The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1914-06-05
THE OLD B00TJACK
Time Was When It Proved a Real
Friend In Every Home.
JOYS OF A PAIR OF BOOTS
Getting Them OF When They Were
Hard and WrinkIed Was a Struggle,
but Getting Them on Was often a
Test Of Strength and Endurance.

but Getting Them on Was Often a
Test Of Strength and Endurance.
Many boys and young men of these
days who have heard more or less
probably never seen one. because with
the abandonment of the wearing of
boots by men and boys the bootjack
went out of fashion. In the old days
especially ~ the winters. the man or
boy who wore anything but boots was
rare and tbs bootiack was n necessary
article in every house.
Boots Were worn without rubbers.
and frequently to keep out the snow
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 fee,
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 ii was no easy mat
ter to get those boots off. 1t generally
required considerable labor over the
bootjack. 1t required Juggling 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 thorough drying out for the
morning.
Getting the hard boots on in the
mornings was always more of a job
than getting them off the night before.
II the wrinkles at the ankles were
bard ut the time the boots We're taken
of 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 n straight
one. with the boot resting on the floor,
and while the hauling was in process
the weight of the body would he 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 We're still harder and in
variably il was hard task to get the
heel down. II was always tremen-
dous relief TO get the edge of 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 its resting
place in the boot.
Invariably rest was desired after
the first boot was on before the task of
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 forefingers 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,
but then many of the boots We're built
to meet this kicking" game.
Some of the boots We're REINFORCED
with brass toe pieces. tritie over y
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
do Iii 10 xuntl
boys-would always stand more kick
ing" before the leather was worn
through and visit to the CObblers
was made necessary.
The bOOtjack. though it has disap-
peared now. was then to be found in
of home manufacture. and one would
last for many years. They were so easy
to make that some families would have
Il number of them. SO 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
Il saw were the requisites.
To make a bOotiack II piece of board
about twelve or fifteen inches long and
four or five inches wide was obtained.
A piece the shape of Y would br
sawed from one end of the board and
then n lift consisting of n piece of
board about an inch in width and an
inch high would be nailed on the I'M
derside short distance below the
small point of the V. That raised the
V end from the floor and gave II place
to put the heel in when IL was desired
to pull OFF the boot. This in effect
completed the bOotiack. with the ex-
ceptiOn Of the hole by which to hang
II up.
In the days when boots We're so gen
orally worn augurs were not as com
mon in the homes ms they are nova
days. when about every household has
a small kit of carpenters tools. but
getting n hole in the boOtlack was an
easy matter. II was done 10y hent!Eg
the stoke poker in the kitchen stove
until Il became red hot. ana with II
Ia burn Il hole through the bootIack
about an Inch from the end opposite