How Many??????

"I am often asked, “How many pairs of boots do I have?” To be honest, I don’t know. I have two categories, and a few subcategories.

I have boots that I had made for me. Some of these have been made by who I consider fine bootmakers. Some were made in small shops, some in an “assembly line” of makers. Some of these boots are made to my measurements, some are stock sized boots.

Some boots that I have were bought on Ebay. Some of these boots I can wear, if I chose. I have boots made by Willie Lusk, Ray Jones, Shorty Golden, Olsen Stelzer and Stewart Romero that I have worn at one time but not any more. Once you tear a boot-pull from a Willie Lusk boot, or gouge the vamp of a Stewart Romero boot, you can’t get a new pair.

I also have boots that I bought on Ebay that I could not wear even if I wanted to. But I bought them because I wanted a pair from that particular bootmaker. These boots include boots made by Henry Leopold, L. White, and Charlie Garrison.

I tell people that I have 200 +/- pairs, that is close. Most are in my boot room, a couple dozen in my closet. I probably have bought 400 pairs in 15 or so years.

I’ll make a tally someday soon.

James Leddy Boots in Abilene Texas made my first made-to-measure custom boots almost 10 years ago. They are gray calf vamp, Burgundy top, and variegated flame stitching. They had a two-inch heel, and a narrow round toe that I liked at that time. I did not see James Leddy during the initial measurement of my feet, he was away at a book signing, and I was measured by someone else in the shop. There was a problem with the fit when I received the boots, but after a discussion and some re-working by the shop, they fit just fine. I was pleased with those boots, and knew that I wanted more James Leddy boots.

During my second time at the shop, he was there for my next order. James remeasured my feet, and recommended that I go with a lower heel, around a 1 1/2. For some reason, I felt like I was in the presence of Elvis. All the books, magazines and praise for him, I was in awe. But he acted just like a normal person, kind to everyone. I should have asked him a bunch of questions about bootmakers and history, but I didn't. My regret. I got to meet him several times after that when I stopped in the shop. Always friendly, always welcoming.

James Leddy passed away in 2002, just right before the Bootmakers Round Up in Wichita Falls Texas. I attended his funeral, wearing my first pair of James Leddy boots. Then after that I drove to the Round Up in Wichita Falls. It was a sad weekend.

He was a great bootmaker, and one of the most friendliest people in the world. In his prime, his was one of the best ever.

How did I go from Lucchese ropers to custom boots by some of the finest bootmakers? I guess it started with Tyler Beard and the Internet.

My first pair of Lucchese ropers cracked after the first month. Boot Town/Western Wearhouse refused do do anything, but I went to Cavender's Boot City in Plano, mentioned it to one of the salesman, he told me to bring them in and he'd get store credit for me on another pair of Luccheses. I did that, and became a customer for life at Cavender's. But I also decided to learn more about boots. After all, I had a pair of Lucchese ropers, supposedly one of the best boots that a person could buy. So how could I take care of boots so that I'd get my money's worth?

I decided to do a little research in boot care, I looked at anything available at western stores, and then look for books. I came across at a book store, "The Cowboy Boot Book" by Tyler Beard and Jim Arndt. There was a small section on boot care, but there was a lot more on vintage boots, factory boots, and custom made boots, with a lot of history mixed in it. Now I like history, so the stories of the Justins vs Enid Justin, the Leddy's, etc. I thought the boots pictures in the book were gorgeous, but some that I'd never wear. I also searched and found another book on cowboy boots, "The Texas Boots" book published in 1980. I remember seeing a great pair of gray, full quill ostrich boots, burgundy tops and variegated flame stitching, made by James Leddy. I thought that those were good looking boots.

