Family-owned Ray’s Western Wear & Saddlery hands over reins to the next generation

By Kennedy Tesch Agweek

OACOMA, S.D. — Ray’s Western Wear and Saddlery has been serving the Oacoma and Chamberlain, South Dakota, area for nearly 70 years. The business recently welcomed a new location just up the street from their previous store in February 2024 as well as granddaughter, Brooke White Bear, 31, and her husband, Kaiden, 28, taking over ownership in October 2023.

Ray’s was founded by White Bear’s greatgrandfather, Ray Steckelberg, on the main street of downtown Chamberlain, South Dakota, in 1957 as a men’s clothing store. With a passion for the western lifestyle and a tack room in the basement, Steckelberg started serving the western and agricultural communities by adding the tack to the main floor and focusing on selling western apparel in 1970. Steckelberg’s youngest son, Duane, joined the business in 1974. Duane and his wife, Sheryl, have been in business ever since, becoming a staple in the western and rural communities they serve.

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