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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 20, 1982)
Portland Observer, May 20, 1982 Page 3 r METROPOLITAN — “ A dying a r t — a c ra ft, an art form ,” is how Gerry W itt described his saddle-making talent. “ Basically it takes a small amount o f tools— mostly hand too ls— and knowing what you can and cannot do with a piece o f leath er,’ * he said. “ I con sider my saddles the Mercedes and Rolls Royces o f the saddle making business.” G erry W itt is a native o f C o lo rado. He grew up ranching ang pro gressed to rodeo-ing, which came naturally for those in his area. He became a professional bull rider at age 17. A fte r w inning $50,000- $75,000 between 1951 and d sl958 and collecting his share o f broken bones (30 to 40 including a lot o f broken ribs), he now limits his time to saddle m aking and showing horses, o f which two are his— an Appaloosa and a quarter horse. He said he has won several thou sand trophies and ribbons and can make almost anything out o f leath Street Our S t r e e t B e e t question this week is: What do you think __________________ of the Reagan Administration's decision to support the British in their conflict with Argentina over the Falklands? Vyron Green Pace I worker— " I f we support Argentina, it could be a m a jo r w ar between the U .S . and B ritain. W ith the U .S . supporting B ritain, it gives Russia a chance to support A rg e n tin a . You have to look deep into it, but I think that it was a good decision.” James A e rn i, car d e to ile r— “ I don’t think Reagan should be help ing eith er one. W e have enough problems already. People here in the United States need help.” er: saddle bags for motorcycles, rifle scabbards, belts, bridles, and tote bags, but “ primarily what I do and like to do is make saddles.” W itt, proud o f his saddle-making talent, eagerly displayed some o f the tools of his trade: An antique solid maple stitching horse, well over a hundred years old; a harness stitcher valued at $4,000; and a G um ph knife (curved like a quarter moon and used for various cutting chores) that was made in England some 40 years ago. "The plant that made the Gumph kn ife was bombed during W o rld W ar II; the form ula was lost, and the steel can't be d u p lic a te d ," he said. "The steel is so hard you can't scratch it ." A light tap on the sur face o f the blade produced a high- pitched musical sound that lasted between seven and ten seconds. Another one o f his knives, an Os borne, made in 1826, "is what col lectors go crazy over," he said. It takes W itt about 80 hours to make a saddle like the western show saddle he has on sale for $6,000. It comes complete with conchoes, cor ner plates, horn cap and cantle plate, head stall and a bridle with all the trim m ings in sterling silver. A nyone who gets a saddle from Gerry W itt, 4325 N .E . Thompson, "gets a saddle that’s guaranteed for life. Not yours— mine.” R ecalling some o f his rodeoing days, W itt said the targets single purse he won was about $2,500 and the meanest bull he ever rode was a Brindle bull. He said "Brindle bulls are grey— tannish brown with black s p o ts ." He added that a bucking bull’s front end can be doing some thing entirely different than his tail end. The strenuous exercise o f riding bulls doesn’t interest W itt anymore — in fact, he calls it "a young man's spo rt.” W hat interests him now is showing horses. " A ll the cues are body English,” he said. shows the training be tween the horse and the rider.” Velma Abbott, secretary— " I think that they should be worrying more about taking care o f people at home than taking care o f people in other places. Charity begins at home and then spreads abroad.” M ary Gress. housekeeper, nurse's a id e — " I ’ m not fo r w ar. There should be a conference to talk things out. A ll races and kinds o f people should try to get along. W h a t do you get out o f war?” Pat Maloney, warehouseman— " I think it is a mistake— in fact it is a com pounded m istake. It is a mis take fo r fools to be ju m p in g in to war in the first place, and then for two big guys to jum p on a little guy. It is a real hawkish attitude on Bri tain’s part and Reagan’s part.” by Harris Lavon McRae and Richard Brown J U À- t Fantastic Furniture Sale at Discount Prices at Lloyd's Interiors A d nou>. Medical students leave school H O U S T O N — " W e are facing the real possibility that for the first time in 30 years, we may witness the ac tual withdrawal o f black students al ready enrolled in medical, dental, veterinary and pharmacy schools, because o f the lack o f financial sup port." Thus, spoke Dr. Patrick R. Wells, dean, Texas Southern U n iversity School o f Pharm acy, during the course o f testimony presented re cently before the Senate Appropria tions Subcom m ittee on L ab o r, Health and Human Services, Educa tion, and Related Agencies of which Senator Harrison Schmitt, R -N .M ., is chairman. The T S U School o f Pharm acy dean was testifying on behalf o f the TRAVEL ROBERTS' 3415 n p bfooctwoy porrlond fxeqon 97232 San Francisco............. Loa Angelas................. $69 00 102 00 ONEW AY H aw aii........................... 379 00 Florida.......................... 