On May 8, 1961 over three years after the initial group of 28 Fay
LaManchas were inspected and registered as "Basic LaManchas"
another group of approximately 23 was presented for inspection
that was to have an equal (or greater) impact on the future of
the breed.
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Midolane Little Francis
with inspection team.
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Nubian breeder Dolores Dunlap and her family had acquired a
dairy in Stockton along with some - in residence - LaMancha type
goats. She gave these animals her prefix - Midolane - and sold
them after they had been certified as "Basics." Apparently she
had little - or nothing - to do with their breeding. A little
sleuthing reveals that they were apparently the descendants of
the Schmidt LaManchas as we had noted in an earlier section.
To recapitulate: the Brashear stock which originated from the
Wilhelm stock and which, Tom Draper had acquired eight years
earlier from the Goodridges had - in part - been given to Mrs
Schmidt ("Ma Schmidt") a Saanen breeder, who in turn sold the
herd to the Stockton (Fawnhoff?) dairy whose new owners were the
Dunlaps. In all probability these animals had some of the same
ancestors - many generations back - as the doe, "Nesta" which Mrs
Frey had acquired from the Goodridges.
It is worth remembering, however, that both crossbreeding and
LaMancha to LaMancha breeding had been practiced by all of
these successive breeders and each in some - now unknowable - way
had stamped their own preferences on these animals.
A few other herdnames show up in this inspection - notably "Red
Gables" (Mr/Mrs Clair Taylor - Manteca CA.) There is little
indication that these animals represent new strains.
The Erbe family (K-Lou) and Larry and Hazel Tate (Law-Zel)
snapped up the Midolane offerings apparently at the time of
inspection. Since they were both experienced dairy people and
established breeders these animals were in trustworthy hands.
The polled white buck - Midolane Prince II L204p - was the sire or
paternal brother of most of these LaManchas. His sire was
Midolane's Old Prince (unregistered) and his dam was Tom's
Frenchy (unregistered.) That name being yet another indication of
the origin of these animals.
The first Law-Zel herdsire: Midolane Prince Charming L212 was
sired by Prince II and his dam was Midolane Frances I L197 who
was black with white spots. Her sire was identified as " Tom
Draper's buck" and her dam was "Mama's Girl."
The first K-Lou herdsire: Midolane Country Gentleman L217 was a
"snow-white" kid with elf ears. He also was sired by Prince II and
his dam was Midolane Francine L201p who was sired by (guess who!)
Prince II. Francine's dam was Little Francis who, as we shall
see, was probably the most important individual in this part of
the story.
Midolane Little Francis L198 was the daughter of Old Prince and
Frances I. K-Lou became the owner of Little Francis and her
daughters: Francine and Starr. Law-Zel became the owners of her
daughters: Fandango and Flirt. These four does were all sired by
Prince II. Little Francis' paternal brother. It is now apparent
that the lineage of this group of animals is as intertwined as
the ancient Egyptian royals. The Erbe's and the Tates' were
dividing up a very tight gene pool. As Mrs. Erbe said, "we culled
alot, especially in the beginning."
(We will take up the legacy of the Law-Zel LaManchas later but
suffice to say their approach was more insular than that of the
Erbe's.)
Little Francis (sometimes spelled Frances) was a black doe with
cream trim in the typical sundgau, or black and tan, pattern.
She had an impressive cream muzzle, cream face striping widening
above the eyes and cream elf ears. Her head is striking:
resembling the "monkey or "mona" look associated with the Spanish
does imported into France at the beginning of the century.
Needless to say these markings are not exclusive to the LaMancha,
her ancestors or her descendants. However, the modification of
the prick/lop ears to elf/gopher ears has the effect of placing
more emphasis on the large eye and broad domed forehead which are
also associated with the LaMancha breed and when combined with
the "Little Francis Pattern" can create a different and distinct
look which some affectionately call the "monkey face.".
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| Midolane Little Francis
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In 1962 - only one year after she had officially become a "Basic
LaMancha" Little Francis defeated 30 (!) other LaManchas to
become - at the age of five years - the first LaMancha National
Champion. The show was held in Pomona CA and was judged by the
Texas nubian breeder, George Proctor (Cadillac Farms.) Her well
proportioned body, femininity, and shapely udder lead to a repeat
of her triumphs the next year under judge Andrew Stewart. She
never achieved permanent champion status, possibly because of the
dearth of officially sanctioned shows. She did acquire the *M
tag, although I have been unable to discover whether it is
awarded on the basis of her own milk records or her progenys'
records.
It is clear that her real gifts to the breed were her offspring:
five daughters and one grandson. To reiterate - her first
daughter - Francine - was the dam of Country Gentleman. Her
second daughter - Starr - was bred to a Country Gentleman son -
Night Raider - producing K-Lou Longden Acres Night Starr, whose
notable daughters' story belongs in the Nancy Lake (Longden
Acres) section. Arguably her most important daughter was K-Lou
Velvet L257, whose sire was Country Gentleman. This truly
linebred Little Francis daughter was described by Louise as "long
bodied and real dairy." She was bred to Nixon's Casper L512 (2nd
generation Nixon buck from pure Fay ancestors) producing
Velveteen who became a National Champion at the age of two years
in 1970 defeating 114 other does. Her name is sprinkled
throughout succeeding K-Lou pedigrees.
K-Lou N. Velvet Star, the dam of one of the most dominant bucks
in the breed - Antares M. Voyager - comes down from Velveteen on
all four branches of her family and - in fact - her dam's dam was
Velveteen in person. Voyager's sire's line was mostly derived
from Fay stock, however, it's a good bet Little Francis'
offspring would eventually show up there too in the early K-Lou
outcrosses if one did a pedigree search.
At least three other Midolane does left permanent tracks in later
K-Lou pedigrees. Lucy L196 was described by Louise as "heavier
boned, shorter legged and with a high, round udder." She had
gopher ears and was marked like Little Francis, her paternal
sister. Her dam's name was "DirtyFace"!. Bred to the short
lived Leprachaun, a Little Francis/Night Raider son she produced
Rumpelstilskn L673 whose sons became premier sires in these
herds: Diamond & Semper Fidelis (K-Lou Diablo), Laurelwood (K-Lou
Flasher), Goat City & Clovertop (K-Lou Macho.) She was also the
dam of K-Lou Springtime L258 who was the first LaMancha permanent
champion and the fourth National Champion in 1965.
Midolane Dominette, a black/white spotted doe became the dam of
K-Lou Nightraider L259, first important homebred Erbe buck, and
the double granddam of K-Lou Twinkle L521, the sixth LaMancha
National Champion. Midolane Minette L213, Dominette's
daughter by her sire - Prince II - became the dam of K-Lou
Tootsieroll L384, the fifth LaMancha National Champion.
A dark brown/white doe of unknown parentage - Erbe's Betty L193 -
was the only "Basic" registered by the Erbe's. This doe appears
to be the beginning of a strong female line as her progeny and
grand progeny appear many times in the early K-Lou pedigrees.
K-Lou LaManchas dominated the show scene throughout the
sixties and provided seed stock for those who admired their
animals and the work they had done culling and consolidating
the gene pool they had inherited from their predecessors.
Their story is a continuing one and will be taken up later.
