Material Type

Artifact

Date Range From

1950

Date Range To

1951

Materials

LEATHER, COTTON LACES

No. Pieces

2

Height

19

Length

26.5

Description

BLACK, LEATHER PAIR OF COWBOY BOOTS. ANKLE-LENGTH WITH A HEIGHT OF 19 CM FROM BOTTOM OF HEEL TO TOP OF BOOT. THE BOOTS ARE 26.5 CM LONG FROM THE TIP OF THE TOE TO THE BACK OF THE HEEL. THE HEEL HEIGHT IS 3 CM MEASURED FROM THE INSIDE CENTER OF THE HEEL. THE BOOTS ARE LACED UP WITH BLACK, FLAT LACES. THERE ARE 10 EYELETS ON EITHER SIDE OF THE SHOE FOR THE LACES. THERE IS DECORATIVE STITCHING IN BLACK THREAD ON THE BOOT WITH A DESIGN ON TOE. IN THE INSIDE RIM OF THE SHOES (AT THE ANKLES) THERE IS A BAND THAT SAYS “JUSTIN’S SINCE 1879 FT. WORTH, TEXAS.” THIS LOGO IS REPEATED AROUND THE RIM 3 TIMES ON BOTH SHOES. THE INSIDE SOLES AND BOTTOM SOLES OF THE SHOES ARE UNMARKED. GOOD CONDITION. THERE IS SLIGHT SCUFFING ON THE LEATHER OF THE SHOE, SPECIFICALLY ON THE TOES AND HEELS OF BOTH SHOES. THE BOTTOM AND INSIDE SOLES ARE WORN FROM USE. THERE IS A CRACK ON THE HEEL OF THE INSIDE SOLE INSERT OF THE LEFT SHOE. THE LEFT SHOE IS SLIGHTLY MISSHAPED (BENT TOWARDS THE INSIDE OF THE SHOE).

