New Breeder's Hall of Fame Member Neil Roberts Has Many Sucessful Hobbies.
By Larry Lee, BraceBeagling Editor
March 30, 2003

Neil Roberts holding his Breeder's Hall of Fame plaque.

Neil Roberts posing field champions Call Back Colonial Boy and Nejan Farm Mary Catherine.

Neil Roberts of Lapeer, Michigan leads a very successful and active life combining several hobbies, judging licensed trials and coaching high school sports. He also raises brace trial beagles, has two popular stud dogs, and breeds meat cattle called Simmental cattle. In the spring each year he helps coach the girl’s softball team at Lapeer High School. To say the least Neil is a very busy person, but he always has time for his friends.

He lives on a Picturesque 60 acre farm just off U.S. 69 on Lippincott Road just east of Lapeer, Michigan. The farm is especially beautiful during the summer months. When he cuts and bales the hay in late June the hundreds of large round bales that dot the sloping landscape are a sight to behold. He has his own starting pen plus a 7-acre enclosure that he readily shares with his friends. The long driveway at his home leads to a pole barn where he houses his hounds and Simmental cattle. He is currently enclosing the dog kennel that is part of the barn into a separate room so that it can be heated in the winter and air conditioned in the summer. The day I was there two weeks ago taking pictures of his stud dogs for this article one of his cows had just given birth to a pair of twin calves, that Neil says is a very rare occurrence. The steam caused by the brisk spring air was still coming off their wet black bodies.

Besides raising and breeding fine brace trial beagles Neil likes to barter, trade and buy and sell brace trial dogs. He is always willing to get together with other beaglers to run hounds and barter and trade dogs. When Neil was in the Navy in Italy he said, "I loved that country because bartering was a mainstay in that society." One time many years ago, when we were both new at the game of brace beagling, Neil called me on the phone to set up a meeting between the two of us. He said, “lets get together this afternoon at Great Lakes Beagle Club and exchange some dogs.” So we met there that same day and sure enough I came home with an Omena Ink Spot bitch. I can’t remember what he got in exchange. But at least we each had something different to look at.

Neil suffered a tremendous loss about three years ago when his wife Janet succumbed to breast cancer. Janet battled the disease for over five years. Janet’s graduating picture, taken when she graduated from Michigan State University, graces the main wall in his living room. The other rooms in his house are adorned with many pictures of his children that mean so much to him. Only one of the many trophies that he has won during his many years of beagling sets in his family room. It is a beautiful clock with a silver beagle on it that sets in the middle of the mantel of his fireplace. A beautiful drawing of the old barn from his old homestead rests on one wall. Neil said a man came to his door one day and said he would like to do a drawing of the building. It is a beautiful rendition and one that Neil prizes very much.

Neil has three children, two of which live at home with him. Son, Andy is a teacher in the Middle School and a coach at Lapeer. Katie has a bachelor’s degree in English and has returned to college to get a teaching degree in elementary education. His oldest daughter Trista, works in advertising.

Neil loves beagling and has bred 18 champions and finished 15 of his own. He has also sold 25 hounds that went on to finish. For a backyard breeder he has done very well and deserves to be in the Breeder’s Hall of Fame. Before moving to Lapeer eight years ago he never had a running grounds of his own to train dogs. He always has a stud dog on the premises mainly because he wants pups out of it. The reason being that the stud dog has some of the characteristics he likes to see in brace trial beagles.

Neil got interested in beagles when he bought a beagle to hunt with. He says, "I was lucky that she had half brace beagle in her." Neil bought some dogs from popular Michigan beagler, Ersel Blackburn. When Ersel invited him to a trial he was lucky enough to place a dog in the trial that day. This led him to joining Oakland Beagle Club in 1974.

Shortly after that he bought two male pups out of Pates Creek Limbo and both of them finished for their championship. His favorite was Fd. Ch. Nejan Solid Simon who he said was a very good dog. He sold the other one before it finished. Concerning this Neil said, “This really got me hooked on the sport.” The one he sold was named Mystery and won the Eastern Federation. Neil also said, “Snake Wilson claims he bought a new truck by buying and selling that dog over and over again.”

