I am a native of Charleston, SC and I grew up there, steeped in Southern tradition as a member of one of the first families to settle in the Charleston area . I made the 'big move' a hundred miles inland to the state capitol, Columbia, in 1970 to head up the Respiratory Therapy department in the brand new Lexington County Hospital, now the progressive Lexington Medical Center. It was here I met my husband, Jim Hedgepath, who was a friend of the husband of Anita Booth, the first therapist I hired for the new hospital. Anita befriended me - I think she felt sorry for me as I knew no one in Columbia! I'd moved to Columbia with my German Shepherd, Jalk and had been working hard to get the hospital ready for their first patients. I'd bought Jalk as my first show dog from Mickey Ferri of Achtung Kennels on Wadmalaw Island near Charleston. He was a wonderful dog and the main reason, forty years later, that I am still active in the dog show world as a sometime breeder, but mostly as an AKC approved judge.
When Jim and I married in 1972, I was well and truly 'hooked' on showing dogs, starting with my beloved Jalk (Achtung's Jalk vom Sixtberg, CD). That was back in the days when it was common to have 100 German Shepherds shown at local all-breed shows. As a novice, I did fairly well with Jalk, just about always placing in the classes in which he was shown, but we never did get even one very coveted point toward his championship. He was a great dog and a wonderful freind, but he just couldn't beat the truly wonderful dogs being shown in this area at that time. I was very pleased that he (and I!) held our own against those much more experienced than we were and also against the top professional handlers of the day, as we almost always came away from the tough conformation shows with a ribbon. I wanted to do everything I could with Jalk, so we enrolled in obedience and also took up tracking along with the 'man work' expected in Schutzhund. I wanted to do it all with him and I got much very valuable experience by working him in so many different areas. He was a good teacher and a beloved friend for 14 years and he always tried to do everything I put him up against no matter how hard or how inept his handler happened to be. I enjoyed participating in dog shows and still do, nearly forty years later. In the late 70's I aquired my first Pembroke Welsh Corgi and that is the breed I'm most linked to in the 'dog show world'. Many people have no idea I started in German Shepherds and that I'd also had several other breeds prior to obtaining my first Pembroke. Fairly early on, husband Jim decided that showing dogs was not his 'thing' but it worked out well for me, as he would happily stay home with the children and the dogs (and other critters we managed to accumulate) as I flitted back and forth across the southeast at dog shows nearly every weekend.
Jim has always been an integral part of my great adventure in the dog fancy, even though he didn't care to show, so it was natural to name my kennel "Jimanie" - a combination of his name (and his name is Jim, NOT James!) and the last part of my name. OK, the actual first use of Jimanie was as our cattery name (no snickers, please) as we showed Siamese cats for several years and had chosen that as our cattery name. I liked it so much, I started using it for the dogs, especially after I branched out into breeds other than the German Shepherd. Initially, I used the name Adlerhaus for the shepherds, which is German for the "House of Eagles". I chose that name because a good German Shepherd should have the 'look of eagles' about them.
About 1977, I got involved in designing counted cross stitch. I had been searching for the perfect birthday gift for my good friend, Dyanne, who was the wife of my veterinarian, Jim Ratliff. With a three year old at home and another on the way, there wasn't a lot of money for an elaborate gift, and since Dyanne showed Doberman Pinschers, I decided to stitch one in counted cross stitch for her birthday. When I searched for a pattern, all I could find were either cartoon-looking designs or dogs that displayed such poor breed type, one could hardly decide if they were Dobermans or some other breed. Being an artist who preferred to draw animals more than any other subject, it was natural for me to try my hand at designing a Doberman in counted cross stitch. When the project was completed, I took the final design in to my favorite needlework shop, hoping to find a ready-made frame in which to place it. When the shop owner asked where I got the chart, I simply replied, "I did it." She then asked if she could buy copies of the charts! I asked, "For money?" and she replied in the affirmative. I went home and not only produced that chart, but designed several more dogs and a cat or two and a new design company was born!
Funny how life can change with the simplest of gestures. I wanted to stay home with my children after my second child, Leah, was born. I was still working as a Respiratory Therapist, but I had moved from the hospital to the educational field and was now the clinical coordinator of the Respiratory Therapy program at Midland's Technical College. I enjoyed it, but not as much as I had working with patients. Starting a counted cross stitch company had never been part of the plan, but we quickly saw that it would make it possible for me to stay home and still work. I've never regretted the decision. When circumstances put Jim in the market for a job several years later, we decided that he would come full time with 'my' cross stitch company, by now named Pegasus Originals (due to my fondness for horses).
Now, thirty five years later, the tables have turned somewhat in that Jim no longer stays home to take care of the children while I go to dog shows. I still go to the shows, but in a totally different role as a judge instead of an exhibitor. Jim has become quite the hiker and always looks at the location of shows I've been asked to judge, just in case there is a good area for mountain climbing nearby.
That's enough for now. We invite you to view our Journeys with Jimanie counted cross stitch designs and some of the graphic artwork available through our Strictly Animals website, as well.
Stephanie
Stephanie Seabrook Hedgepath
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