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HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The State of Texas boasts a richly diverse cultural |
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heritage, and through the years it has adopted a number of tangible |
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representations of that heritage as official symbols; and |
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WHEREAS, For nearly a century, the cowboy boot has enjoyed a |
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special status as one of the most treasured of Texas icons; and |
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WHEREAS, Although riding boots date back for centuries, and |
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although ranches first appeared in Texas during the Spanish |
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colonial era, the basic pattern of the cowboy boot was forged in the |
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crucible of the post-Civil War trail drives; between 1866 and 1890, |
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mounted cowboys drove millions of head of Texas cattle to northern |
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and western markets along such famous trails as the Chisholm, |
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Western, and Goodnight-Loving; and |
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WHEREAS, Boot makers in Texas and Kansas responded to |
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suggestions from those cowboys regarding the design of their |
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footwear, and a slimmer boot with a higher heel, more rounded toe, |
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and rounded, reinforced instep began to be developed; and |
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WHEREAS, During the course of the 20th century, cowboy boots |
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gained a mass appeal that ultimately extended to foreign lands; |
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this popularity was driven by an enthusiasm for the West that was |
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fostered in the 1920s and 1930s by radio shows and movie serials and |
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in the post-World War II decades by rodeos and dude ranches; the |
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public's fascination with cowboys and their apparel has also been |
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fired by movie screen idols such as Tom Mix, by entertainers such as |
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Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and Dale Evans, and, in recent years, by |
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movies such as Urban Cowboy and Silverado; and |
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WHEREAS, The lore of the cowboy boot is replete with the names |
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of Texas boot makers who have contributed to the emergence of that |
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boot as a distinct type, as well as to the continuing development of |
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their craft; one of the most influential of the early boot makers |
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was H. J. "Big Daddy Joe" Justin, who set up a boot repair shop in |
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Spanish Fort, just off the Chisholm Trail in Montague County, in |
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1879; within a decade, Mr. Justin became one of the first to offer |
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cowboy boots by mail order; and |
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WHEREAS, Other Texas boot makers whose businesses gained |
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national prominence were Mr. Justin's daughter, Enid Justin |
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Steltzer, who established the Nocona Boot Company in Nocona in |
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1925, Sam Lucchese, who founded the Lucchese Boot and Shoe Factory |
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in San Antonio in 1883, and Tony Lama, who began with a shoe repair |
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shop in El Paso in 1912; and |
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WHEREAS, Smaller establishments also hold an honored place in |
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the annals of the cowboy boot; in 2002, more than 100 cowboy-boot |
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makers were plying their trade in this state, many of them revered |
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by connoisseurs who were willing to wait for periods of a year or |
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more for a custom pair; these artisans were making boots for |
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everyone from working cowboys to sports and entertainment |
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celebrities and heads of state; and |
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WHEREAS, While they hew to a basic form, cowboy boots have |
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evolved into an amazingly versatile article; fashioned with a |
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variety of toe and heel styles, types of leather, and |
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embellishment, they can be worn today on virtually any occasion; so |
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remarkable has been their diversity that they have been the subject |
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of several coffee-table books and at least two exhibitions: "These |
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Boots Are Made for Gawking," at the Grace Museum in Abilene, and |
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"Heels and Toes and Everything Goes: Cowboy Boots As Art," at the |
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Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum in Canyon; and |
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WHEREAS, An integral part of cowboy gear, cowboy boots played |
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a valued role in one of the defining chapters in Texas history and |
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continue to figure in the mythic romance of the Lone Star State; |
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now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 80th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby designate the cowboy boot as the official State Footwear of |
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Texas. |