Johnsonburg, Pa.: “Adapt or die” is an adage known by many.  The Rolfe Beagle Club in Johnsonburg, PA, is the perfect example of a club that has changed over time to remain pertinent to its members.  In 1946, the Rolfe Sportsmen’s Beagle Club was started on Silver Creek Road in Johnsonburg.  Soldiers had just come home from the war, families were being started, the economy was good, and soldiers returned to hunting.  Many homes had a beagle in the backyard, and woodlots were brushy or filled with young trees because of wood harvest for the war.  Habitat was plentiful for rabbits, the king of small game in Pennsylvania.

Times changed.  The American Kennel Club (AKC) told the club they needed to acquire their own address in order to continue to host beagle trials.  In 1951, the club acquired a small parcel on Long Level Road in Johnsonburg and became the Rolfe Beagle Club.  The first AKC beagle field trial was held in the fall of 1951 by the Rolfe Beagle Club with 101 dogs participating.

The members started on a 30’ by 48’ clubhouse complete with two bathrooms and a full kitchen that was completed in 1961.  The total cost of materials was $3,196 in 1961 dollars.  Membership was active and trials were held most Sundays during good weather in conjunction with the other nearby beagle clubs in Kushequa, DuBois, Curwensville, Fryburg, and St Marys.  Beagling was at its height in the 1970s.

The club added a 30’ by 40’ barn to its facilities in 1981.

Change in Forests

But times were changing again.  The forest landscape that had supported so many rabbits decades ago was now 40 to 50 feet in the air, not providing rabbit habitat, or had been subdivided for new homes.  Squirrels and pheasants became the kings of small game in Pennsylvania, particularly north of I-80.

As breeders of beagles came to appreciate the hound that could account for the track over the hound that could keep the rabbit moving, breeders selected for slower hounds.  Rabbit hunters did not like the breeding changes in beagles and in 1997 created the Appalachian Gundog Brace Federation to promote a hunting beagle.  Rolfe Beagle Club continued to run trials for the slower beagles but also added trials for beagles that were hunting beagles.

A clubhouse that was now decades old needed repairs; a new furnace and woodstove were added in 1995.

In 1998 the Rolfe Beagle Club developed its first Forest Stewardship Plan to better define management of its 80 acres of land for wildlife as more members were joining that were interested in wildlife.  The club finished the addition of two wetland habitats for amphibians and reptiles in 2000-2001.  Conservation stewardship became important at the club as they developed warm-season grass fields, brushy rows, completed crop tree releases for wildlife, pre-commercial thinning to promote sawtimber growth, and plantings for wildlife.

Rise of Bird Dogs

Time changed, and members changed, too. Beagling continued to decline whereas more and more homes in the area were bringing bird dog puppies into their family as hunters discovered a love for pheasant hunting.  The first bird dog event was held in 2001 with the release of pheasants for youth to shoot on the club grounds.  Small bird dog events followed.  In 2003, the club members added a pigeon johnnyhouse for training birds.  The Rolfe Beagle Club ran its first FUN Bird Dog Challenge in 2005 when members just wanted to get together and have some fun with pheasants or chukars at the club.  In 2022 the chukar challenge was renamed to the Phil Fitch Memorial Chukar Challenge in honor of all the bird dog activities Phil was instrumental in helping to develop at the club.  Phil is still missed today at the club.

The club continued to run bird dog events in addition to beagle events from 2005 on.  And in that nearby time range, the club enrolled in the Public Access Program within the PGC so hunters could also hunt the overly plentiful deer on the property.

Expanding to Predator Hunts

Times were changing again, and membership and bird dog events did not support the club.  Finances were challenging.  Some members were big-time predator hunters and offered to start a coyote and crow hunt in the fall of 2014.   The club had only five entries for that first hunt, but now the fall coyote and crow hunt is a popular hunting event.  In February of 2016, the club added a second winter coyote and fox hunt or trap event that has been offered every year.  Predator hunting has become a popular addition to club events. 

An even older clubhouse really needed additional repair work so the club members installed all new windows and a new roof in 2014-15.

The club added a quail flight pen in 2022.

Just this year in 2026, the club did complete timber replacements on its outdoor pavilion, and renovated its firewood storage area.  The club heats with wood for the entire winter as funds are tight.

The 80^th Year

After 80 years at the Rolfe Beagle Club, most of its members now own bird dogs or belong to the club just to enjoy the wildlife.  “I am proud of our members,” said Jim Pennington, Jr., President, “because we have the Rolfe Birddoggers that run events, and we have an older crew that ‘fixes things’ as the old facilities age out.  It takes all of us working together and donations to keep the club going year after year.  We now have a top-notch dog training facility with a pigeon johnnyhouse, a quail flight pen, bird launchers, managed fields, two wetlands for water retrieve training, and native birds to also train dogs on across the property.  We are truly the only dog training club here in NC PA.”

The club still runs two beagle trials a year down on Beagle Road in DuBois.  The club also runs the Phil Fitch Memorial Chukar Challenge every year and other bird dog events as they arise.  “We continue to evolve as our members evolve, and we strive to keep dog events of some type going here at the club,” said Jim Pennington, Jr., President of the Rolfe Beagle Club.

The Rolfe Beagle Club will celebrate its 80^th year of running dog events at the Phil Fitch Memorial Chukar Challenge on Saturday, September 19^th.