80R15927 MMS-D
	By: Bohac	H.C.R. No. 151
	Substitute the following for H.C.R. No. 151:
	By:  Hilderbran	C.S.H.C.R. No. 151

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