The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1914-06-26
JOYS OF A PAIR OF BOOTS.
Getting Them OFF When They Were
Hard and Wrnkied Was q Struggle,
but Getting Them on Was Often a
Test of Strength and Endurance.

Hard and Wrinkied Was q Struggle,
but Getting Them on Was Often q
Test of Strength and Endurance.
Many boys and young men Of these
days who have heard more or less
about the old time bootjacks have
probably never seen one. because with
boots by men and boys the bootjack
went out Of fashion. In the old days.
especially In the winters. the man or
boy who wore anything but boots was
rare and the bootjack was a necessary
article in every house.
Boots were worn without rubbers.
and the slush they were treated to an
application of mutton tallow or some
other greasy substance, but these ap-
plications did not always keep the feet
dry nor the leather soft The leg OF
the boot In the vicinity OF the ankles
was sure to have deep. heavy wrinkles.
and when the boots got wet and then
dried on the owners feet the wrinkles
became hard. and 1t was no easy mat
ter to get those boots off. 1t generally
required considerable labor over the
bootjack 1t required tugging and tug
ging. and after the job was finally ac-
complished the boots would generally
be left near the stove for the night to
get a thorough drying out for the
morning.
Getting the hard boots on In the
mornings was always more OF Job
than getting them off the night before.
Ii the wrinkles at the ankles were
hard at the time the boots were taken
Off they were even harder and sitter
in the morning. and that added to the
task OF getting them on. The owner
would shove his foot down into the leg
OF the boot. the forefingers would be
showed through the straps. and the
haul at getting the boots on would be-
gin.
At first the haul would be straight
one. with the boot resting on the floor.
and while the hauling was In process
the weight of the body would be exer-
cised in showing the foot into the boot.
The counters of the old time leather
boots were naturally hard. but after
the leather had become wet and had
dried out they were still harder and In
variabiy 1t was a hard task to get the
heel down. 1t was always tremen-
dous relief to get the edge of a stock
inged heel over the inside OF the coun
ter. because with that the great diff
Guilty was overcome, and then the foot
would slip naturally into it's resting
place In the boot.
Invariably a rest was desired after
the first boot was on before the task or
getting on the second was tackled. and
often the practice OF kicking the boots
on was resorted to- The man or boy
would first get his forefngers into
the straps of his boot. and as he
pulled he would kick the toe OF the
boot against the wall or Dashboard. In
houses where there were boys the
marks made by kicking on the boots
were always to be seen. OF course. this
had a tendency TO wear out the toes,
LuGu luuHy vi tbS DoOlS WNtS buis
to meet this Kicking game.
Some OF the boots were REINFORCED
with brass toe pieces, trife over q
quarter of an inch In depth, and these
were fastened into the boot between
the upper and the welt and shaped
something after horseshoe. Boots
supplied with these brass pieces-and
they made this kind for men as well as
boys-would always stand more "kick-
ing" before the leather was worn
through and visit to the cobbler's
was made necessary.
The bOotjack. though 1t has disap-
peared now. was then to be found In
every home. Bootjacks generally were
OF home manufacture, and one would
last for many years. They were so easy
to make that some families would have
q number OF them. 80 that there would
be no occasion for waiting should one
member OF the family want the boot
jack while another member was using
it. A hammer. some nails, lumber and
saw were the requisites.
To make bootjack a piece OF board
about twelve or fifteen inches long anC
four or five inches wide was obtained
A piece the shape of V would bs
sawed from one end of the board ant
then lift consisting of piece OF
board about an inch In width and ar
inch high would be nailed on the un
derside short distance below the
small point of the v. That raised the
v end from the floor and gave a place
to put the heel In when 1t was desired
to pull Off the boot. This in effec
completed the bootjack, with the ex
ception OF the hole by which to hams
Ii up.
In the days when boots were 40 gen
orally worn augurs were not as com
mon in the homes as they are nova
days. when about every household hal
a small kit OF carpenters tools. bu
getting hole in the bootjack was al
easy matter. 1t was done by heating
the stoke poker In tae kitchen stow
until II became red hot. and with II
to burn a hole through the bootjaci
about an inch from the end opposite
the v, and the bootjack was complet
cd. Bootjacks made In the way out
lined have done service in many fami
lies for generations. : Hartford Courant