I will start off this post by summarizing my third trip to Montana in the last four months or so. I was able to talk my way into helping territory manager Mark Prewett set up and work the MAGIE ag show in Great Falls in mid-January. Much of the help he would have normally gotten from various nearby dealerships was not to be had this year, including my dad who was only a couple weeks out of his second hip replacement. It was a productive, educational week, and I am glad I was able to help.
I suppose I am getting a little more serious about this braiding hobby of mine. Tyler Schiferl, whom I work with and who got me into braiding, let me know in December that the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City was having a rawhide braiding workshop in February. My interest was piqued when I heard who the two instructors were, professional rawhiders Leland Hensley from Meridian, Texas and Nate Wald from Lodge Grass, Montana; I knew this would not be a half-hearted attempt at a class. The workshop is on a rotation with other cowboy arts, so it would not be offered for another four years. I didn't hesitate to sign up.
It ran Tuesday through Friday, so I made the nine hour trip Monday after work. Tyler, unfortunately, had an obligation on Tuesday morning and wasn't able to leave until that afternoon, missing that day of class.
Thirteen other braiders attended, all of different experience levels. I was toward the green end, but so were several others. Except for one guy from Kentucky, Tyler and I lived the farthest east; this isn't a big surprise, given the western heritage of rawhiding. Many were from Texas and Oklahoma; one from Missouri, one from South Dakota, one from Nebraska, and one from Hawaii of all places. To my surprise, there were none from the west coast or Great Basin, where rawhide braiding is relatively common.
We all worked on various projects that we had going. This helped everyone go at their own pace and focus on what each of us needed to work on. Many of the other braiders were quite accomplished already, and were very willing to teach and offer advice. Leland and Nate were both wealths of knowledge, and I don't recall either of them being stumped by a single question all week.
I finished up a bosal I had started before the class that only needed a heel knot on the bottom. I was thoroughly schooled on the foundation this needed, and learned some of the finer points on this knot, which was one of my goals of the class. Leland also pointed out some of the fundamental flaws in my braiding, which I was able to work on and improve my feel with some higher quality material than I have been able to make.
I am glad to have gotten a firmer foundation on many aspects of rawhide, such as choosing hides, preparing them, cutting them up, and making strings. Of course I was a bit disappointed to have to rethink and restart almost everything I knew, but that beats having to learn the same lessons after more years of braiding.
Tyler and I both got reminders of how small the world is: he had met two of the other braiders years earlier. Another of them and I had common acquaintances in northeast Oklahoma, and I'd spent time in his home town on two different work trips.
The camaraderie was one of the best parts of the entire week. As far as I can tell, Tyler and I are the Pella braiding community. There might be others nearby, but I have no idea how to find them. Every day of the class started a bit before 9am, went until 4:30, then most of us reconvened around 6 for dinner and visiting until 9 or 10. We got a chance to spend twelve hours a day with world class braiders and many other generally top notch people. It adds an entirely different dimension to this hobby to be part of the community.
To add to this adventurous week, I came back to Iowa via Columbia, Missouri, and Sarah met me there Friday night. Some friends of ours who had moved to Texas a year ago were up for their 30th birthday. He had gone to Mizzou, thus the draw to Columbia. We were happy to partake in the festivities, and had a great time! Happy birthday, David!
We returned to Pella Sunday afternoon, after I'd driven 1270 miles round tip in my old (but reliable) truck. It was a very memorable week.
