That's a nice article. I'll have to read that again. Having been exposed to men in kilts early on must have made the Dutch as tolerant as we are And don't forget the WWII Scottish regiments that played a roll in the liberation of the Netherlands and the rest of Europe. Except for questionable taste on the skirt thing, those Scots are a good bunch.
Ditto on the darn. I was looking forward to picking some brains myself in addition of having the pleasure of connecting faces to the names and comparing lasts.
I hope Jake is going to be fine being a minority not wearing a dress. Glad to hear they do not issue those kilts to just anyone. I'd hate to hurt someones feeling letting them know that there is NO WAY, NO HOW
I'll keep an eye on the place while you are out. Driving down will be a great road trip to take and keeps you away from the TSA, that's always a good thing. Have a safe trip and may St. Crispin guide you all (he's going to have his hands full on his birthday weekend)
Maybe we can find a place for you in the cavalry then? Hope you like horses. Of course many of us feel a similar aversion to wooden shoes, page boy hair cuts, and those blue bib-front overalls with the big buttons
Except for parades and ceremonies, I think the last time the Dutch may have seen kilted Highlanders in WWII was the B.E.F. that ended up at Dunkirk--they put them in girlie trousers after that *sigh*.
Sorry to disappoint but no can do. It's not a question of the cost (I only paid $2.54 for gas at Sam's Club in STL 2 weeks ago, though it's back up to $2.68 now). It's just a matter of time. I can hardly take the time off to go to those Blues games this year, let alone be on the road for 3-4 days. I have to go to NYC to install a scanner sometime in the next 2 weeks and possibly to India in the next couple of months. Other scanner trips are upcoming and so all other "optional" travel is being curtailed.
Yeah, even my Blues season tickets are tax deductible if I take the right people or donate them to charity. With this youth movement working out the way it is there won't be as many donations this year as in the past couple though. But to show you how pressed I am for time I'll be on a date with my wife at Friday's game (lucky girl) but will be skipping the one on Saturday. I came pretty close to moving away from STL a few weeks ago and since that didn't happen I've vowed to go to as many games as I can but this 7 game home stand is just too much.
Really wish I could be in Guthrie but right now I have to pick my trips as well as my battles. Raise a single malt for me while you're there though.
I see DW's already on the road so someone please pass this message on to him in Guthrie as I don't know if he has internet access when he's traveling. Safe travels to all of you.
There seems to be a nice turnout. I can't wait to see more pictures of the demonstrations that will be given this afternoon. Great to have you post the pictures so quickly.
Thanks for the pictures, very professional looking shots. Seems that I missed a great gathering. Is anyone able to put names to the faces on the group photo?
I think I recognize Rosie laying in front but I'm not too sure about the rest
Ok, let's just take it as a given that I've forgotten names - and I'm sorry. I'm good with faces and email addresses, but not names. If I'd known there was going to be a test, I'd have taken better notes...
The back row, starting from the viewer's left.
Nice guy, came on Sunday (even from the Tulsa area)
R. A. Dowart (in hat) - boot shop in Guthrie.
Nice guy, good scotch, can't for the life of me remember his name.
Rick Roman
Can't remember his name.
Dick Anderson
Dan Freeman
Paul Krause
Terry Williams
Can't remember his name either
Next row:
His name starts with a J, I think - he's a student at the boot school in Okmulgee.
Al Saguto
Jim Kladder
Jenny Fleishman
Bruce Graham
Georgene McKim
Qiana Markham (student at Okmulgee)
Lisa Sorrell
Not a clue - nice lady
Jennifer Carlson
Jessica Berny
Nasser Vies
Next row:
Oh crap - I can't remember her name either.
Some fat guy with a bad memory
Frank Jones
Skip over to Jake Dobbins
and I don't think I ever learned this gentleman's name either.
Front row:
Mirm Saguto
Fred Coen
Randee Frommer
DW Frommer
Well, you did real good Mark.
I'll give a shot at some of the missing names:
First, on left at back is Johny Beard, a saddle maker from Tulsa, as you mentioned. Multi-talented, I learned from my visit with him.
