Teaching?leathercrafting to disabled veterans brought rewarding results 

By Lynn Ascrizzi 

“. . . any form of the arts, like leather, music, pottery and painting, has a positive effect on people who can’t cope with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and who are highly likely to take their own lives.” 

????? —?Tex McClish 

If you judge things by first appearances only, then you might miss what Tex’s Hand Crafted Leather is fully about. The resilient enterprise, founded roughly 15 years ago by Charles “Tex” McClish in Port Orchard, Washington, might seem similar to a number of other dedicated family leathercraft businesses.? 

Yet, his small enterprise has its own distinctive quality. And some surprising revelations. 

“I do mostly smaller stuff: lots of handcrafted wallets, belts and notebooks and women’s purses. And, some portraits. They’ve turned out awesome. I carve and tool and color the portraits with dye, but mostly with acrylics. I don’t do any saddles, boots or shoes. I could, but I just don’t,” he said. 

His most popular product? “Maybe it’s my journals. I’ve sold more leather journal covers than women’s handbags and clutch bags, which I very seldom sell.” 

Most of his leather projects are made in a 12×12-foot area within his 38×40-foot workshop, originally used for woodworking. “The only thing I do now is leatherwork. It’s handmade from products made in the USA — leather, acrylics and eco-friendly, water-soluble dyes and paints.” 

As for employees, “It’s just me and my wife of more than 30 years, Annette McClish,” he said. The couple live about 20 miles from the workshop in Gig Harbor, a former fishing community surrounded on three sides by the Puget Sound and located about 50 miles from Seattle. He creates the leatherwork; she helps with ordering supplies. A while back, they worked together on a creative leather project. 

“We made poinsettias out of leather and put gold-colored beads in the centers,” he?said. “Leaves were painted red and green with acrylics. While the leather was wet, we’d shape the leaves. We made enough to give as gifts to all eight of our adult kids.” He has six sons; she has two sons. 

Tex uses leather from all over, he said, citing suppliers like Tandy, Weaver and Frogjelly.? Recently, he got into crafting holsters. “I use cowhide for the holsters and all my holsters are leather lined. That creates a double layer, so it will hold up for a lifetime. I also use kangaroo lacing, which I believe is?much stronger than cowhide lacing.” 

And, he makes a line of belts. “My belts are smooth on the inside layer, not rough. That’s because I put a thin leather liner on the back of the belt. Not everyone does this. This finishes them off nice.” ? 

Tex’s abiding interest in leatherwork, despite early obstacles, began as a kid. “I grew up in a poor family and spending money on hobbies was not a priority. But in 1984, at age 40, I went to Tandy Leather in Tacoma, Washington, and bought their most inexpensive starter kit for beginners.” 

He was self-taught until about 2016, when he took a class in leatherwork at the Pendleton Leather Show in Pendleton, Oregon. The show, held the first weekend in November, consists of a trade show, classes and competitions. “It was a great class for me,” Tex said. “It opened my eyes…totally. I have continued to take classes to broaden my leatherwork expertise.” 

And he takes obvious pride in working well at what he enjoys. “I’m 78 years old, and I’m still cranking and running a business and doing what most people would like to do at age 20.?I make all kinds of things.” Indeed, a significant portion of his enjoyment comes from the more unusual specialty leather projects that he skillfully creates for customers. 

For instance, he recalled the time a lady brought an early-1800s rocking chair with a leather seat into his workshop. She asked him to repair the seat, which was rotting away. “She remembered being rocked in that chair by her great-grandmother. Now, her granddaughter was about to have a baby and she wanted to rock her great-grandchild in the old chair. I gave the chair’s single-ply leather another layer to make it stronger. I made the seat better than it ever was,” he said. 

And, he’ll never forget the guy who wanted a knife sheath. “I said, ‘Sure, but I have to see the knife. It turned out to be a two-handed sword that was five feet long! I gave him a price and told him it would take half a cowhide to make. At that, he said, ‘My wife wouldn’t let you make it.’ And so, he left.” 

But a week or two later, the man came back, telling Tex, “I had some money my wife didn’t know about.” 

“He did pay me. He got a brand-new sword sheath for a great big, six-inch-wide curved sword. It took me a week to put it together. It was a different kind of project. It turned out beautiful! It was fun,” Tex recalls. 

