ITEM DESCRIPTION:
Title: Retired Saddlemaker Traces History of Saddlery in Miles City
Creator: Boushee, Joseph and Steve Allison.
Subject: Saddlemakers
Description: An interview with Glenn VerBeck, one of the last individuals to make original saddles. He discusses the saddlemaking business from the late 1800's through the 1990's, discribing the process and tools of the trade.
Publisher: Miles City, Montana, Miles City Star.
Date.Original: 2007-02
Date.Digital: 2007-02-28
Rights Managemen: Copyright c Miles City Star. All Rights Reserved.

Montana Memory Project:
http://cdm103401.cdmhost....R=91&REC=1



[This message has been edited by Hal Neumann (12/31/2009)]

Any idea what the date of the picture might be?

The photograph was taken in June of 1939. The photographer was Arthur Rothstein, he was in the employ of the FSA-OWI at the time. He was in Miles at the time of the Roundup (predecessor to the Bucking Horse Sale) - he took other photos of Miles and the area, many of which have been posted here in other threads.


American Memory Project, LOC
Farm Security Administration-Office of War Information Collection:
http://memory.loc.gov/amm...ahome.html

Glenn is my grandfather and has wrote a book on the history of saddle making in miles city. We have talked to him about having it published but he is too affraid that it is not good enough to be published. Maybe i should talk to him about it again.

I'm sure there are any number of people in Miles who would love to help him edit it and get it into publishable shape. I think it would an interesting read for many.

Best saddlemaker ever!

It is worth owning a horse, if you have one of Glenn's saddles to use.

In 1944 we purchased a house at 601 Missouri Ave from Mary Verbeck. How would she have been related to Glenn?

I am not sure how the connection would be, but i will find out and let you know

Are Pete and Glen the same person? My saddle was made in 1952 and stamped "Pete Verbeck" as maker. I know Pete's son is named Glen, and he may have made saddles too.

Pete was Glenn's father. Grandpa Glenn learned from his father.

I have two saddles made by Pete VerBeck. they are great saddles and stilln riding them. one is a 1952 and the other is from the early 40's . have to get with glenn and find out for sure on it. I hear he has all the information on every saddle that his dad made

My grandfather was an early saddle maker in Miles City and is in the Register of Saddlemakers by Glenn VerBeck. I was able to get into the book via the internet a couple of years ago and copied page 21 that has him listed twice. He was Charlie Pierce/Charlie Price. He worked for AFS The date was close but not quite accurate, because Charlie (Charles H. Pierce) was in an article in the Cody [Wyoming] Enterprise in May 5, 1914. "Chas. H. Pierce of Miles City, an expert harness and saddle maker, arrived in the city a few days ago to accept a position with Dave Shelly. Mr. Pierce's family came Thursday." I do not know how long he worked in Miles City, but he learned the trade in Oklahoma City and Dallas TX. He was listed in the 1910 Oklahoma City census as a "harness maker." I'd like to know more about him. I did find that he had his own shop for a while. He died in 1952 and is buried in a little cemetery about 40 miles west of Cody at Valley. I knew him, but never heard all the stories.

Not a nicer guy on the planet, either.

Glenn is my grandfather and has wrote a book on the history of saddle making in miles city. We have talked to him about having it published but he is too affraid that it is not good enough to be published. Maybe i should talk to him about it again.

You would be surprised how easy and inexpensive it is to get a book printed these days. I had no idea until we did my Dad's poetry book. You don't need a publisher and the costs are very reasonable. If nothing else you could probably get the book printed to sell around Miles City. We sold close to 1000 copies of Dad's book and it wasn't wildly profitable but we more than made our money back just selling it to friends and family and people around Miles City and many people love having it as a keepsake. I would definitely suggest trying to get it printed after he went to all the effort of writing it. Worst case it will be a great thing for you to remember him by and show to future generations and it won't cost more than a couple hundred dollars even if you don't sell a single copy. You will need the assistance of someone that is fairly handy with a computer to get it formatted correctly and someone that can edit it for him but it's really not too tough.

We used CreateSpace but there are a lot of self publishing companies these days. The advantage of CreateSpace is that they are owned by Amazon and any book published by them is automatically for sale on Amazon which is an easy way for people to buy it.

