Willie Lusk, the expert bootmaker of Lusk’s Boot Shop, was honored last month at the Texas Tech Museum. Pairs of his boots were on display where visitors could see and learn about Lusk’s story and craft.
Lusk grew up in San Angelo, Texas, but eventually moved to Lubbock in October of 1946 to start his own boot shop located downtown. He was one of the first African American bootmakers who became successful due to white customers and eventually grew to make boots for well-known public figures like Shirley Temple, Merle Haggard, and former president Ronald Reagan.
Jill Hoffman, assistant director for visitor experience and curator of the exhibit, was impressed with the quality of the boots after all of these years.
“The craftsmanship on them is so beautiful," Hoffman said. "They could have been made yesterday- they look so well done. However he constructed them, they have lasted almost 100 years." She considers the boots works of art, made from a talented craftsman. "I really admire people who do what they do really well, and to me, he was a great artisan and great craftsman.”
When thinking about famous people who have come out of Lubbock, Buddy Holly and Mac Davis may be the first names that come to mind. Hoffman thinks Lusk should be added to that list.
“People don’t know about him," she said. "Here’s this world famous, highly collected boot that’s made by this man that drew attention to Lubbock." According to Hoffman, Lusk helped spread the word about the then-small West Texas town. "I think he should get a lot more recognition by our community than he’s received.”
In order to create such a well crafted product, Lusk used his own variation of a "Number Ten" stitch. His version of the stitch is still used today by a custom bootmaker in San Angelo, Texas. His unique variation of the stitch is one of the key identifiers for his boots.
Lusk died on July 3rd, 1976. His wife, Mildred, sold the boot shop the year after. Although his boot shop is not currently still around, Lusk’s boots can still be found, admired, and even worn in their great conditions all across the world.