Subjects

CLOTHING-FOOTWEAR

Historical Association

PERSONAL CARE

History

ON 4 AUGUST 2016, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN CONDUCTED AN INTERVIEW WITH LAWRENCE BAILIE WITH REGARDS TO THIS PAIR OF COWBOY BOOTS HE DONATED. THE BOOTS HAD PREVIOUSLY BELONGED TO HIS FATHER, RICHARD BAILIE. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION HAS BEEN EXTRACTED FROM THE INTERVIEW: “THE BOOTS BELONGED TO MY DAD [RICHARD BAILIE], AND MY DAD BOUGHT THEM IN EITHER 1950 OR ’51, IN SHERIDAN, WYOMING. WE WERE DOWN THERE ON A FAMILY HOLIDAY AND WENT TO THE BLACK HILLS, TO WILD BILL HICKOK’S SHOW... I WAS PROBABLY ABOUT… I THINK 13-14… IT WAS A SHORT ONE. MY DAD HAD ACTUALLY BOUGHT A NEW PLYMOUTH CAR, AND SO WE WENT ON A HOLIDAY… WE DIDN’T [GO ON HOLIDAYS] VERY MUCH, BECAUSE WE ALWAYS HAD WORK ON THE FARM, AND IT WAS HARD TO GET AWAY...” IT WAS BECAUSE OF THE RARE OCCASION OF THIS HOLIDAY THAT BAILIE WAS ABLE TO RECALL THE PURCHASE OF THE BOOTS: “I PROBABLY WOULD HAVE REMEMBERED THAT ANYWAYS BECAUSE WE DIDN’T HAVE – THAT WAS ONE OF THE ONLY HOLIDAYS [THAT WE WENT FAR AWAY] – OTHER TIMES WE WOULD MAYBE GO TO WATERTON FOR TWO DAYS, AND THAT WAS THE EXTENT [OF OUR TRAVELS]. THAT’S PROBABLY WHY I REMEMBER IT, BECAUSE IT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST BIG HOLIDAYS THAT WE WENT TOGETHER. AND IT WAS PROBABLY THE LAST ONE TOO – PROBABLY ONE OF THE ONLY ONES. I GOT OLDER AND WE DIDN’T DO THINGS. WE WERE TOO BUSY. WE WORKED. I GUESS MY DAD ALWAYS WANTED TO GO DOWN TO SEE THE BLACK HILLS, AND WE WENT TO YELLOWSTONE PARK, WE CAME BACK THROUGH SHERIDAN, AND WE STOPPED AND WERE SHOPPING. I ALWAYS WANTED COWBOY BOOTS, BECAUSE, UP UNTIL THAT POINT, I DIDN’T HAVE ANY. I THOUGHT I WAS A COWBOY - WELL, I WAS A HALF-WAY. EVERYBODY WANTED TO BE A COWBOY, BUT ANYWAYS I BOUGHT COWBOY BOOTS, AND MY DAD BOUGHT COWBOY BOOTS. THESE WERE HIS GOOD BOOTS – HIS DRESS BOOTS… MY DAD WORE THESE, THEY WERE HIS DANCING BOOTS, AND GOING OUT SPECIAL, YOU KNOW, TO CHURCH OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. [THESE WERE] HIS SUNDAY BOOTS, SUNDAY SHOES, YEAH…” AS BAILIE RECALLS, HIS FATHER GREW UP ON A RANCH. HE EXPLAINS HIS GRANDFATHER ROBERT BAILIE’S HISTORY HOMESTEADING IN SOUTHERN ALBERTA: “MY GRANDFATHER, WHEN HE HOMESTEADED IN ’09, HE CAME TO WARNER. HE ACTUALLY CAME TO LETHBRIDGE FIRST. HE WENT OUT WITH SOME PEOPLE SELLING LAND, AND HE BOUGHT THIS LAND OUT THERE. HE HAD A HOMESTEAD OUT THERE, BUT HE BOUGHT SOME LAND AND IT WOULD BE, OH MY GOODNESS, APPROXIMATELY 10-12 MILES STRAIGHT EAST OF WARNER. HE HAD IT RIGHT UP AGAINST THE LAKE… MY DAD WAS CONCEIVED ON THE RANCH AND BEING IT WAS 1912, MY GRANDMA (LAURA BAILIE) [WHILE PREGNANT] WENT BACK TO MADISON, WISCONSIN, AND MY DAD WAS BORN THERE. BECAUSE THEY HAD A FAMILY DOCTOR THERE. THEY’D ONLY BEEN HERE FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS, AND THERE WAS NO DOCTORS IN THIS AREA, SO MY GRANDMA WENT BACK BEFORE MY DAD WAS BORN THERE, AND THEN AFTER HE WAS A COUPLE OF WEEKS OLD, OR SO, SHE BROUGHT HIM BACK TO ALBERTA… HIS DAD [ROBERT BAILIE], AT ONE TIME, HAD A HUGE HERD OF CATTLE AND HORSES OUT IN THE KING’S LAKE AREA [ALSO CALLED CROW INDIAN LAKE ON THE MAP], WHERE THEY