Neil has been beagling ever since that day in 1974 when he sold that second male. He has had several stud dogs but the best percentage producer of them all is the male he has now called Fd. Ch. Call Back Colonial Boy. Colonial Boy has produced six champions, two near champions and three or four more that have wins on a limited number of matings.

Neil had a great year in 2002, finishing three dogs. They are Nejan Farm Mary Catherine, Nejan Farm Patriot and Black Storm Black Pioneer. Black Storm Black Pioneer stands at stud at his kennel along with Call Back Colonial Boy.

Neil was born in Pontiac, Michigan and graduated from Pontiac Central High School in 1964. After graduation he joined the Army and ended his tour of duty in 1969. He married Janet in 1968 after dating her for less than a year and started college in 1969 at Wayne State University seeking a degree in teaching.

It is ironic how Neil met his wife Janet. They knew each other since they attended kindergarten together when both were five years old. Both Neil and Janet were farm children but Neil’s father and mother moved from Lake Orien to Pontiac after Neil finished Kindergarten. He wouldn’t see Janet again until both had graduated from high school and then it happened by a mere accident. She was in college and he was in the Army.

Neil’s family moved back to Lake Orien after Neil had graduated from high school. Neil’s mother ran into Janet’s mother in a store and she told her that Janet was home from college on break. She went right home and told Neil about the meeting of the two mothers. Neil jokingly told her he should give Janet a call. His mother Immediately called his bluff, picked up the phone and called Janet’s house and handed the phone to Neil. Neil took the phone thinking that Janet had already returned to college but to his surprise Janet was on the end of the line. He asked her if he could come over and meet her.

Janet thought her friends were playing a joke on her so when Neil arrived at her house neither one remembered each other. However, she invited him in to set down and talk. Neil said this about the situation, “there was a mutual attraction right from the beginning.” He dated her for less than a year and they were married in June of 1968.

Janet graduated from Michigan State with a teaching degree and she and Neil were married after she got out of college while Neil was in the Army in Germany. After the wedding, that was held in Michigan, Janet joined Neil in Germany. During his final year there they traveled all over Europe. Neil said they were impressed the most by Austria and Rome, Italy. He said they both liked the people and the beauty of the country.

Neil said he liked Rome because of its history. He was especially impressed by the place some of the Apostle’s ashes are buried. They also like the Parthenon and the Coliseum. He said, “ I was amazed by the catacombs where the early Christians met to Worship.”

Neil came home from the army, attended college and graduated in 1972 with a major in Health and Physical Education and a minor in history. While going to college he and Janet lived in the tenant’s house on Janet’s father’s farm.

After graduation Neil taught at Clawson, Michigan for two years teaching elementary physical education. Then he got a job at Lake Orien where he taught for the rest of his career. He taught five or six years in the middle school and 19 years in the high school before taking a buy out and retiring.

While teaching he taught psychology, world studies and U. S. history and Michigan geography. Neil said, “I liked dealing with the different personalities of the kids. I always believed there was always some good in every kid. I always thought the one hour a day each kid spent in my class room might be the best part of the day for him because of his home life.” He also said he had good rapport with his students and had many drug addicted students that personally came to him with their problems.

Neil also coached varsity basketball, j.v. softball and basketball and junior varsity volley ball at different times for over 20 years.

Neil and Janet moved to Lapeer in 1992 where he now raises his beagles and Simmental cattle. The cattle farming he calls, “a cow, calf operation." He retired from coaching girl’s varsity basketball two years ago so he could spend more time with his cows and beagles. However, now that girl’s basketball will be played during the winter months, because of a change in Michigan law, Neil feels he may return to coaching basketball. Right now he is the assistant softball coach in the spring. He says, “I keep coaching because I like to work with the kids.”

While Neil’s main hobby is beagling he does a lot of deer hunting which includes bow, shot gun and muzzle load.

Neil says what he likes best about beagling is the people. However he says, “I also like to see a good dog run. It makes it all worth while.”