Mother-Daughter Duo 

Dale Ann and her daughter, Charlee Rose, co-own In Stitches, a design, embroidery, and vinyl printing business they run out of an office behind their local Post Office in rural eastern Montana. 

Dale Ann has been managing the Post Office in Cohagen, Montana, for over a decade, and she knows nearly everyone in the community. Now, she also operates In Stitches with her daughter. "It's a small town," she says. "It's easy enough for me to run to the back if Charlee needs anything.” 

She has lived here in eastern Montana, where cows abound, and humans are few and far between, her whole life. Her father built power lines south of Mile City, and after she was married, she moved out to the MBT Inc. cattle ranch owned by her husband. At the time, their closest neighbors were 10 miles away.  She raised her children, including Charlee Rose, in this county of less than 400 people. "We lived on a ranch 32 miles north of Jordan," she says. "About five miles of that was pavement, and the rest was dirt. I would say gravel, but it wasn't even really gravel." 

"It was a fabulous way to raise our kids," she says. "I mean, you really couldn't ask for a better life," she says. 

Charlee Rose grew up with two older brothers and two younger sisters. After earning a degree in finance from MSU-Billings, she and her husband lived in Rexburg, Idaho, and then Nebraska for three years before returning to eastern Montana. 

"These days, I talk with my friends who still live in cities, and it's just so much more relaxed here and simple. 'Simple' feels like a bad word, but I don't see it as that,” she says. “We all get to sit down and have dinner together, and nobody's over-scheduled, and the kids have 12 other classmates that we all know— it's great, I love it. It was a transition to slow down, and sometimes I still have to remind myself that it's OK that the only thing we get done today is to organize."

When the opportunity to buy In Stitches presented itself, Dale Ann knew very little about embroidery and printing, but she jumped on the chance to learn. 

"For the first year, the woman I bought the business from, Noreen Mckeever, helped guide me,” she says. “She provided my moral support. She was very knowledgeable and spent that year tutoring and helping me. She was truly kind and generous enough to share her skills with me. So that's where I started—I just kind of played around for a few months before I decided to take over the business."

During the first year of owning the business, Dale Ann continued running it from Noreen’s house and then moved the operation to her basement. About five years ago, she moved it into the back of the Post Office. "We've just been stitching away ever since," she says. 

Now, Charlee Rose has four young children of her own and has been driving the town's "school bus," which is actually a Suburban provided by the local school, for the past three years. "It works out perfectly," says Charlee Rose.  “I pick up two kids, along with the two of mine who are in school. I drop them off and get to stay here in Cohagen all day working, and I pick them up at the end of the day." 

Her other two children hang out at the Post Office with her while she does the embroidery and printing. "There's a little kitchen in the back here, and we have toys and a TV, so everyone stays pretty busy," she says. "After the kids go to bed at night, I might do a little more of the design work."

Charlee Rose's mother says her daughter has quickly picked up the skills needed for the In Stitches business. 

"And, you want to know what I've taught her," laughs Charlee Rose, "We can really push any buttons on the machine, and it won't ruin anything. It can all always be fixed, so she's still learning some new stuff too."

Dale Ann and Charlee Rose stay busy with the business, especially during the school year, embellishing everything from apparel and accessories to hats, coats, bags, towels, and koozies. "Most of our customers are local people," says Charlee Rose. "We might ship out a few things here and there, but we get a lot of sports teams and t-shirts for kids, graduation stuff—it's been a lot of just word of mouth." 

For such a small population, Cohagen remains a tight-knit community of neighbors ready to help one another in moments of need. 

Both mother and daughter are struck by their community’s ability and willingness to help one another in challenging times. 

Dale Ann recalls the fire that burned through the county about seven years ago. "It burned everything," she says. "It was so interesting to watch people come together— it was never even a question. The Red Cross called to see if they could set up a shelter, but nobody was interested because everyone had already been taken in by someone in the county. If you needed hay, it was donated; if you needed fencing, there was fencing; if you needed labor, there was labor." 

"During that fire, many peoples' cows didn't have any grass to eat, so neighbors offered to let their cows come onto their land and stay there, even during a drought year when there was no real grass anywhere.  That was a really cool thing to do for a neighbor, and it speaks to the support of this community.

“I like the community aspect of the business because,” says Charlee Rose. “I’m always learning about things going on in the community and getting to know everyone better. Every day, there is always something new to learn, and I enjoy the challenge of trying to figure it out. Social media and technology have really helped me learn how to do new things.”

Women in Ranching will be partnering with Dale Ann and Charlee Rose to print WIR logo tees! We can’t wait to share the collaboration.