HOMESTEADED. [IN] THE WINTER OF, I’LL SAY ’29, MY GRANDFATHER WAS PROBABLY A MILLIONAIRE. HE HAD, I CAN’T GIVE YOU NUMBERS, A HEAD OF CATTLE AND HORSES, BUT THEY COULDN’T FEED THEM. MY DAD TELLS STORIES ABOUT RIDING OUT CLOSE TO ’30, AND THERE’S JUST CATTLE AND HORSES ALL OVER, LAYING THERE, WITH THEIR FEET UP IN THE AIR, AND FROZE OVER. THEY STARVED TO DEATH OVER THE WINTER. MY GRANDFATHER LOST PRETTY NEAR EVERYTHING BECAUSE THERE WAS JUST NO FEED. THEY TURNED THEM LOOSE TO LET THEM FIND THEIR OWN FEED AND THEY JUST DIDN’T MAKE IT. BUT MY DAD WAS RAISED ON A RANCH. HE WAS A COWBOY. I CONSIDERED HIM PROBABLY MORE COWBOY THAN MOST COWBOYS ARE TODAY…” PRIOR TO HAVING HIS OWN FAMILY, RICHARD BAILIE “… WAS INTO RODEOS. HE LIKED TO RIDE, HE USED TO RIDE BRONCS… IN ALBERTA. IN THOSE DAYS, THEY HAD NO MONEY TO GO ANYPLACE ELSE, JUST ALBERTA. LOCAL RODEOS... THE LUND BOYS, AND THE ROSSES, AND SOME OF THE OTHER ONES WOULD GET TOGETHER ON A SUNDAY, AND THEY WOULD HAVE THEIR OWN RODEOS… [MY DAD] WAS AN OLD-TIME COWBOY… HE WAS IN ONE OF THE FIRST RODEOS THEY HAD IN RAYMOND. HE USED TO RIDE BRONCS, BEFORE I CAME INTO THE PICTURE, AND AFTER I WAS IN THE PICTURE. MY MOM SHUT HIM DOWN. NO MORE COWBOYING…” WHILE THERE WAS STILL FAMILY PRESENCE ON THE HOMESTEAD WHERE RICHARD BAILIE WAS RAISED, HE MOVED IN 1935 TO THE PLACE WHERE LAWRENCE BAILIE WOULD GROW UP. PRIOR TO PURCHASING HIS LAND, RICHARD MARRIED HIS WIFE, LELAH BAILIE (NEE FLICKENGER), IN 1935 AND IN 1936 LAWRENCE WAS BORN: “… MY DAD BOUGHT SOME LAND IN 1935 BETWEEN SKIFF AND GRASSY LAKE. THAT’S WHEN [MY DAD] STARTED FARMING... HE WAS MIXED FARMING. THEY WERE RANCHING AND WE HAD A LOT OF DRY LAND, AND MY DAD WAS VERY GOOD AT MECHANICS, AND SO HE BECAME A DRY LAND FARMER, AND I GUESS HE WAS SMART ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT THERE WASN’T THAT MUCH MONEY IN [RANCHING]. HE SORT OF SWITCHED FROM BEING A COWBOY TO A DRYLANDER, I GUESS… I CAN REMEMBER THAT WE MOVED FROM OUR LITTLE SHACK WHEN I WAS PROBABLY 4 YEARS OLD – 1939-1940 – TO SKIFF. MY DAD HAD BOUGHT SOME LAND AT SKIFF, BUT I REMEMBER BEING IN OUR TAR-PAPER SHACK - THAT IT GOT VERY COLD, AND AT TIMES, DURING THE NIGHT, WHEN I WAS YOUNG.” BAILIE EXPLAINS THESE BOOTS WERE HIS DAD’S GOOD SUNDAY BOOTS, WHICH HE WOULD WEAR WHEN HE WENT TO DANCES IN THE TOWN. BAILIE EXPLAINS, “HE WOULDN’T WEAR THEM RIDING BRONCS, BECAUSE THEY WERE LACED. HE COULDN’T GET THEM OFF. IF HE EVER GOT STUCK UP IN THE STIRRUP, HE COULDN’T GET HIS FOOT OUT – THEY WERE JUST ‘SHOW.’ … THEY WENT TO CHURCH, OR MOST OF THE TIME, HE’D WEAR THEM TO A DANCE. HE ACTUALLY WORE THESE LATER IN LIFE EVEN. YOU’D GO TO A DANCE, AND WEAR THESE WITH THE WESTERN HEEL. I CAN REMEMBER WHEN I WAS A KID, THAT THE SOCIAL ACTIVITIES OF THAT PART OF THE COUNTRY WOULD BE DANCES, [IN PLACES] LIKE IN HUDSON SCHOOL. THERE’D BE DANCES AT SKIFF, I DON’T KNOW, A FEW A YEAR - ALWAYS AT CHRISTMAS TIME AFTER THE CHRISTMAS CONCERT. THEN THEY WOULD GET TOGETHER AND CELEBRATE MAYBE THE FOURTH OF JULY OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. THAT WAS THE MAIN SOCIAL THING, PEOPLE GET TOGETHER TO GO TO A DANCE… MY MOM [WAS THE MORE SOCIAL ONE IN THE RELATIONSHIP]. AT THAT TIME, THE MEN USED TO GET AWAY FROM