The Revival of Great Brand
Of Miles City Saddlery, Coleman died in 1917 and Kathmann in March of 1936 leaving Jelinek sole proprietor until former bookkeeper Joe Conway bought him out in 1939. In 1954, Joe Conway handed the business down to his sons, Dick, Bob, and Luke Conway. Merv Fuller, and son-in-law and daughter, Tat and Tamara Cain, bought the business in 1962, and former Conway employee, Carl Wilson, bought the Coggshall saddlemaking end of the endeavor in 1961. Wilson closed shop in 1982.
n 1989, Jack and Mary Lou Deibel bought Miles City Saddlery from Tat and Tamara Cain and saddlemaking in Miles City was revived. In 1997, they started building hand-made custom saddles again under the Miles City Saddlery name. Significantly, the most talented craftsmen in the industry have once again surfaced in Miles City.
No 1 Saddles
With the re-issue of some of the saddles that made Miles City Saddlery famous, such as No.l, and No. 11, and with plans to build others, the success of saddlemaking has returned to the historical cowtown of southeastern Montana.