One evening in 1938, 8-year-old Randy Rabenold rubbed his eyes to see at the door, a man dressed in chaps and a 10-gallon hat.

The man, who said that he needed his saddle repaired, introduced himself as Gene Autry.Autry was then on his rise to stardom, having completed two dozen of what would be over 90 films and, later with the introduction of television, a popular western series. He was the original singing cowboy and his songs Tumbling Tumbleweed and Mexicali Rose were often heard on the radio.If young Randy didn't know who Autry was, it was probably his cousin Verna Smith, who shared the double house, that told him. She had seen the van pulling a horse trailer loaded with two horses pull into the alley. She had probably seen one of Autry's films.At the time, Autry was touring the Northeast, where he was making personal appearances, typically riding his horse, Champion, onto the stage of small town opera houses, strumming his guitar, and singing cowboy songs.Randy's dad, Zach Rabenold, worked days as a welder at Packerton Yards and, after dinner, made extra money at working leather, repairing shoes and harnesses. Although by the late 1930s, automobiles had replaced horses on the streets of Lehighton, farmers still depended on draught horses for plowing.Zach had ample business during the plowing season, and each year around the beginning of September, the Carbon County Fair arrived. Its feature event was a harness race around the half-mile track.Dozens of horses that were brought to Lehighton for the event were stabled outside the track. When they needed harness repair, they could easily walk to Rabenold's shop at Ninth and Iron streets.Zach Rabenold grew up in a large family. His grandson, Ron Rabenold, thinks he had 10, maybe up to 13 brothers and sisters. His great-grandparents were poor tenant farmers in the Mahoning Street area."Just about all the kids were farmed out," Ron said."It was the Depression," Randy remembered. "We were living on potato soup and onion sandwiches."With hard times and turmoil related to attempts to unionize Packerton Yards, Zach turned to starting a moonlight business. Having been farmed out, he knew about harnesses and decided to open a harness repair shop. He had a source of leather, Daniel Oewine's tannery, near the current Body & Soul building, a former silk mill.That was the only glimpse Randy had of Gene Autry. He didn't go into the shop where his dad had his tack hammers and a big wooden vise that could hold a saddle. He fell asleep before his father finished the saddle repair.Autry was one of the most recognizable names of the 20th century, ironically similar in several ways to Jim Thorpe. For instance:• Both men are known to have visited Carbon County for one day.• Both men grew up in Oklahoma and had some Native American ancestry. Both died in the suburbs of Los Angeles, Calif.: Thorpe in Lomita, and Autry in Studio City.• Both men have towns named after them: Jim Thorpe, Pa. and Gene Autry, Okla.• Both men had professional baseball ties: Thorpe as a player and Autry as owner of the California Angels.• Both men were professional sports executives: Thorpe served as president of the National Football League, Autry as vice president of the American League (baseball).• Thorpe made Canton, Ohio, famous by captaining its Canton Bulldogs football team. Autry made Kenton, Ohio, famous by creating the Gene Autry Repeating Cap Pistols - two million were sold in the first two years. Gene Autry Day is celebrated in Kenton with track and field events.• Both men are members of multiple Halls of Fame. Thorpe's include the Pro Football, Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame College Football, American Olympic, and the National Track and Field Competition. Autry's include the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, Country Music, Western Performers, National Association of Broadcasters, ProRodeo and Grammy Hall of Fame.• Autry appeared in 93 films, mostly as a star. Thorpe appeared in 73 films, mostly uncredited.• Both were experts with horses.• Thorpe set records in the Pentathlon and Decathlon. Autry is the only entertainer to have all five stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one each for Radio, Recording, Motion Pictures, Television, and Live Theatre/performance.Autry made 640 recordings. His records sold more than 100 million copies and he has more than a dozen gold and platinum records, including the first record ever certified gold. His popular songs include Frosty the Snowman, Here Comes Santa Claus, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and his theme song, Back In The Saddle Again.