Harold Vanderhoof born: December 26, 1908 died: 1999
Harold and the form-fitter
THE FORM-FITTER told by Vernell
I worked at several places in the hay as I was growing up, but never got any money. I had my first paying job when I was sixteen, and with that, first money, I bought my brother, Harold, a saddle. I had seventy-five dollars. Harold, another friend and I got in the old Model T Ford and went to Malad. I had gotten a new saddle a couple of years before, so as we were walking up past a hardware store and saw this new saddle, we decided we had to go in and look at it. It was a form-fitter; one we had never seen before. We wanted it and I had the money, so I bought the saddle. Wasn’t much chance getting bucked off with a form-fitter.
Harold saddled his horse as soon as we got home, and with a pleased, satisfied look and a wave, he rode off. It was the beginning of hundreds and hundreds of miles that saddle would see pleasurable use. Today, fifty-four years later, that saddle is in my possession and is the one I ride on trail rides in Oregon.