Today's Featured Biography

 
James JESSIE

I went in the Air Force as an aircraft electrician, Geiger Field, Spokane, WA. My wife of 53 years, is Jeanne WALLENDAL Jessie, who was my high school sweetie.

We moved back to Wisconsin after the AF to farm with my dad, Ray, but those darn cold winters got to me. We moved to CA in '63. I then worked for CA Water & Telephone which was bought by General Telephone, then Verizon. I left the tele. co. to become a custom saddle maker for 31 years, 17 of which I had Western retail stores. The last eighteen years, until I retired in '05, I had a custom shop on my property here in Norco, CA. I’ve made saddles that have been in the Rose Parade, did work for people in the movie industry, the Mounties, and many cowboys & charros.

One of the most important parts of my social life is going to the donut shop in Norco, where I have coffee with other crusty old farts & solve the world’s problems. We, at the donut shop, pick projects around town to participate in. For a number of years we seasonally decorated a dead tree in front of the donut shop, until the City noticed it was dead. A number of the donut crowd performed in a Western play, written by another fan of donuts & coffee, at the annual Norco Western Art Show as part of the entertainment package The donut shop & my friends there are an important part of my life.

We live on an acre in a quaint little HORSE town. I have one palomino horse, Logan, a quarter horse who is 6. I don't do much riding any more, though. I was privileged to ride one of my horses with the US Marshals Posse, to which I belong, in the 1st Pres. Bush’s inaugural parade, 1989, in Wash. DC.

My latest hobby is classic cars: a '31 Ford Model A Coupe Deluxe, black & mahogany; a '51 Chev. BelAir, 2-door hard top HOTROD, bright yellow. My wife, Jeanne, wanted the ’51 because it is like the first car we owned, so I caved in. I also invested in a fixer-upper last year - a 1955 Ford F100, which I'm in the process of tearing apart.

I have a number of hobbies which I DON'T do including model railroading & silver smithing. I just buy more STUFF! We built a new building to store my hobbies. I read, and am an avid collector of Western memorabilia: Roy Rogers,Hoppy,Tom Mix, & old Saddle Catalogs.

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