Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1916-03-22
Hartford Courant)

have 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 in the winter, the man or
boy who wore anything but boots was
rare, and there have been many
changes since the bootjack was nee
essary article in every home. 1t
would have been almost unbelievable
in those days to think that boots for
men and boys would have been aban-
doned, as they have been, and that the
ordinary shoes and oxfOrds of the
present day would take the place Of
the high old-fashioned leather boots.
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 substances, but these APP
plications did not always keep the
feet dry or the leather soft. The leg
of the boot in the vicinity of the ankle
was sure to have deep, heavy wrinkles
and when the boots got wet and then
dried on the owners feet, the wrinkles
f
to get those boots off. 1t generally
required considerable labor over the
boOtjack. 1t required Juggling and
i Juggling, and after the job finally was
accomplished the boots would be left
over night near the stove to get
thorough drying out for the morning.
Getting hards boots on in the morn
i Of ;OIN
getting them off the night before, as
all who have worn boots will remem-
+ Der. If the wrinkles at the ankles
were hard at the time the boots were
taken off they were even more hard
and stiff in the morning and that add
ed to the task of getting them on. The
owner would shove his foot down in
to the leg of the boot, the forefngers
would be showed through the straps
and the haul at getting the boots on
would begin. At first the haul would
+ be a straight one with the boot rest
ing on the floor, and while the haul
ing was in progress the weight Of the
body would be exercised in showing the
foot into the boot. The counters of
of the Old-time leather boots natural
i ly were harder, but after the leather
had become wet and dried out they
were still harder, and invariably it
was hard task to get the heel down.
4 1t was always a tremendous relief
to get the edge of the stocking heel
over the inside of the counter, be-
cause with that the greatest difficulty
was overcome, and then the foot
naturally into its resting place in the
boot.
Invariably rest was desired after
+ the first boot was on before the task
of getting the second on was tackled
and often the practic of kicking the
boots on was resorted to. The man
or boy would get his fOrefngers into
the straps of his boot, and as he pull
ed he would kick with 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 were
built to meet the kicking" game.
Some of the boots were reinforced
with brass toe pieces, a trifle over a
quarter of an inch in depth, and these
were fastened into the boot between
the upper and the welt and shaped
something like a horseshoe. Boots sup
piled with these brass pieces (and
they made this kind for men as we'll
as boys) would always stand more
Kicking before the leather was worn
through and visit to the cobbler was
made necessary.
A boy who had a pair of these brass
toed boots was always proud. Then
too, bootmakers in those days made a
boot that had part of the top in red
leather at the front and printed on
this red in silver letters generally
were the words mo More Wet Feet"
and chap who had pair Of boots with
the red tops and silver letters and the
brass plates at the toes was sure to
be envied by the youngsters who did
not have that kind.
The bOotjack, though it has disap-
peared now, was then to be found in
every home, and there was generally
a certain nail behind the kitchen stove
or by the cellar stairs where it was
hung. 1t was not one of those articles
that could be thrown any old place,
because all of the men and boys of
the family had use for it and its use
was so frequent that it was always
kept where it could be found when
wanted. BOotjacks generally were of
home manufacture and would last for
many years. They were so easy to
make that some families would have a
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 a saw were the requisites, and if
the family did not happen to have a
saw such as the carpenters use, why,