Main Street, Wyoming Classics; 103; King Ropes

Drive down the Old Main Street and Sheridan Wyoming and you'll see landmarks like the wild theatre and the mint bar and King ropes. This unprepossessing little store front is the place to shop for serious ranchers and Rovers and a few other folks you may have heard of like the Queen of England and Bill Clinton. It's the fine handmade ropes and saddles of elaborately carved leather that making ropes world famous. We visited Don King and his sons in 1901. I learned about ropes and saddles and tour the little museum where Don has begun displaying his collection of saddles and guns and Indian artifacts. He had turned most of the daily work of running the store over to his sons. And when we asked Bruce king if there was any risk of selling out or turning into Wal-Mart ropes he said no. In the years since then the museum has grown and changed. Don King has been flown to Washington D.C. and declared a living treasure of American folk art and one of the firm's most talented Sattell craftsman John King is gone. So 15 years later I called up Bruce King and asked him again if there was any risk that this small family business might sell out or

become a franchise. Once again he said no we're still here on Main Street. In order to. Come up with a product that these professional people will buy and keep by you have to do a lot of work in them so that they'll keep coming back. I mean you can't can't inject a piece of junk into because they won't come back and that's always been our theory of high quality in this business and. I think we've turned down more subtle orders and we've taken because of the fact that

things are done by hand just take time. And with the orders that we have now and saddles were running three years behind at the at the moment so we've turned down a tremendous amount of saddle orders just because we don't want to have anybody off the street making sidles force and we want to keep that that quality in mind and getting a good product. I always thought myself as a craftsman but. I don't work for enough shops that I. I. I had a go. And I knew how I thought I knew anyway and what the Cowboys wanted and I thought like them you know yeah there are strings. Strange breeder the old timers or the younger ones are a little different but. I kind of thought and I figured I did anyway and. So I kind of put it out. And then after your interview I have to think yes off as a business matter you better be one to.

Build it up you know you've got to. Technically not not an educated businessman by other people's standards because. We did things a little different. Welcome to Main Street Wyoming. I'm to figure out today we're insured and we've wandered into a store where cowboys and ranch hands and rodeo riders come to pick up the tools of their trade. It's called King ropes. You probably know the hats. And you don't have to be a cowboy to come here either. In fact they've had sheikhs from the Middle East they've had the Queen of England. So come on in and we'll meet them. With me today is Bruce King. He's one of the King brothers. He's in charge of ordering the raw materials and does some of the leather work here in self and in front of us is an example of the sort of thing that's made king robes famous. It's King saddlery and Bruce maybe you could tell us a little bit about what makes this work distinctive. Well Jeff with any tool of the trade you want the best with best tools to work with. And we feel that we build one of the better saddles in the

business. We use quality American products leather the sheep skins the trees and the thing that kind of sets our saddles away from the factory saddles. Is that the tooling patterns that we used to decorate the saddles. It's a finer lot finer type of tooling that's all done with quite small tools whereas your factory saddles are a lot of times made with a with an actual press of just presses in the tooling pattern or they use great big flowers and that is quite a large piece of work with big tools. Yeah this is very fine detail here who actually does this work. Most of it is done by my younger brother John. Dad taught him how. But as far as all of the King boys are able to do it some not as well as the other ones but we're all OK. It is.

The king pattern. That we have. In we do more. Find a word. In. Your you don't know. Pattern or anything like that but. You just play it. Who you really want it. And then you get. To do the where by hand. OK I do this to my. Spare time when in I often make really enjoyed making there and pre-K. If the latter you may know I need. A. Couple weeks here. It depends on the pattern. And. If it is. Growth a corner may be weakening. In. Reading then I can make therapy carry.

The day left. IF SOMEBODY TAKE GOOD. Me dad me. That most of the. Time you. Look into it. And then you. Do it. And then the more you do it. The more you look at it. But they can help you with. What do you. Think. Most of the time you have to do it on your own. Famous first I suppose for the saddles and maybe second for the caps. But you've got a great deal of other business going on here as well. Can you describe the full breadth of the king ropes business. Jeff we're primarily a tack store a saddle ring a true saddle there's a lot of people have. What they call Western stores but we're taxed or which is quite uncommon throughout the United States and that. The Western stores

normally just carry coals in and have a department in the back of the store with a couple bits and then a couple imported. Had it all or some live were a full range horse Outfitters. You've got an enormous amount of equipment real gear right and it's bass towards the rodeo cowboy or the true rancher. You've also got a fairly large ropes business going you sell things to tourists that come in off the street and you even put a museum in in the back of a shop here. Well we kind of feel that we need to. There are so many people won't come in that aren't familiar with with the leather don't have any need to come in the store so we had to give the general public something to come in and look at. Despite all this growth since the 1980s you've managed to remain pretty much a family business. Isn't that right. That's correct. Tell me what roles everybody plays in the family. Well we kind of keep everything separate bodies of course is in charge of the ropes and I'm kind of the run around I do more wandering than than anything throughout the store there's three buildings I have to cover. And

John of course is in the tooling and making the saddles and John are your brothers. That's correct. Have another older brother Bill who does some tooling for the store. And of course dad who comes in every once in a while the kind of straightness all that and is it a philosophy of the company to keep it within the family to keep it small like this. Yes unless save the we have another boy that workforce that workforce about 10 years ago and who was a loyal painter by his artistic thing. But he is a menace to her and he follows arsing style. Have you got another generation coming up. I've got a son that's learning the tooling rather well and rather quickly and he's really interested in becoming a leather craftsman. So there's no prospect that King ropes will become warmer. No there is we've been approached several times about open franchises and this and that and put in our store and other places and we feel comfortable with this right here.