Link to Dad's book if you're interested:

Pomes By A Cow Psychologist by Mark Forman

I would love to have a copy!!!!! have a couple of saddles made by pete verbeck

I would like to know which saddlery had a big white stuffed horse in the window. When my mother was a little girl she remembers seeing this. That would have been around 1914. Any one know?

The horses were in the Furstnow's window.

Sloth I have a pete verbeck saddle that someone actually threw in the dumps. I had no idea what kind of saddle or who the maker was til I started cleaning it. It has his stamp on both sides under the jockeys and the number under the Cheyenne roll that is kind of hard to read. I believe it is 4853. Can you tell me how I can find out more information on this saddle. this saddle is quite well made and comfortable . I plan on riding in it this fall. Thanks to this blog I might find something out

Just wanted to let you know that Glenn VerBeck is still living in Miles City. In fact he is my son's father-in-law. I'm sure he would be glad to visit with you if you wanted to call him at 406-234-0116. He probably would have a little history on the saddle. Hope this helps. Helen Lockie-Martin

Thanks a million Helen. I will try to get some information on it. That would be real neat. This saddle should be pretty old.

Helen I did get a hold of Glenn and had a great conversation with him. He told me that the saddle was the 48th saddle made in 1953. It was made for a man named Ernie Singletary who had a little saddle shop in the Schnell Livestock barn in Dickinson ND during the 50s. Glenn's dad made like 25 saddles a year for him. It sold for $152 but to who only Ernie would know. I told Glenn he should have a book published . He knows a lot about the saddle making business and has records of the saddles his dad made. Before he hung up the phone he invited me to stop in and see him if I ever am in Miles City. What a nice guy to visit with. Thanks again I might just make a drive to Miles City Mt.

[This message has been edited by Kevin Candrian (9/3/2013)]

Rode the verbeck saddle this weekend thru the little Missouri state park. Unbelievable that his 60 year old saddle had that kind of ride. Comfortable even though I ripped the padded seat off of it. This saddle fit both my horses better than my newer saddles. Horses $1400, state park weekend fee $49, verbeck dump ground find priceless. If he was still making saddles I would buy one of his.

Come up for Bucking Horse Sale. If you can't get reservations at hotel, let us know and one of us can put you up.

Hi all in Miles City. I came upon your blog while I was trying to find out something about one of my saddles. It is a Pete VerBeck with the number 5053 on the back of the cantle. So I guess that means it was # 50 for that year. Wow, that's like one a week! So if you know any history on this one I'd appreciate knowing it. I have had it since the mid 80's. It is still sturdy and in good condition. All the stitching is good and it has what seems to be all the original leather. It also has the number 447 just below the makers stamp. Thanks for your time. I'm over in Butte.

[This message has been edited by Charlie O'Leary (2/6/2014)]

Had a very nice conversation with Glenn this afternoon. I'm going to send him some pictures of his Dad's saddle and he's going to look into some records to see if he can determine the original owner. Thanks Glenn.

[This message has been edited by Charlie O'Leary (2/8/2014)]

Absolutely, do persuade Glenn to publish his book! He is the neatest guy. I knew him well when I was growing up and saw him recently when we were in Miles City. The book would be very interesting.

Our family has been fortunate enough to own a couple of the Verbeck saddles. I've had mine since the mid seventies. I still enjoy the feel and ride of it. After 60 years of use, the fenders, some stitching, and the sheep skin had to be replaced. It was made in 1947 and was previously owned by Stack Ripley. Due to the weight of the saddle my dad had a gullet installed making it easier to set a mount. With its short seat I've managed to stay a top a few more jumps than that of other saddles.

In 1955 my mom ordered a Verbeck saddle as a Christmas present for my dad (Al Tescher)in 1955 at the recommendation of a brother-in-law (Jim Tescher) who I believe rode a Verbeck saddle as well. The saddle wasn't ready by Christmas as hoped, none the less appreciated and enjoyed by my dad throughout many years of breaking horses, punching cows and roping calves. My younger brother inherited the saddle and still uses it mainly for pleasure throughout the North Dakota badlands.

One of Stack Ripley sons (Jack) worked for dad and he too rode a Verbeck saddle to break horses and punch cows Thanks to the Verbeck family for the saddle(s), the dedication, and the quality put into making them.

[Edited by john tescher (3/2/2020 10:38:54 PM)]