Retired Mountain View County resident Greg Essery enjoys refurbishing old saddles and crafting leather items at his home southwest of Sundre.
He says it is a childhood hobby that has turned into a retirement and winter weather pastime.
Sixty-five-year-old Essery started refurbishing old western saddles after he retired in 2006, but he also crafts things like bookcases, computer covers, cellphone cases, holsters and western gear.
After working 43 years in the oil and gas industry in Saskatchewan, he chose to retire in Sundre eight years ago. He lives on an acreage with his wife Jeannine, and they enjoy spending time with their daughter, son and three grandsons.
“Like most kids, now seniors, before computers, you would probably have been given a Tandy leather kit for your birthday or Christmas gift,” said Essery. “I guess mine just kept on giving.”
He has completed refurbishing about a dozen old saddles and has 14 more to do.
He is not soliciting more work, but does the occasional job for friends and neighbours.
“Refurbishing requires removing all the leather and 90 per cent of the time repairing the underling wooden tree. These I glue, screw and then fibreglass back together to make them as strong or stronger than the original,” he explained.
“I then salvage any good leather pieces, clean and oil them.”
While he and his wife were living in Saskatchewan, friends in the Sundre area would often invite them out to stay at their cabin, which is why they chose to retire in Sundre.
Essery spends his summers working on repairs and maintenance to his acreage. He also enjoys camping, fishing, hockey and martial arts with his grandsons.
“This was just a boyhood hobby that I had and started doing in my spare time because I had more of it,” he said.
“I enjoy making things. And to decorate something that you make – that will last – is rewarding.”
He is proud to own a Riley & McCormick saddle as well as a W.B. Ten Eyck saddle.
“Perhaps someday 85 years from now someone from a galaxy far away will find a rifle scabbard, holster, trunk, wallet, purse, or this saddle with the maker ‘G.S. Essery, Sundre, Alberta' on it,” he said.
He has also participated in Alberta Culture Days celebrations at the Sundre Museum in past years where he has shown children how to make bookmarks and coasters out of leather.
