For the pigeon fancier from Bucharest and Romania, the fancier Gheorghe Mărgelatu is a reference name. A pioneer of sport with racing pigeons, Gheorghe Mărgelatu is part of the first generation of important Romanian pigeon fanciers, forerunners of what is today the Romanian pigeon fancier phenomenon. Gheorghe Mărgelatu can be placed without reservations among those who have raised the level of pigeon-loving in Romania, competing since 1956 with remarkable results.

When he became a pigeon fancier member of the association from Bucharest, Gheorghe Mărgelatu was only 14 years old. He had quite a few adventures throughout his career as a pigeon fancier, making several tandems, and now, finally, he competes in a loft built on the building where he lives. The short distance, middle distance and allround races are his favorites, categories in which he was several times national champion and participant in international pigeon exhibitions.

Member of the pigeon fancier association since 1956

Gheorghe Mărgelatu is not only one of the oldest pigeon fanciers in Romania, but he is also one of the oldest active members. The Bucharest pigeon fancier has been competing for no less than 64 years, a period in which he fully knew the peaks of performance. “I was born on June 26, 1942, and I have been participating in competitions since 1956. In order to register, my father had to come with me, because I was a minor and I needed a tutor. My passion for pigeons is due to a neighbor, Gheorghiță Mitroi, who had pigeons and from whom I took over this “microbe”. Everything was fine until 1986, when the authorities demolished the neighborhood where I lived. Then I had several offers to tandem with other fanciers in Bucharest.

Eventually, I formed a team with Mr. Nicolae Romanciuc from Chitila, but we only competed for two years together, because he died and I realized that it is better to leave there. Then I teamed up with a pigeon fancier from Bucharest, Nicolae Pîrlea, with whom I competed for two years. At one point, his mother would not let me enter the yard. Although I had walked with about 40 pigeons, he brought me, after a while, 21 pigeons that were not mine and had nothing to do with my pigeons. Then I wanted to give up, but I couldn’t resist. I bought a plot of land the following year, I made a construction and loft for the pigeons, but, after a while, I received a notification that I had to leave that place. I had bought the land with a hand receipt and witnesses, as was done then. The son of the lady from whom I had bought the land had meanwhile sold it to a lawyer, who had done the paperwork for him. I sued them, but I had to give up because I had no chance. Other tandems followed, other adventures and, finally, in 2010, I built a loft on the block, from which I still compete. In total, we made no less than 13 lofts  in the places we passed ”

He started competing with Bricoux pigeons, but those who made him famous were the pigeons from Raoul van Spitael

From the very beginning, Gheorghe Mărgelatu focused on the best racing pigeons of that time, which we can say he still does. He competed for several seasons with pigeons, mainly from Bricoux, but the infusion of Van Spitael pigeons, via Corneliu Crețulescu, was decisive. Starting with these pigeons, Gheorghe Mărgelatu’s results started to get better. “The first time was the Bricoux pigeons, which Traian Nițescu had brought. Then I had a line of German pigeons, and after that, Corneliu Creţulescu imported pigeons from Belgium. There were two pairs from Raoul Van Spitael and several pigeons Vanhee, Dordin etc. Van Spiatel pigeons were not very beautiful in appearance, but they had many physical qualities. I was friends with Mr. Cretulescu, I visited him many times and I was pleasantly impressed by these pigeons. I realized I could do performance with them and I bought four pairs of young people. I crossed them with my pigeons and I had results with them very quickly. Now, about 60% of my pigeons are on the line by Gaby Vandenabeele. ”

She has been practicing widowhood since 1970

Although it may seem surprising, Gheorghe Mărgelatu has been competing with his widow’s pigeons since 1970. That’s when he discovered this method and claims that he is one of the first fanciers in the country to use widowhood. Since then, Gheorghe Mărgelatu’s group of flying pigeons consists only of cocks. “Dr. Dumitru Paul and I were the first fanciers in Romania to practice widowhood. I had been receiving the federal bulletin from Belgium since 1970. With one of them I went to a translation office and found out about the widow’s method. This was happening somewhere around 1970. The first season of widowhood was an extraordinary one. I was competing in tandem then and I remember getting about 80 trophies. Since then I have been competing in widowhood and only with cocks. For this season, for example, I have a batch of 50 widows.

Pigeons recovery and preparation

As now, in the early days of his career as a pigeon fancier, Gheorghe Mărgelatu put great emphasis on natural products, both for the maintenance of his pigeons and for the preparation or recovery after a competition. Moreover, he believes that pigeon products are, for the most part, just a waste of money. “As a joke, as the Janssen Brothers said, that if the widow was not discovered, no one would beat them, so I can say that if the pigeon products did not appear, no one would beat me, even at this age. I have always used products like honey, pollen, sea buckthorn and teas of all kinds. I tell you honestly that at that time, when I was flying over the mountain, I did not lose any pigeons to Cluj.

I was a classifier and responsible for adjusting the clocks. I caught the time when he competed with a watch in a jar and sealed and with handmade rankings, with a pencil. I want to tell you that the average speed with which the pigeons arrived did not differ from today, when so many products are used ”.

At national level, Gheorghe Mărgelatu’s results were particularly numerous. At the same time, starting with 1972, the pigeon fancier from Bucharest participated in no less than seven international exhibitions: Spartakiada from 1972 in Erfurt, Germany; two pigeons at the 1973 Pigeon Olympics in Dusseldorf; The 1974 Spartakiada, held in Novi Sad, former Yugoslavia, and the 1979 Pigeon Olympics, held in Amsterdam. He is part of the first generation of emeritus masters, and about the award offered by the National Federation of Pigeon Fanciers in Romania, he says that he honored him and gave him the feeling that he had a pigeon fancier career that is fully appreciated.