THE FARM A LITTLE BIT MORE OFTEN. LIKE MY DAD USED TO BRING IN CATTLE, OR SOME PIGS, OR SOMETHING INTO LETHBRIDGE TO THE AUCTION MART AND MY MOM WOULDN’T COME. SHE’D BE HOME, LOOKING AFTER THE FARM. WHEN YOU LIVE OUT AT SKIFF, YOU ARE 55 MILES FROM NOWHERE. THERE WASN’T MUCH SOCIAL LIFE IN A COUNTRY STORE, WHICH WE USED TO WALK [TO]. WE’D WALK IN JUST AROUND A MILE TO WALK INTO SKIFF, AND GET GROCERIES THE ODD TIME, AND THEN IF THERE WAS SOMEBODY ELSE IN THE STORE AT THE SAME, MY MOM WOULD GET TO SEE THEM. OTHERWISE, IF IT WASN’T FOR THE SOCIAL, THERE WASN’T A VERY GOOD SOCIAL LIFE." "I DON’T KNOW WHEN WOULD BE THE LAST TIME HE EVER WORE THEM," BAILIE SAID GOING BACK TO HIS FATHER'S BOOTS, "THEY WERE A NOVELTY TO HIM. I DON’T KNOW IF HE WENT DOWN THERE LOOKING FOR THEM, OR IF WE WENT BY THE SHOP AND HE [SAW] THEM. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HE PAID FOR THEM. I THINK I PAID ABOUT $12.00 FOR MINE, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.” AS FOR THE COLOUR CHOICE OF THE BOOTS, BAILIE STATES: “WELL, IN THOSE DAYS, BLACK WAS THE COLOR. I GUESS THERE WAS THE ODD GUY HAD SOME REAL FANCY BOOTS, BUT, NO, THERE WASN’T THE COLORS OF - . BLACK WAS IT.” WHEN ASKED WHAT HE THINKS OF WHEN HE SEES HIS FATHER’S COWBOY BOOTS, BAILIE ANSWERED: “IT TAKES ME BACK TO MY CHILDHOOD – GOOD – AND MY DAD. HE WOULD ALWAYS, EVEN WHEN HE WAS OLDER, WEAR A BIG HAT... SOMETIMES HE WAS GOOFING OFF. WE USED TO CUT A LITTLE BIT OF OUR CROP WITH A BINDER, [AND] IF YOU EVER RAN OVER A ROCK IT REALLY BUCKED YOU RIGHT OFF IT. SO HE PLAYED AROUND THE ODD TIME, [AND] HE’D SIT THERE, AND HE’D THROW HIS HEEL LIKE HE WAS RIDING A BUCKING BRONC. PUT HIS HAND UP AND HIT A ROCK AND HE’D PUT ON A SHOW FOR ME. THE BINDER WAS LIKE RIDING A BUCKING BRONC. I LOOK AT THOSE BOOTS, THEY ARE LIKE A MEMORY OF MY DAD THAT I AM VERY PROUD OF… OH, HE WAS A HARDWORKING MAN, AND STRONG. I’M A WIMP COMPARED TO MY DAD... I WAS PROUD OF HIM. HE DID WELL. HE TREATED US WELL, AND LOOKED AFTER HIS FAMILY VERY WELL.” BAILIE AQUIRED THE BOOTS AFTER HIS FATHER MOVED IN THE 1990S: “I CLEANED OUT MY MOM AND DAD’S PLACE, BECAUSE THEY WENT INTO A SENIOR CITIZENS SOMETHING, SO I CLEANED OUT HIS PLACE, AND I SEEN THE BOOTS AND I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYBODY ELSE WITH THAT TYPE OF BOOT... MY DAD WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT I KNEW THAT HAD A PAIR OF BOOTS LIKE THAT." BAILIE SAYS THAT SINCE THE BOOTS HAVE BEEN IN HIS POSSESSION “THEY HAVE BEEN IN THE GARAGE. I’VE JUST BEEN KEEPING THEM. I DON’T KNOW IF I HAVE EVER WORE THEM OR NOT. I DON’T THINK I HAVE. MY DAD’S FOOT WAS A LITTLE BIGGER THAN MINE, SO NO. I HAVE MY OWN BOOTS, SO I WOULDN’T HAVE WORE THEM.” AS STATED IN HIS OBITURARY IN THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD, RICHARD BAILIE PASSED AWAY IN LETHBRIDGE ON MARCH 28, 2002 AT THE AGE OF 90 YEARS. HE WAS PREDECEASED BY HIS WIFE, LELAH BAILIE, WHO PASSED AWAY IN LETHBRIDGE ON OCTOBER 8, 2001 AT THE AGE OF 86 YEARS. SEE PERMANENT FILE FOR FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT AND COPIES OF LETHBRIDGE HERALD OBITURARIES.

Catalogue Number

P20160021000

Acquisition Date

2016-08

Collection

Museum

Less detail