January 7, 2002 (Cont'd) Ogden store a western way of life By JaNAE FRANCIS_ Standard-Examiner staff OGDEN - This city will turn to a western heritage for its Olympic celebration themes next month. But when Charles W. Cross first opened his harness and saddle shop on Washington Boulevard in 1878, he was prepared only for hard work. Cross, then 17, had apprenticed as a saddle and harness maker in England and immigrated to the United States three years earlier. When he opened shop in downtown Ogden, the business grew quickly. Cross Western Store, as the business is now known, has outlasted Ogden's boom and bust cycles, the latest being the failure of the Ogden City Mall. And last week, the store's largest competitor, Sheplers Western Wear, closed up shop in Riverdale. "You have to want it the most and work the hardest," Cross Western owner Ken Cross said. "We've had some really kind of slim pickings for competitors in the fact that they couldn't make it and moved out," he said. But in the case of Sheplers, Cross said, "That's a multi-multi million dollar company." He believes Sheplers' failure locally to be a sign of the economic times. But he points to a willingness to work hard in predicting a much different fate for his A saddle dating back to the early 1800s sits on display at Cross Western. The store is one of Ogden's most successful businesses in the downtown sector. store. "We'll stick in there and we'll make it," he said. No doubt, that was the motto his grandfather looked to. C.W. Cross had worked his way across the country since the age of 14 before he ended up in Ogden. Now targeted to a niche market of western enthusiasts with a taste for quality, Cross Western Store originally opened for a group that depended upon store services for its livelihood. In 1900, when Cross moved his business across the street near its current location at 2246 Washington Blvd., farmers and ranch hands tied their teams in a field along the north side of the building. They'd shop for supplies while Cross employees repaired their equipment. Over the years, Cross shoppers would find items such as wood stoves for a sheep camp, branding paint or strong canvas tents. C.W. Cross had two sons who took over the business jointly. Eventually his grandson, Ken Cross, bought out the business from the family. The store currently is under the operation of Ken's sons, Craig and Tony Cross, great-grandsons of C.W. Cross. Through the years, the business has changed and grown with the times. Along with custom-made saddles and tack, the store has a wide and varied selection of men's, women's and children's western clothing, boots, hats and accessories. Ken Cross said he never knew his grandfather, but he watched as his own parents gave their all to make the store a success. "That was my whole life," he said. "I grew up there. My folks expected me to learn and do it and I did. Ken's wife, Beverly, also worked in the store for much of their married life. "You have to give her a lot of credit," he said. The father said his sons grew into their role as today's store managers naturally. "We used to take them down there when they were babies for their naps," he said. "We'd put them on sheepskins in the basement. That's when they started working there." "We spent all our summers there," Tony Cross said. "Dad would pay us a penny a minute, 60 cents an hour. We weren't pampered, no way. We were just store employees." Craig Cross said he looks to nostalgia the store represents for its success today. He points out antique saddles proudly displayed in the store that likely were some of the first stitched by his great-grandfather in his business. 112