Gaylerd Thissell

Gaylerd Thissell

Shasta County, CA

Born in Corvallis, Oregon, Gaylerd spent much of his growing years with relatives after his mother died at an early age. His dad, a heavy-duty equipment maintenance man, was gone a lot on construction projects. In 1944 his Dad moved to Shasta County in California to work on the Shasta Dam Project. Gaylerd joined his dad and attended school there. At best a reluctant student, Gaylerd graduated from Shasta High in 1948.

Like most of us Gaylerd had many different jobs in his early years. Some good and some not so good. He hauled grain for Valley Feed, tallied lumber for Shasta Box, drove dump truck for Charlie Riley Trucking, carried hod, and was a janitor for the Probation Department. He even attended phone repair school in Sacramento. A fear of heights pushed him to abandon that career. Next, he drove truck for United Grocers. At one point he built saddles for the Ruby Lee Saddle Shop in Red Bluff. This was during the daytime hours. At night he worked for Mobile Gas Station. He also worked for Metherd Saddlery in Red Bluff.

Gaylerd was always interested in leatherworking. He started out selling belts and wallets in high school. His first job along this line was when shortly after high school in 1949 he went to work in the old Patterson Harness Shop (Butte Street in Redding). In his spare time, he followed the rodeos riding bareback, saddle bronc and bulls covering ground in Oregon, Idaho, Nevada and Washington as well as California. In 1953 he won the bull riding at Sisters, Oregon and the Red Bluff Round Up. In 1957 he was the Northern California Bull Riding Champion. In fact, the first rodeo program for the Redding Rodeo Association features Gaylerd who rode the first horse and first bull out of the shoot.

Gaylerd started his own business in 1953. A western store on Broadway in Chico. He was in business there from 1953-1957. Still keeping his hands in rodeos, he made a lot of rodeo equipment, bareback rigging, saddles, chaps and bull ropes. He acquired his first saddle building equipment from Si Elliot of the old Elliot Saddlery on South Market in Redding. His big stitcher, a Campbell, he ordered from New York in 1953 and has had it ever since. At that time a deposit of $150 was required and he had to pay the shipping New York to California. The machine had a meter on it that told the amount of stitches sold. The rental price was $5.75/month or 125,000 stitches at 2 cents a stitch. A meter reader later stopped coming because he said Gaylerd knew more about the machine than he did. The rental fee had risen over the years to $49.00/ month. After all these years the machine is still in prime condition.

After a move to Shasta County in 1957 his shop was located in South Redding. At which time his saddle business had expanded and the retail end of the other western goods was dropped. Cottonwood has been the business location since 1966.

Over the years Gaylerd kept busy with his own custom orders as well as wholesaling orders to older established outlets such as Visalia Saddle Company, Olson Nolte of San Carlos and the D-M of Reno, Nevada. In addition to these orders Gaylerd has designed and put together many hand-tooled award saddles including ones for the California Cattlemen's Association (4 years), Northern Counties Quarter Horse Association, the Pacific Quarter Horse Association, the Idaho Cowboys Assoc., Nevada Cowboys Assoc., The Oregon Water for Life organization (4 years) and a saddle for the retiring president of the Red Bluff Rodeo Association. Three of his saddles are in the Red Bluff Rodeo Museum. Gaylerd did the leather work on the bronze bases for the sculptures of Will James artist Jim Bramlett.

About 1972 Gaylerd decided he could make his own silver quicker than it could be ordered. The late Vic Vasquez of A.V. Silversmiths was his mentor. The two made a pact. Gaylerd helped Vic with his leather craft skills and in turn Vic helped Gaylerd with his silver engraving.

Gaylerd specialized in saddle silver, silver mounted headstalls in addition to his custom saddles. He has displayed his work at The Trappings of American West Show in Flagstaff (1987), The Western Saddlemakers Exhibition in Elko (mid 90's), The Crafter's Corner in the Western Horseman, and the Californios Rodeo 2004 in Red Bluff. In 2004 he was awarded the Saddlemaker of the Year by the Academy of Western Artists out of Gutherie, Oklahoma. He received the award, a sculpture in Fort Worth, Texas in July 2004.

In 2010 Gaylerd received a grant through The Alliance for California Traditional Arts Association in San Francisco to teach grandson Lance Zazueta the leather crafting trade. Today, Lance continues to build saddles and leather goods out of his own shop.

In 2011 Gaylerd, and 4 other saddlemakers were invited to conduct a leather crafting seminar at the Elko Nevada Poetry & Folklife Festival.

Gaylerd leaves behind his wife Meridithe, daughter Denise and husband Brian Zazueta. Grandchildren Lance and Tayler Zazueta, Guy and Paige Thissell and great grandchild Ross Thissell. He was preceded by death his parents and his son Ross.

Gaylerd's ability extended from leather and silver working to carpentry and other western art work. Although an exact number is not known, it is safe to say Gaylerd made at least 2000 saddles during his career.

A colorful, good life. Well lived. Services will be at a later date.

Please sign the guestbook at http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/redding/