ARBA Hall of Fame
A Brief History of the ARBA Hall of Fame
It wasnt at first called the Hall of Fame. In 1953, the board was grateful for the mamoth effort put forth by esteemed member Harry Herrlein to lobby for USDA legislation to inspect imported rabbit. He was presented with the first “Faithful Service” award, a spectacular cast-bronze plaque. In the next years it was decided
that that the pioneers from 1915, John Fehr and Ed Stahl, certainly deserved comparable recognition. At the end of 1959, 10 pioneers had been recognized and their names were added to the above
comemoratiplaquewhich was hand engraved:
In honor of the pioneers, who by thier sincere devotion and outstading accomplishements and influential leadership, built the foundation of the
American Rabbbit Industry.
And so the tradition was set. In 1960, 1965, and 1968 three additional cast bronze faithful service plaques were issued. It was not until 1984 that the next 2 cast bronze plaques were presented. That
tradition of acknowledging faithful service continues today.
The original 1955 hand-engraved plaque recognizing the original ten recipients of the “Faithful Service Awards”. These were the pioneers who built the foundation of the “American Rabbit Industry” and became the first class inducted into “Hall of Fame”. Plaque on display at the ARBA Hall of Fame in Knox, PA.
Hall of Fame Inductees
Harry George Herrlein 1953
John Conrad Fehr 1954
Edward Herman Stahl 1955
Vernon H. Ashton 1956
James Blyth 1956
Oscar Frederick Schultze 1957
Dick Foster Parker 1959
Dr. Max Rice Andrews
Ellis Warren Murray 1965
Joseph Cyril Lowit 1968
Edward Charles Peifer 1984
Oren Raymond Reynolds 1984
Donald Edward Reid 1988
Harry Ellis Rice 1990
Eabert Ray McGehee 1991
Rev. Ralph Wayne Willmann 1994
Darrell Ellsworth Bramhall 1994
Glen Carlisle Carr 1994
Dr. Terry E. Reed 1994
Cindy Louise Wickizer 1998
N. Wade Tex Thomas 2000
Conall Eugene Addison 2003
Marylouise Tandy Cowan 2004
David Milton Freeman 2017
Dr. Chris Shawn Hayhow 2018
Michael August Avesing 2022
Kevin Matthew Whaley 2022
If you know of a worthy member you would like nominate for this honor you can download an application here: