Portland Observer, May 20, 1982 Page 3
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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
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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