GOING BEYOND THE ORDINARY 

In 1962, at age 18, Tex joined the U.S. Air Force. He put in seven and a half years and served as a staff?sergeant in Vietnam. After his stint in the military, he began a career in construction work. During that time, he also did leatherwork whenever he could. “It was my passion,” he said. 

But here’s where his story takes a unique turn. A few years after retiring from his construction career in 2003, he had the good fortune to be inspired by an artist in his 80s named Kenneth Wyatt of Tulia, Texas. His studio, where he sculpted and painted, was in Amarillo, the town where Tex was raised. At the time, Kenneth was actively teaching veterans about art and oil painting. 

“He put together training videos and material, like brushes, oil paint and canvas, paid for out of his own pocket money, so veterans could get involved,” Tex recalled. “I learned from him that any form of the arts, like leather, music, pottery and painting, has a positive effect on people who can’t cope with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).  

“He also told me that 20 veterans per day commit suicide because of PTSD. At that, I wanted to get involved in helping veterans. I just decided I had to help.” 

The shocking, seemingly unbelievable national statistic is confirmed by 2018 data from the Department of Veteran Affairs. More current reports suggest that this tragic trend is not decreasing. For instance, 2021 research states that military suicide rates since 9/11 are four times higher than deaths that occurred during military operations! And, in June 2022, USO.com?reported that “suicide rates among active-duty military members are currently at an all-time high.” 

For Tex, fulfilling his wish to help veterans evolved slowly at first. “It took me a couple of years to get going. Then, Annette got a hold of people from the Washington Veterans Home in Port Orchard, and helped to set up classes there.” 

As it turns out, Tex’s workshop is only about three miles from the veterans home. “Locally, it’s called the Soldier’s Home,” he said. “My wife and I taught a class of students, once a month, at the home. I had some volunteers, two or three of my wife’s friends were helping me, including help from the veteran home’s staff. We couldn’t do it by ourselves.” 

Enrollment was limited to 12. “We actually raised that number to 15 because so many people were interested,” Annette noted. And, there were handicap challenges. “Some participants had only one hand. Some had hearing loss. Others had mental health problems. Some would shake uncontrollably,” Tex said. Nonetheless, he and Annette were able to work around a number of student disabilities. 

“For instance, I’d carefully hold a stamping tool, so the student could hit it safely (most of the time) with a mallet,” he explained. “One young man had lost a shoulder and arm in Afghanistan, and some use of his voice. When they wheeled him into the class, it appeared that he was wondering, ‘Why am I here? What could I do with one hand?’ ” ? 

Tex showed the wheelchair assistant how to hold the stamping tool, so the young man could hit it with a mallet. “He finished making a leather wristband that day, put a little border around it and used a few stamping tools. His demeanor changed completely. He felt, ‘I can do something!’” he said. 

Classes usually lasted two hours. Students, which included both men and women, were first shown samples of the pending project. But Tex told his class, “It’s your project to do whatever you want. It’s up to you.” By the end of class, students could leave with a leather wristband or coaster with their initials on it. Or, they’d design leather bookmarks to give to grandkids. Other students might make a leather bag to hold four coasters and thus, create a set in a bag. 

“It was all simple stuff that I was showing them. Maybe they’d only do two or three types of projects. But folks didn’t care. Projects might be similar, but students could put different designs on them.?I saw nothing but enjoyment and happiness with the projects,” he said. 

“It was so fantastic to see people change. Annette added. “Each individual had a different challenge. We had to adapt to that person’s personality. For instance, one man always kept silent; he’d watch us working with others. Although we tried to work with him, at first it seemed he didn’t relate to other people. We learned that he related better to women than to men. 

“As time went on, he began to try to do the project by himself,” she added. “Eventually, he opened up. He loved doing the art work. And that’s what brought him out of his shell. After six months, he was laughing, and reacting and integrating with people. It was just about being patient and letting him find his own way.” 

Before COVID hit, Tex also taught leatherwork for two years at American Lake VA Medical Center in Lakewood, Washington. Classes were 2½ to 3 hours long per night. “They had a 60-bed program: 20 beds for the homeless, 20 beds for drug and alcohol problems, and 20 for PTSD,” he said. 