The I decided to look up boots on the Internet, there was Jennifer June's great web-site, Tucson Boots, and a board that I can't remember the name of, but it is now long-gone. Tucson Boots was a site that discussed boots, but also sold boots. There was a pair of James Leddy boots for sale, I can't remember the price, but they looked to be my size. So, I took a chance and bought them. They were a light brown smooth quill ostrich with a 2 inch heel, and narrow round toe. When I received the boots they were a little tight for me, but I could see that the materials and the overall craftsmanship was better than Lucchese Boots.

So, I had a second hand boot from James Leddy that was a little tight on me, and I saw a picture of James Leddy boots that I liked. So, put one and one together, see if the folks at James Leddy's could stretch the boots so that I could wear them, and get measured for a pair of James Leddy Boots.

My First Pair

I guess I should start on how I became fascinated with cowboy boots. I wasn't born in Texas, nor on a ranch. I was just a kid that watched a lot of the westerns on TV in the late 1950s and 1960s. Roy Rogers & Dale Evans were my favorites, followed closely by Gunsmoke and Rifleman. But then things changed in the later 1960s, TV dropped most of the western programs. Our idols like Roy and Gene got older and there was no new blood to replace them. During my teenage years, I became more interested in science and sports, so all of my earlier favorites were set aside for a decade or two.

I came to Texas for the very first time in 1978, a naive Ohioan, with a degree in geology, trying to learn the oil business, without getting killed. I was a mud-logger, or as we told ladies at the bars that we tried to impress, "hydrocarbon well-logging engineer" which they would respond quickly, "oh, a mud-logger." For those that don't know, mud-loggers, along with a laboratory trailer, would be at a well, drilling for oil and gas, from a certain starting depth, to the last depth that was drilled. Mud-loggers looked for "shows" in the drilling fluid (mud) while drilling activities were going on, and record the information to determine if the well had a chance to produce. The mud-loggers could be at the well for two-weeks, two months, however long. But it was a 24/7 job. I did it for two years, traveled mostly in East Texas, in little-bitty towns near Marshall, Longview, Nacagdoches, and Henderson.....those were the big towns. We lived in flea-bag hotels that made a Motel 6 look luxurious.

One day in late 1978 when I had an afternoon off I drove to a retail plaza in Nacogdoches, there was a department store in this plaza, located on the north side of Nacogdoches off of Highway 59. I saw where they had some boots for sale in the store, and I remembered the neat ads in "Sports Illustrated" with O J Simpson or Joe Namath advertising for Dingo or Acme boots. So I thought, "here I am in Texas, I need to have a pair of boots." So I tried a few on.

It wasn't a pleasurable experience. They were UNCOMFORTABLE!

I didn't see what the big deal or mystique was. So I happily put on my Chuck Taylor Converse All-Stars on, and forgot all about being a Texan or wearing cowboy boots.

Many years, a wonderful wife, two towns, two homes, and a couple jobs later, I started listening to country music again. I grew up in Southern West Virginia on "hillbilly music" so I was no stranger to Ernest, Hank, Kitty, and the rest. I had listen to rock 'n roll in college and for several years after graduation, but it became so terrible after disco, I did not listen as much. But now being in Dallas Texas, with all my co-workers talking about George Strait, Alan Jackson, Clint Black, and of coarse Garth Brooks, I gave it another chance. I started listening to it on the radio, more and more. I decided to give cowboy boots another chance.

One day in 1994, I was at Boot Town/Western Warehouse on Beltline in Addison, Texas, looking at cowboy boots. I didn't know diddly about them, so of coarse you listen to the expert, a salesman making minimum wage and commission. I wanted more of a businessman's attire boot, I was dressing mostly in office attire, suits & ties, so he pointed me to ropers in my size. I put on a pair of antique brown Lucchese ropers, and my feet felt like they belonged in them. So that day was my start.

Next post, I will try to explain how I went from one pair of ropers, to a hundred or more pairs.

Welcome

I thought I'd restart the blog since I haven't posted in over a year. I'll discuss my favorite topic, cowboy boots. I hope you enjoy.