50th Anniversary: Kathy Bateman

 In the early 1990s, I expanded from my early morning newspaper vending box route to helping my kids deliver the afternoon newspaper to our neighborhood. They had five paper routes, and would troop in after school, start rolling and bagging the day's edition, then we'd all head out together on bikes and cover the neighborhood. It was a lot of fun, and the kids earned money not only for personal spending but for their college funds, too.

Our home in Illinois - I loved this house. It had five bedrooms so it was plenty big for our family of eight. There was also a full basement whose walls were lined with shelves for my model horses. 

One of our paper route customers was a woman named Kathy Bateman. And one day while chatting with her, I saw something through her open front door that made my jaw drop - a wedgewood Breyer Fighting Stallion sitting on a table.  

Kathy and me at a live show - she made that saddle on the Lady Phase.

She invited me into her home to look at her model, and then showed me a large shelving unit chock full of models of all scales and makes. She was a collector! That chance sighting of the Fighting Stallion kicked off a friendship that is still going strong thirty years later.

More tack made by Kathy in the 1990s. This piece and the tack are owned by Kay Biberstein. (Photo by Kay Biberstein.)

Kathy didn't know about the model horse hobby, but I was happy to fill her in. Soon she and I were going to live shows together.

We went to the very first NAN (North American Nationals) together, too.

Beth Dickinson, me, and Kathy at NAN, 1995.

She helped me hold Lincoln Land Live and had great ideas as to show packets, awards, and in keeping the show running on time.

Kathy retired and she and her husband moved to Tennessee. They also have what she charmingly calls "a wee house" up in the mountains of North Carolina where they live part of the summer. She sold most of her collection when they moved. 

She is a dear friend and we stay in touch via social media. To this day there is no one I'd rather go to a model horse show with than Kathy. (Kat, I know you read this blog occasionally - BreyerFest 2021?? Think about it!)

The fourth giveaway is open for entries until Tuesday at 11:59 PM. Comment to enter!