The classes at American Lake were smaller than those at Port Orchard: about four to five students per class. Tex taught participants how to make leather belts, wallets and lacing in all three programs. “Sometimes students might come into class in a bad mood,?but by the end of class, they were not so uptight. They’d leave happy and look forward to the next class,” he said. 

“Some participants had their own project ideas and I’d help with that.?I did two classes a week with the American Lake group. Annette supported and helped me, so I was able to give that amount of time.” 

He noticed positive changes among folks doing leatherwork at both the Washington Veterans Home and American Lake VA Medical Center. “Participants would quiet down, get more relaxed and their faces had pleasant expressions. It was rewarding beyond belief. I got as much out of the classes as the students did!” 

Sadly, when the COVID pandemic hit, both veteran homes, for reasons of safety, could not let Tex and Annette come in to teach leatherwork. “The students’ health was already compromised and they needed protection,” Tex explained. 

Recently, the veterans home staff in Port Orchard asked if he was ready to come back. “I’d love to go back,” he said. “But it’s taking a while to find sufficient volunteers. For instance, some of my former helpers were not fully vaccinated and the veterans home requires full vaccination for entering the premises.” 

He also said he’d like to teach leatherwork again at American Lake, if and when the recreational therapy program restarts. 

“Folks should get involved in reaching out to help these people,” Tex said. “They served our country. Giving classes in leathercraft, for instance, involves hands-on participation on the part of the teacher. We can’t just talk about the need for more classes. We need more and more people to get involved.” 

? LEATHERWORK THERAPY CHANGED VETERAN’S LIFE 

Tex McClish, who owns and operates Tex’s Hand Crafted Leather in Port Orchard, Washington, shared an open letter given to him by Clinton Brown, a former U.S. Army Engineer.? 

Brown?was one of McClish’s students when he taught leatherwork classes at American Lake VA Medical Center in Lakewood, Washington.?In the following excerpts of that letter, key highlights are summarized. Quoted content is taken directly from Brown’s writing. 

Brown was deployed to Iraq in 2003, and his unit took part in the invasion of Baghdad. He returned to his home and family, after a 16-month-long deployment. Shortly after returning to his former job at a paper mill, he began to suffer severe symptoms of PTSD. 

“As most people know, war is a horrible thing, and it’s extremely destructive to the human mind,” he wrote. “I couldn’t think straight. I was having trouble sleeping, tons of anger problems and a whole bunch of other health problems. I started to isolate from family and friends.” 

Over the years, he tried many different programs that the VA offered, “many classes, tons of therapy and inpatient stays,” he said. Finally, success came when he took part in an inpatient stay at American Lake. 

“The program that was offered there takes a different approach for treatment of PTSD, stuff that I’ve never experienced with other programs,” Brown noted. “When I graduated, I was left with many tools to help deal with my problems. One of those tools, (that) I never expected would change my life so much, (was) LEATHER WORK. I learned how to tool leather from volunteers and staff, a program offered by this VA facility. It’s called Recreation Therapy, an important part of anyone’s life, and more importantly, for the mental well-being of soldiers’ recovery. American Lake offers a whole array of recreation therapy activities to help us learn different ways to spend our time, other than in front of a TV.” 

“Leatherwork is rewarding in so many ways, but more important, for my future well-being,” Brown continued. “I think about leather all day. When I’m not busy with my son, I’m tooling leather. Things have been going really well for me, after graduating from this program. I want to be a better husband and father, and to do that, I had to find a passion in life, like leatherwork. Leatherwork…takes your complete attention, so you don’t spend your time thinking about war. Recreation therapy classes are an important tool in the recovery of PTSD of any kind. The American Lake VA knows that and has integrated it into their programs.”? 

? 

LEARN MORE? 

Tex’s Hand Crafted Leather 

Tex McClish, founder, operator 

6747 Mile Hill Road 

Port Orchard, Washington 98366 

253-882-7048 

lemondroprider@gmail.com? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Facebook: Tex’s Hand Crafted Leather 

Washington Veterans Home 

1141 Beach Drive East 

Port Orchard, Washington 98366 

360-895-4700 

American Lake VA Medical Center 

9600 Veteran’s Drive SW ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 

Lakewood, Washington 98498 

253-582-8440 

Photographs Courtesy of Tex McClish 

Photos are named their caption.