"Pigeon Prestige"
2004 I.F Scholarship Runner Up
Bethany Anne Romanek

Bethany Anne Romanek

West Liberty State College Senior West Liberty,West Virginia 26074 John P. Romanek Father 29 Byrd Avenue Wheeling,West Virginia 26003 I.F. Individual Member

A pigeon to an average person may only mean a simple bird. To the extended Romanek Family living in the hills of West Virginia, the pigeon is a source of beauty, play and friendly competition. Today, fond memories of the past intertwine with present happenings to create a fulfilling life surrounded in pigeon raising, racing and family bonding.

My father began raising and racing pigeons at the age of three when his Uncle Joe introduced him to the two-winged wonder. His childhood was full of learning and growing through the bird that races its way back home. To this day, my father’s face still beams with excitement when he talks about the times his Uncle Joe and he would attend shipping night. The birds were countermarked and sent off to the races with their owners anticipating the big fly. To anyone
whom races, he or she who understands the nervousness and excitement, which accompany such an event.

Sunday morning was set aside awaiting the return of the pigeons in his uncle’s back yard. The two would wait anxiously in fear that a call would ring in from another flyer signifying a bird had homed in good
time. However, Uncle Joe almost always came out the victorious racer time after time.

My father also tells the tale of when Uncle Joe traveled from Moundsville,W.V. crossing by riverboat ferry on the Ohio River and drove until he found the perfect spot for releasing his birds.What appeared to be the best place for releasing did not seem that way to
the farmer who owned the land and came screaming at Uncle Joe with a pitchfork in hand. Uncle Joe simply explained to the farmer that his birds would not be staying on the barn where many commons were roosting. Once the farmer realized that the birds
were actually training for races and were in-route back to Moundsville, the two became friends and Uncle Joe was invited to tour the large, beautiful Ohio farm.

The Romanek Family has extended links to the race in the sky. Uncle Joe’s brother Frank was in the Pigeon Core during the Second World War. Frank sent home numerous pictures of the lofts and birds. These pictures helped to keep the family linked together
while Frank was away.

These stories and the memories I have collected while growing up with the pigeons is simply priceless. I realize just how lucky I am to be able to share time with my father as we reminisce on days with pigeons gone by and upcoming sales and Amish auctions we
can attend together. How wonderful it has been to talk about the homing instinct to classmates during science fair season, releasing my birds at my brothers’ weddings, and looking at photos of myself as a small child banding babies in the backyard. Life with pigeons is a different type of living. It’s a passion, a love, and a hobby that cannot be compared to anything else.My father has taught me so much about the bird, and in return I have learned a lot about life. A pigeon may only be a bird to some, but to me it is a blessing in the sky that circles over my head on a sunny spring day and fills my heart with joy.