No part of the content herein, (text or pictures) may be copied without the prior consent of Ray Knight. |
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