258 00 East Coast..................... 298 00 Minnaapolis/St. P au l.. 218 00 Tulsa.............................. 200 00 Bahamas....................... 354.00 Houston......................... 299 00 R O U N D TR IP P le a s e c a ll — w e m ore lo w air fares. 287 1745 have " S will take approximately 80 hours to complete. (Photo: Richard Brown) Saddlemaking dying art form by Nathaniel Scott ■■■— o Lovell Carrot, retired— “ It is the silliest thing that could ever be done. We shouldn’ t support B ritain be cause it will get the U .S. involved in w ar.” Garry W itt shows foundation for saddla which ' Association o f M in o rity H ealth Profession Schools. Association members are: The M orehouse School o f M edicine, A tlan ta; The Tuskegee Institute School o f Veter inary M ed icin e, Tuskegee, Alabam a; Xavier University, New Orleans; The Florida A & M Univer sity School of Pharm acy, Tallahassee; The Texas Southern U n iversity School o f Pharm acy, Houston; and The Charles R. Drew Postgraduate Medical School, Los Angeles. During his opening remarks Dean Wells stated that he was present to express the views of the Association regarding the impact o f the Presi dent’ s 1983 budget request. " O u r concern is for the vast number o f minority students and their growing in a b ility to finance medical and health professions edu catio n ," he said. Dr. Wells cited statistics regard ing (he percentage o f health profes sionals who have earned their de grees at Association member schools. He said, "From the schools . . . have graduated more than 40 per cent of the nation’s black physicians and dentists, 90 per cent o f the na tion's black veterinarians and 50 per cent of the nation's pharmacists.” He said that although a great deal has been accomplished by Associ ation member schools in the past in spite o f limited financial resources over the years, much more needs to be done. "A lth o u g h blacks repre sent 12 per cent o f the n a tio n ’ s p o p u latio n , blacks still comprise less than three per cent o f the na tion's physicians, less than two per cent o f the n atio n 's dentists, less than tw o per cent o f the n atio n 's pharmacists, and less than one per cent of the nation's veterinarians.” He said that a surplus o f minority health professionals docs not exist at the present time. "In d eed , there remains a critical shortage o f minor ity health professionals in the n a tion.” He added that according to a re cent study released by the Institute o f Medicine, in spite o f significantly higher incidences o f neonatal and infant m ortality, maternal m ortal ity, hypertension, cancer, diabetes and other diseases, blacks still see private physicians and dentists less than whites. The report asserted that blacks have fewer, and inferior health care facilities, including hos pitals, nursing homes, and other fa cilities a va ila b le to them than whites. D r. Wells addressed the impact of o f the reduction in President Rea gan's 1983 budget will have on black and other minority-group members who arc pursuing courses o f study in the health professions at Associa tion members’ schools. Among the federal programs that he discussed within this context were "Student Financial A id, National Direct Stu dent Loans, Exceptional Financial Need Scholarships, and Guaranteed Student Loans." Additional federal programs that have implications for m inority stu dents include the Financial Distress G ran t Program , the Construction and Conversion Program , and the M inority Biomedical Research Sup port Program. Additional $10 off on purchase of two chairs when you present this ad. The original Gold Medal director’s chair, with the price that made it famous and the qualities that made it a star, is back. By popular demand. In natural varnish or white enameled hardwoods, with 16 colors of canvas seats and backs. Take one: $39 Take two: $69 Ready? Action! LLOYD'S INTERIORS 1714 Northeast Broadway, Portland, Oregon 97232. 284-1185. 5ff’o discount for cash. i