Next to Ray Dowart, who I apologize for not getting to meet, is Terry Burris. Terry is a Moccasin maker, from Texas, with expanding interests, we've seen his posts on the Colloquy for some years now. He joined in with the kilt wearers!
On the other side of Rick Roman is Bill Shannor, from Ashland. Several pairs of Bill's boots have been featured in a couple of the collectors books we enjoy.
On the far right in the back is Ray W.(last name escapes me). He's a bootmaker from close by Guthrie, in Edmond,OK. Ray was helpful in our visit to the Oklahoma City Cowboy Museum on Sunday (I can't remember the exact name of the museum, huh!) .
I have to admit forgetting the young fellows name on the left in the next row also, please excuse. But he's an up coming boot maker, also from the Okmulgee boot making school. He displayed his first pair for us, pretty darn good. I hope we see more from these three young people. They have some real interest!
Next to Lisa, is Zoe (sorry, last name escapes me too right now). Zoe is someone to watch! She's having great success in Waco Tx. and surrounds, with matching handbags and womens shoes. We met her last year and she's made great progress in just the past year.
Next row down, along side of you Mark, is Penny Graham, Bruce's dearly beloved. My wife really enjoyed visiting with her.
And on the far right, with the cowboy hat is Gary Cunningham. Gary is a bootmaker, and one the generous organizers and workers for the Boot and Saddle Makers Roundup in Witchita Falls every year. What a great guy! and I'm real proud to have gotten to meet him.
Well, that's the best I can do. We sure did have a good time, and I really appreciate how you all made my friend Terry feel welcome. He graduated from Okmulgee many years ago and has been away from bootmaking for several years now, due to circumstances. But he was encouaged to oil up his machines and get back to it. I sure hope he does.
Again my thanks to Lisa and Dale, as well as the several others who work so hard behind the scenes, especialy Miriam Saguto, to make it all work so well. And to those who presented and demonstrated, a big thank you too. Nasser, a special thanks from me for demonstrating twisting linen thread!
Ray Harshman is the bootmaker from Edmond, Oklahoma. Between his membership card and mine and Dale's we were able to get everyone into the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum (it's a mouthful of words!) at no charge. We got to see the Traditional Cowboy Artists of America exhibit, the Craft in America exhibit and the past Prix de West winners.
Colin Double is the bootmaking student from Okmulgee who brought his first pair of boots to display.
Zoe' Rios is the ladies shoemaker from Waco. My girls were very excited to meet a lady who makes the kind of shoes they want to wear. They're not willing to commit to a lifetime of wearing only cowboy boots.
I just found a pair of men's trifocals in my shop. They have a plastic eye protector on each side and are in a burgundy case that says "B & R Focusing on Your Future."
Thank you all for your talent,warmth and hospitality, I am humbled, never felt so much at home away from home,came back feeling a little taller and inspired. Dale, Lisa thank you. Jake, i love that accent, it is like music to me ears.
BTW, for those of you who are just desperate to see what was being done with the antique camera, here are those pics. The "softness" is due to the light levels and my problems with the camera style (the difficulty finding the range with it):
A deep tip of the hat goes to Dale and Lisa Sorrell. Thank You for being such gracious hosts.
Great job to all who delivered presentations. They were all outstanding!
Marc, Thanks for sharing your pics with the rest of us. Good job! I especially like the B&W.
Nasser, any time you need a refresher course on the correct way of talking, just let me know. I'll give you a hollar! We ALL appreciate your time and effort to travel across the border to visit with us. Please come back again!
As always, Frank Jones is a great contributer to our meetings. His efforts to travel across the "pond" to attend must be a record!
I haven't been away from home for four years. I really needed this! I think I caught up on my laughing. Larry Waller and Al Saguto can make me laugh with just a look. I sure have miss you fellers.
Finally, it's no secret that this meeting was special to me. I was able to once again visit with my mentor and good friend D.W. Frommer. His presence always makes the occasion momentous. And Thank God Randee attended. It was good to see at least one Frommer in pants!
Thanks once again to everyone! It's another meeting for the record book.
Oh, by the way, I'm sending out invoices on all the dental questions asked this past weekend. You know who you are!!
