Saddle Maker Wilford Lewis
Looking around the shop at his life, Wilford reflected, “Well it’s been a long… I don’t know if you’d call it a battle or what. It’s been a long haul. I’m going to make saddles as long as I’m able.”
Sometimes the dust of history covers up some pretty good stories. Sometimes it takes a cold West Texas wind to blow some of it away, so you know where to start digging. The wind was blowing that day in 2002, when I pulled off Highway 67 just outside of Brownwood, Texas. I was looking for a man who was a link between the cowboy saddles of yesteryear, and the modern performance saddle. I parked in front of a modest home in Early, Texas.
At 77, you couldn’t say Wilford Lewis was retired; it was more like downsized a little. Wilford and his wife, Shirley, lived in a comfortable house that really didn’t hint at much about Wilford’s history. Inside though, your eyes would be drawn to two beautiful miniature saddles that were displayed on a table. Both were crafted by Wilford. One looked just like his popular contemporary roping saddles. The tiny floral tooling
