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by Al Golub

Jess Tharp — Fourth of July, 36 Years Ago

In the middle of June 1975, Laurelei Mullens, Modesto Bee features editor, sent me to south Modesto to photograph Jess Tharp, an 80-year-old cowboy saddle maker.  Mullens was doing an advance story for the big Modesto Independence Day Parade.  She wanted to do the story about Tharp because he would be the oldest rider in the parade and had been making and repairing saddles for over half a century.

When Tharp returned home in 1919 after serving our country in World War I, he changed careers.  Before the war, he had been a full time cowboy.  After the war he was offered $35 and beans for breaking horses, a job that had paid twice as much before the war.  He said, “Forgit it.”  From 1922 on, he would be a saddle maker.  He got his start in a saddletree shop in Utah.

Jess’s saddle shop in Modesto was full of smells that were familiar to me.  I grew up in my father’s shoe repair business.  Golub’s Shoe Repair smelled of freshly tanned leather just like this saddle shop.  There was a heavy coat of dust that came from shaving leather and the tools were similar to those I played with as a kid.  To see Jess’s images on Photoshelter click here.

Jess took cheerful pride in the saddle he was going to use in the 4th of July parade.  He used a saddletree that was older than he was, made in 1882.  He restored the saddle the year before, but this would be the first time he used it since the restoration.

He told me he would be the oldest rider in the parade and would wear his 60-year-old spurs, saying “I’ve rode many broncs with those spurs since 1915.”

Jess gave me a quick lesson in hand tooling.  He let me practice making an acorn pattern on a scrap of leather.

He hand tooled the Main & Winchester trademark on the fender of the saddle. The Main & Winchester Saddlery was one of the best known among the Old West Saddleries.  They were a San Francisco based business that started up during the Gold Rush of 1849.

When asked why he kept on working into his later years he said, “If I’d just sit down and do nothing. I’d be a mess.”

“Sure, I worked as a cowboy for three years steady, getting $70 a month for breaking horses, but that was before the war.”

Jess works a hand-operated cutting machine for making leather strips to be used as reins and other rigging.

Special sewing machine is used to groove and stitch leather reins together.  Being in Jess’s saddle shop was like going back in time.  Jess told me about his days in Colorado when he carried a .32-20 Colt in his chaps pocket.  “It was one of the long barreled jobs.”

On the cantle of the saddle was the original trademark.  Jess’s pride and craftsmanship reminded me of my father and the shoemakers that worked with him.  I know my craftsmanship and sense of pride for my photography comes from what I learned from my father.

 

 

by Al Golub

Coyote Howl, Coulterville, California

Living in Greeley Hill, we have to travel six miles downhill to an 1850s gold rush town, Coulterville, California for our Post Office.  Twenty-six years ago town folks were looking for an excuse to have a community party.  They created the Coyote Howl.  The story of the birth of the Howl is a little murky.  The story is that there was some drinking going on in the Magnolia Room of the Jeffery Hotel (not a surprise, the Mag Room is a saloon) and someone joked that with all the coyotes in the area and everybody imitating them there ought to be a contest.  Now, coyotes don’t make just one sound when they howl, so people have different ideas of what they should sound like. If you would like to hear what the contest sounds like, click here for a multi media clip that we recorded in 2007.  The rest of my images are stored on Photoshelter, so give a click if you want to see more.

Kids in groups compete as Pup Packs.  These boys came in second in 2011.

This Piney Creek resident was the adult winner in 2001.

This year, as always, the parade is lots of fun for families.

This adult contestant had won in the past but didn’t make it in 2011.

The calliope is a treat for everybody.  It isn’t my favorite type of music but it seems to fit in with the parade.

Master of ceremonies Silverman gives a young pup a chance to test out his howl for next year.

Everybody has an opinion and some express theirs more colorfully.

This year’s adult winner wore a little hair of the dog while howling.

Capt. Henry Love shoots his 12 gauge at the bad guys.  Historically speaking, Capt. Love was the Marshall who captured Joaquin Murrieta.

During the gunfight, the bad guys always get to die.

In 2005, the Magnolia was hopping.  It will reopen June 15 of this year.

This pup uses his hands to make his howl.

Panama Red shoots his way out of the saloon.

During the gunfight, the Lady Sheriff shot a couple bad guys.

While county music is playing in the park, folks are dancing in front of a booth that seems to fry everything you could think of.  No fried stuff for me.