Bob King is in charge of what might be called the ropes the vision the King wrote. Many of these roads that you see behind him on the racks are in fact put together in the basement of the king ropes building insurance. Bob tell us a little bit about the rope in your hand and how it's made and what it's used for. This right here is a blend of not on and polyester and we made this. This rope is a 380 scant diameter 30 feet long and it's in a medium soft light which will be used for having a pretty good general Ranchero. Explain to us what a heading rope is. We sell go to contest team rail purse and the heading routes that we refer to are the ones used to rope the animal around the horn. Explain the process for actually making the rope step by step. Well we begin with we buy the yarn. Just a single yarn like this. This is not on and polyester that's a bland one third of these yarns will

be polyester. The other two thirds to be not on. We take these and then we. Run our machine. We take all the xians planned together and do a strand. There are three strands and the threads in your basement go into the rope will run the full length of the room 80 feet or more. Yes you have about 30 percent take up. I mean if you want to if you want a 30 foot rope you start at 45 or 50 feet and then you'll have that much take up in the in the ply and the yarn to a strand. Depending on the the length of the rope or the stiffness of the rope depends on how long you twist these yarn into the strands together and that's all has to do with under tension also. Then when we've gone far enough to where we want the specified stiffness we turn another machine on it actually twist the rope into a three strand lariat rope. After that is process completed. These are dry yarns untreated yarns.

We make a specific amount Well we'll make eight or nine hundred ropes and then we will be submersed these in a in a wax similar to beeswax. We use a petroleum based wax about like paraffin. That is to give the rope some life and weight and or ability without it it would just be sort of a dead piece of rope that would not could not have the spring and life to it. So that's what that's what the wax wax is when we try to penetrate as much as we can although you get a little outside coating but that'll come off with use. After we wax these then they are stretched and cured. This is to take all the work out of the roll so the real will. Will a real straight. We hand quantum. So you can have a have a loop like this we tie the two in knots and the Han do not which is why then we hand saw this leather rod piece in here which we call a burr wear leather.

Then the rope is complete for sale in a hardware store you see maybe a couple of schools of rope to choose from but here on your walls I see an infinite variety. What could the possible variety of uses for all these robots. Well it's changed like all sports have in the last 20 years. Everybody's gotten a lot more proficient at it. This board itself and also they're becoming even more particular in the ranch ranch work due to the fact there's so many variables available and well that's what we've tried to do is provide all these different variables to him so they have a choice rather than two robots like you say out of school that probably won't be straight no be corrected no be fighting it all the time this way it makes their work easier and their and the Sporty is your forte. When the ranch hands come into the store and try the ropes out right here. Oh yes. If they come through General Lane They're very particular especially rodeo cowboys

and they'll buy five or six or maybe a dozen or upset at a time to last him for a little bit a little bit of time in that process of them feeling wrote in here we may go through 20 30 40 50 ropes before they get a dozen that they feel are exactly the same. The people that. Work with myself and my father and Bruce we can sort of go through and feel reps at it and if somebody wants a dozen rolls I can probably pick out 20 and they'll be able to get 12 out there that are exactly that like. Now we're going to talk to Don King the man who started it all with King ropes the patriarch of the

King family. And in addition the collector of the saddles and tack and other memorabilia of the Old West that you find here in the museum that's attached to King roads. Do you start your life here in Wyoming. Born in one Douglas. But I left there when I was five years old with my father. And then when he traveled. And traveled and he was an old time cowboy and would just. Stay in one place about two three months seasonal work mostly. And then I went with him. And. So mostly in Arizona California and Montana Wyoming. When in these travels all through the West did you stop long enough to begin learning the trade of leather work. I never did stop long enough just to get started I mean as we would travel in every town that we would come into I would always. Always voted the.

Saddles up first thing I would go to because they were always fascinated me and that. I would just hang out in the saddle tops and. Keep telling them I was an honor and I would do that someday. And. But then I was working and if Phoenix Arizona for a ride in a stable. And was in and porters with two of the big company and kept saying that same thing in one of the boys and there was a younger one of the younger saddle my dears. He said we'll get you some scrap leather and some. Nails and make you some tools and take after. Well that was the first encouraging men I've ever had so you started there. That's only started after beginning as a leatherworker When did you change over to become a shop owner. My first but I started right after I started. January 1st 1947 after I'd come back. I love the service. And. Work for a local. Saddle maker here who I had worked

for often on. Three or four times before. I was had been a carver or snapper before and I had never made saddles but. I came out of the service I made him promise me that. He didn't mean to make saddles. So then I worked for him about a year. Decided i was smarter and he was. Tired of my own. And that was in 47 and then. We bought a small acreage out of town. And I'd always worked with horses horse it was my main main thing. The leather work was a sidelight always a hobby. And. So after we get the acreage. Out of town I couldn't. Handle the inside work again so I went back to work on horses and then doing this. On the side so I jumped back and forth for. 10 15 years just. Doing that go on. Working the.

