If you are a Canadian visiting Fort Worth, Texas, and you think you hear “aboot,” the people there are not mocking your Canuck pronunciation. Rather, they are referring to “a boot” — the singular form of “boots,” the Western footwear worn by cowboys, businessmen, and everyone in between in this north Texas community often overshadowed by its neighbour Dallas. During a recent visit to Fort Worth, whether my wife Ruth and I were downtown , or in the Stockyards , or in the Cultural District , we discovered that there is an immense pride in Fort Worth’s cowboy heritage.
On formal occasions, a man will wear his best cowboy boots, not dress shoes, with a suit. Restaurants will provide a hat rack at each table to hold each diner’s cowboy hat. As much as an expanding Fort Worth — now with the 12th-largest population among United States cities, just short of a million citizens — builds for the future, its heritage of cattle drives, livestock shows, and rodeos remains a huge part of its appeal to visitors and residents.
In Fort Worth, mentions of Justin are in reference to a 145-year-old Western footwear company , not to the current Canadian prime minister. H.J.
Justin began his bootmaking business in 1879, selling to cattlemen driving their herds along the Chisholm Trail. His sons, who took over the business, moved the company’s headquarters to Fort Worth in the 1920s. A stop at Justin’s large factory outlet store just south of downtown was an eye-opener.
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