Antique FA Meanea High Back A-Fork Cowboy Saddle 1890

[Marshal Will Wingam]

That's coming right along. It's great fun folllowing your progress. Thanks.

[RollingThunder]

Well, the fork cover is done ... sort of. Arguably, it's the piece on this saddle that is in the worst condition. It's slowly deteriorating, as you can see from these pictures, but I think for the time being, I'm going to leave it up to the leather as for how long before this piece will need to be replaced.













The underside of the leather, showing the edge roll on the front of the leather.


More coming soon.

[RollingThunder]

After being cleaned lightly and oiled with EVOO.






After the initial application of Blackrock.






Not really looking promising. Grrrr.

[RollingThunder]

And after a light buffing two days later ...






Like I said, I don't think it's possible to stop or reverse the deterioration, all I'm hoping to do is retard it enough to give it a few more years.

[JD Alan]

RT, this has been a great thread to follow. I, and I'm sure others as well appreciate you taking time to share your progress with pictures.

I got my first horse when I was 12, which my parents bought me. It was a priceless gift, and I dearly loved that Quarter horse, Rio. I had to buy my own saddle, which I did by working a paper route 7 mornings a week. I'll never forget that saddle. I visited it at the tack shop for months before I was able to buy it. It was a Plain Jane, the only one I could afford, but the pride of ownership was unbeatable.

I've owned a number of horses and saddles since that time, but since that first one, I've had a great love of saddles, so it's really cool to see the progress you are making. 

Keep up the great work, JD

[RollingThunder]

Hey Parson! I'm glad this takes you back to such a great time in your life. I prefer plain jane to be honest. My SIMCO has no tooling or even any border work on it. LOL. Easier to clean that way.

Anyway, I got an email from Jerry, and he said his wife is finally home out of the hospital. If you'd pass that along to the prayer warriors you've got, I'm sure they'd be happy to hear of it. If you could also ask them to keep it up, she's not entirely out of the woods. It's a recurring condition that has the docs sorta puzzled.

Hoka ya'll!

[JD Alan]

I sure will RT. We have a young mom (26) who came to us after a they discovered a cancerous brain tumor right on top of her head. They removed it, and gave her chemo and radiation. They gave her 30-60 days tops, even with the treatment. That was in August of 2006. She is still with us, and the doctors are flat stunned.

We had an older woman colapse in the hospital after a pulmonary embolisim stopped her heart. They declared her brain dead, and were waiting 24hours to pull the plug. Long story, but she's still with us, doing ok. She's back at work, driving herself, nothing short of a miracle, and the doctors agree. 

These are real stories, very well documented. I believe in the power of prayer! We will be praying for your friend.

God bless, JD 

[RollingThunder]

Without getting too "religious" on the forum, here's a nifty little story. Sorta off-topic. LOL.

Anyway, I fifteen and was at a friend's house one Saturday evening, spent the night, and his mom got called away that Sunday morning and couldn't take me to my house so I could get my ride to church. Well, it was a 40 minute walk to my house, so I just figured I'd walk and let the good Lord take care of the rest. I recall saying to him, "Well, boss ('cause he is the boss, after all), if you want me in that pew, there's not a whole lot I can do but try. I figure I give my 100%, and you figure on pitching in the rest and I'll get there."

Just about as soon as I got done saying that, a car pulled over on the side of the road and stopped. A man and his wife were heading to church and said they sorta felt "compelled" to stop and see if I needed a ride. Now, mind you these folks were nicely dressed, three-piece suit kinda people, and I was a long-haired (like, really long -- halfway down my back) young guy in jeans with holes in the knees. Not exactly who you'd figure they'd stop for. But they did, and I took them up on their ride.

They gave me a ride long enough to make a 40 minute walk into a 15 minute one. Once we reached their turnoff, I got outta the car, thanked them for the ride and started walking again.

"Well boss," I said, (cause he is the boss), "you sure got my attention with that one. Thanks much for that. I just hope mom's home when I get there, because she's my only way to get to church."

Then I saw her car. She was driving up the street to a Hardee's about the same time I was walking by it out front. She pulled in and parked, and we talked and she said she'd drop me off at church, but asked if I'd skip Sunday school (it had already started 10 minutes prior) and have some breakfast with her.

Now, everyone can speculate what they want about coincidence and happenstance. But sometimes, all that doesn't matter.

Sometimes you just know.

[vegasmeanea]

Hey, RT. I've made contact with other Meanea saddle owner's in the past, and they've thought that my sentiments were pretty cool and add a great deal of meaning to the care and respect they have for Meanea leatherwork. Once I found this thread on your restoration of "Sow's Ear", I felt I had to comment.

My name is Matthew Meanea. I am a great-grandson of T.E. Meanea of Denver, CO.  He manufactured the saddle trees that F.A. Meanea, his brother, would finish at his shop in Cheyenne. Up until a couple of years ago, I had little understanding of my family history, but it is with great pride that I now realize how special my family history is.

Your posts are wonderful. It warms my heart to see the investment of money, time, and effort you have already made in cleaning and treating the leather of this saddle. You have my heartfelt gratitude for the respect and reverence for the saddle that you have demonstrated in your careful handling as well as your remarks concerning the saddle.

My grandfather, Millard Leo Meanea, recently turned 94 years old. I am forwarding this threaded discussion to him, as it always brings joy to him as well when our heritage is recognized and respected. Thank you again for your postings, and I eagerly await further photos and descriptions of your work.

Matthew Meanea
Las Vegas, NV

[Skeeter Lewis]

Good for you, Vegasmeanea, for appreciating and celebrating your family's place in America's heritage.

[RollingThunder]

Matthew ... what an unexpected surprise and honor! The first thought that ran through my mind when I read your post is, "Gosh, I really hope I don't screw it up now!" LOL.

If you're really wanting to meet kind folks on here who have Meanea connections, then you need to also meet David Carrico. He's carrying on the tradition of your great grandfather and uncle by building those saddles and designs on modern trees.

As for the Sow's Ear, like I said, I don't ever think it will be a silk purse at any time soon, but I'm giving it a go.

I'd be really tickled if you'd let me know what your grandfather Millard Leo Meanea thinks, and any information you might be able to offer up on how their shops ran. The biggest problem I have come across in the research I have done on the Cheyenne saddle in general and the Meanea shop in specific is that while they discuss the various historical dates and hows and whys of the theory behind the creation of these saddles, they don't really put forth anything much on the techniques, tools and designs used to create these saddles.

While I'm fascinated by history, that gets a little frustrating at a certain point. LOL.

I hope you enjoy the rest of this thread as I rebuild it to the best of my ability.

Hoka!

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Welcome, Matthew. It's good to see you with us. Thanks for looking in. It's nice to hear from you and your family. There isn't a leatherworker here that isn't influenced by the Meanea name to some degree. I'm certainly one. If you have any old pictures, by all means start a thread and share them with us.  I'm looking forward to hearing more from you.

[santee]

Wow! What an honor, RT. Keep up the good work, your making their ancestors proud too!