In Memory of Mr. Harold Schenck Bixby
Harold Schenck Bixby
1923-2013
“Bix”
Born in New Britain, Conn., son of Harold Sinclair Bixby and Madolyn
Schenck, Harold Schenck Bixby or “Bix” attended schools in the Easy Heaven area of Connecticut and graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy.
New York in I949) with a degree in civil engineering. While attending RPI, he met Judith Stevens, of(Germantown, NY, who graduated from Russell Sage college and
would become his wife of 57 years. During World War II, Mr. Bixby was an Army
sergeant, serving in the Philippines. Bix and Judy initially settled in Levittown, NY.
By the mid 1950s, the Bixby family——including Leslie and Bill— had migrated to
western New York, and lived for many years in Orchard Park.
In 1965, Harold Bixby co-founded Tri-Delta Construction with Louis
Hecht and Richard Vogel. The company’s projects included the Aurora Expressway
(Route 400) and parts of the Niagara Thruway, I-86, Route 219 and projects at the
Buffalo airport. Tri-Delta also was responsible for the initial excavation, grading and
site work and foundation for Rich Stadium. In I976, Mr. Bixby became president
and chief executive officer of Tri-Delta Aggregates. He was a board member and
president of the NY State chapter of the Association of General Contractors (AGC)
of America in I978-79. In I983, he helped launch the Fair Apportionment of
Infrastructure Revenue Committee, or F.A.I.R., which advocated for transportation
funding for western New York. In 1988, he co-founded a similar group advocating
for highway projects known as The Crisis Program. Also in 1989. he received the
AGC’s highest recognition, the S.I.R. Award (Skill, Integrity, Responsibility) for
leaders who have made significant contributions to the industry.
Harold was an avid equestrian and was involved in thoroughbred eventing,
driving breeding and teaching for many years, in Western New York and in his
beloved Genesee Valley. He established a successful breeding and training stable.
Beechwood Acres, and specialized in enlarging interest in and competition with an
athletic breed better known then in Europe, the Trakehner.
A lifetime hunter and conservationist, Bix also became a competitor
and breeder of field hunting dogs, first of Springer Spaniels and then English
Cocker Spaniels. His dogs have excelled in numerous local, regional and national
championships, and his breeding business, Wind Whistle Kennel, collaborated with
English Cocker enthusiasts and trainers across the United States and the United
Kingdom. He was co-owner with Martha Calabrese of“Millie,” a 2005 English
Cocker Spaniel Club of America (ECSCA) national field trial champion, inducted
this year into the prestigious Field Trial Hall of Fame in Grand Junction. Tennessee.
A service award in his honor, the Harold S. Bixby Award, is now given annually
by the ECSCA in recognition of those who have “continuously. unselfishly, and
distinctly given of themselves to advance the cause of English Cockers fieldwork”