Many thanks for the joined effort in putting some names to the faces. For those I have not had the pleasure of meeting yet I hope it will happen in the near future, maybe next year's AGM?
Marc, the pictures from the antique camera project an old west atmosphere. How appropriate. Thanks for sharing and giving the ones not there a taste of what we missed.
I'd love to see some more pictures of was Marc the only one in Guthrie with a camera????
This AGM was my first and definitely will not be the last.
I could give a very, very long list of all the wonderful things I picked up. To make the list short, I have to say I learned something from every one of the presentations. Beyond that though, the answers and discussions during conversations were even incredibly helpful. Fred even answered questions over dinner.
Also special thanks go to Lisa for the inlay demonstration that she put together at the last minute, and thanks for remembering that I was particularly interested. I feel like I will have to practice skiving an entire hide of leather every night for the next 10 years to make it look as easy as you did. Also you and Dale were wonderful hosts, and I will add my thanks for creating a wonderful event.
Even more wonderful was how well everyone made me feel part of the group and what a wonderful, relaxing weekend it was.
After Halloween is over, and I finish two moccasin boots I am working on, I will be starting what I believe will be the best pair of lasted shoes I have ever made. This confidence from the fact that I am ready to apply all the new tricks I picked up. Unfortunately I will not be able to apply DW's technique for pull up holes (forgot the official name) since they would likely look "interesting" on a dress shoe. I however may try to work an inlay into the design and I have plans to pick up some melting wax as Nassar so graciously supplied a formula for and make my own threads rather than using pre-made ones.
I even got the urge to make a leather bottell after talking to Ken.
So many ideas, so little time.
Here I said I was not going to give the long version, and I could go on and on ....
Now that you know where your bread is buttered--or should I say your heart is enlightened--hope to see you more regularly, and maybe back here on the Forum.
As to my dental questions, PM me and I'll give you my Delta Dental insurance info.--good luck getting money outta them *hahahaha*
I found the owner of the glasses and they will be on the way back to him today.
Dale and I had such a fun time hosting the meeting this past weekend! I just want to say a big "thank you" to everyone who came. It was a great time and I'm already looking forward to attending next year's meeting.
I carried my camera around most of the weekend but was either too busy or too forgetful to take pictures. If anyone has pictures they'd be willing to share with me please send them to me. Someday I'm going to learn to be one of those people who not only carries a camera, but remembers to actually take lots of pictures with it.
Well, it was two hard days on the road but we made it back safely. And I've a few (too few) photos i'd like to share.
But first...a sincere and heart-felt thank you from myself and all of us to Lisa and Dale for their hospitality and generosity. The effort they put into putting this all together was evident and appreciated.
What a good time we had! What a good setting! How good it was to see old friends and make new ones.
These first couple of photos are of one of the major participants that did make it into the group photo--the town of Guthrie itself. It is an old Victorian era town that was once the state capital of Oklahoma. It was charming. I could move there in a minute.
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Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC
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When we first got to Guthrie, we started down the street looking for somewhere to have lunch and who should come walking down the street but Lisa and Jake. I didn't get a photo then--I was just too happy and excited just to see them--but later I caught Jake and Randee together.
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At the presentations on Saturday, I shot photos of every speaker...sometimes multiple photos....but I am a poor photographer and I had set the camera for auto everything so I didn't get a good photo of but a few folks. The rest were blurry just because most of these presentations were so animated that it was hard to get an exposure that was fast enough to capture the motion.
Georgene McKim gave a great presentation that was followed with great interest by everyone and particularly by those interested in making women's shoes.
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Larry Waller gave a rousing talk about how he got into the Trade and encouraged those just getting into it to follow their dreams.
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Paul Krause...what can I say about Paul's talk except that it was inspirational and heart-felt and moving. Kind of like Paul himself.
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This was the best photo I could get of Frank Jones...he is so energetic that neither the camera nor moss could catch him still enough to capture.
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Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC
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And don't forget the WWII Scottish regiments that played a roll in the liberation of the Netherlands and the rest of Europe. Except for questionable taste on the skirt thing, those Scots are a good bunch. 
