Tandy Leather Educates and Entertains at County Museum

It was like stepping back in time to the era of the rancheros; an era in which cowboys roamed the plains, herding cattle, sheep, and other livestock. An era when the sun beat down on sweaty backs day in and day out, watching silently as livestock were gathered below and made into products used by man, one of which was leather. This was what the atmosphere was like on Saturday, July 27, when children and their parents walked one by one into the education room of San Bernardino’s County Museum where hides of different shapes and colors were available throughout the room. This presentation was offered by the San Bernardino County Museum as part of the museum’s Avoid Summer Brain Drain program, which provides local youth with activities and interaction during the summer months. George Moors and Richard Lindsey were both chosen to represent San Bernardino-based Tandy Leather Factory for the second time at the museum, to discuss and educate families on the history, composition, and usage of different types of leather and animal hides. When Moors and Lindsey began their presentation as families strolled inside, Moors first took the children in the audience and led them to a worktable where he instructed them on how to design a leather-imprinted key fob, which served as the interactive activity of the presentation. The children learned how to hammer in different designs onto a blank leather tablet to hang on their backpacks or wallets. Then Lindsey discussed the long history of leather and how it was a predominant source for everyday materials such as whips, chaps, handbags and more, showing off displays—some centuries old. The presentation was the second in a two-part series, the first portion of the series having been held earlier this year in June.