Local shops and then. Were going at home. Trying to make things work out. Do you think of yourself as a businessman or craftsman or an artist or an entrepreneur. I always saw myself as a craftsman. But I do work for enough shops that I. I. I had a go and I knew how I thought I knew anyway and what the Cowboys wanted and I thought like them you know you know there are strings. Strange breed or the old timers were you know the younger ones or they're a little different that. I kind of they thought and I figured I did anyway and. So I kind of put it to that. And then after your interview you have to think yourself as a businessman or you better be one to. Build it up you know you've got to. Technically not not an educated businessman by other

people's standards because. We did things a little different. How was the business that you're running changed in 30 years of operating. Years ago used to be seven. And I'm talking about craftsmanship now. Years ago there was great craftsmen. And then World War 2 come along and everybody. Got in a hurry. I mean it got to be more of a mass. Production meaning even after World War 2. It seemed like everybody was striving for speed and. Course there wasn't. Nobody could afford to pay for very much anyway so it had to be speed. But now it's coming back to do. More of that. There's quite a few of them taking pride in their work and crafts and all the crafts are coming back. So was there a time there when it looked as if the craft was going to die out. During the Depression.

Tell Mike it was a good trade it paid better than most things. But then as unions came on and. All little technical things come on it it stayed the same and everything else advanced. We're sitting here to museum looks for attack Jews and all nationalities. What prompted you to open a museum this is a fairly recent undertaking. I had been able to collect a. Few. I wasn't really a collector because I never had a place to. Put anything away and couldn't afford it before either. But when we started our shop across the street in a very small location and I moved over here and. Found I got a little bit a room even some storage space. The fact he has storage space started collecting things and no matter much room up stairs

so. I didn't really start collecting until about. 10 15 years ago. He always before I would take in all saddles on trade but but. Some of the older ones real ones own place I had to get rid of most like sheep herders saddled or hunt and saddle or something like that. And. I never could keep from the night of space. And at that time they weren't really collectible. And then that I got in on the early part of the Cretan. You pretty much pulled out of the day to day running your groups and you're working you're the museum but you're also still finishing tools and doing other things which you describe a little bit of the change through to the business. Well I. Kind of got the business to where I wanted it and it snowballed for about 10 15 years it just got grown faster

than we can keep up but but then we got to a certain stage that the boys were grown and married and. I got to her the pressure was. Getting to me and. We were getting to where we had too many teeth and not enough Indians. Everybody wanted to run and so I. I decided to. Have my stop at home and get back to my craft and I said You say that you're getting back to working in crafts again what kind of work are you doing. Well like you say I'm making. Saddle making daughter leather working tools that I used to make for myself as I needed them. But then I always wanted to do it. Not of the business but as a hobby more so I did that as a hobby and plus. I sort of buy and

sell. Rather working machinery and recondition it worked and just because I like to and I still do some of the work I still make a sound and decent carbon and I plan on doing quite a bit more but I do think that the skills that this hand-work this ability to leather and saddles is going to survive. I think they're going to get better than they are now but it just happened within the last 10 years that they're starting to look. What's happened is that. They've turned the saddle Mike and a bit in for Mike and to work into an art thing and they started this just so with more galleries and I haven't special shows. On this type of work. And the younger ones are getting interested in it and are willing to put sacrifice some time and put more time on their thing and more effort and. Trolls on.

Knife bankers and braver sprinters saddle makers woodworker has it all. And they all have their art and give it all of them have their art.. Do you think it's a true and generally just the word produced I think. I think we're going to have to compete in the world I think we lost some of our we used to be known as some of the best batsman in the world and I think lost by some of that and sometimes we seem to be competing to be better balanced producers. Well I know but then I think they found I realized that we were losing our class thinks that by doing that. Are there younger members of your own family such as grandchildren that are getting involved in this trade Island. Yes three I work worked there this summer. That one that's. Taken up.

All the other end of it. One it's gone off to cooking school. So I think he's dangerous and I'm a dental on this than I am planned by a lot of what are so he hasn't been around that much but now it looks like there's going to be some carry on. But that's up to my boys to keep them on time. I've done my share and I've done. My part of it. Can ropes is everything a business isn't supposed to be in the 1990s. It's small and it intends to stay small. It's family owned and run and it intends to stay that way. And it uses highly skilled artisans to produce a product that really couldn't be produced on a factory assembly line. If Don King is right. There's a market for that kind of product. And there are still artisans with the patience to produce it. And there is a home for a business like King wrote on Main Street Wyoming. Thanks for joining us.

Dr. WOOD Singing the song I love. Just a little time please read the extremely low clouds piled up like golden rule be as white as the sea the big the little beads and they haunt me. Now we really. Mean the same thing as chance through baggy blues. Will you get your feet down to Main Street.