Boot Camp, a Deep West Video by Kristin Windbigler

A portrait of storyteller, philosopher and bootmaker Jack Rowin by an admiring apprentice. Created by Kristin Windbigler for the Western Folklife Center Media Department's Deep West Video program.

(Guitar music)

(Chickens clucking)

Kristin Windbigler: That's Jack.
My boot-making teacher.

Jack: Now y'all stand back,
I'm gonna dump the herd here.

KW: Jack learned to make boots
when he was a youngster,

growing up in Roswell, New Mexico.

Jack: I boarded with a family
that had a boot and saddle shop.

When I got out of high school
I didn't want to do it for a living.

I had a lot of runnin' and playin'
I had to do.

I'd get broke and I'd go get a job

in a boot shop somewhere ...

but I blew up a knee -

I could no longer
ride horseback for a living

so I went back to making boots

and had been doing that
for 25 years.

I've almost got it figured out.

(Guitar music)

(Music ends)

(Typing)

KW: That's me.

I grew up in Humboldt County, California,

a place my family has lived
for 7 generations.

By the time I left high school,
I thought I'd had my fill of county life,

which was convenient,

since there weren't many employment
opportunities for me at home.

I left for college

and then landed a job
at a high-tech outfit in San Francisco.

It wasn't long though,
before I was homesick.

I don't know when it happened,

but all of a sudden patching fence
and bucking hay

started sounding like a lot of fun.

Very much worthy
of a five hour drive home.

I think it was the same longing
that made me email Jack one day

to see if he'd show me how to make boots.

Jack is a great teacher.

And he believes in taking his time.

Leather is an unforgiving
material to work with

so there isn't a lot of room for mistakes.

Jack: See, what you want to do is -

ideally you'll lay your top out ...

to where the stretch goes
across the top.

When you put your foot down in the top,

the top will expand.

Glenn is another one of Jack's students.

He's hoping to retire
from school-teaching soon

and start a second career as a boot maker.

He's been coming up to Jack's
for about a year now.

Glenn: I read about him
in one of those boot books,

believe it or not.

I can't remember which one,
but it had his address.

I thought, there is no way
somebody in Manton makes boots,

because I knew where Manton was, right.

I just couldn't believe it.

So I called him up, and he said,
"Yeah, come on out here."

(Sound of hammer)

And that's what
I have been doing ever since.

KW: The experience that comes with age

hasn't dampened
Jack's youthful enthusiasm for life.

Every time I visit, he tells me
a handful of new stories

about his adventures.

I believe them all, too.

Except maybe the one

about how his family drove
bullfrogs to San Francisco

during the Great Depression.

It would take days
to share all of the stories with you.

So instead, here's a little taste.

Jack: He set me up there
to sort the cattle.

We'd loaded that -

oh, I would say he was probably
1200-pound, 2-year-old buffalo

in the back of that pick-up.

Well, actually, Rosie was already in Elko.

We had a couple of pillows,
we had a sleeping bag

and a blanket or two.

And a bottle to pee in.

And -

I got on Stan Brock's horse

and went and roped the bear.

The first run I raised up and reached up
and knocked my wig off.

And no kid stuck his head in the door

My God, you're from California!

You know, it was -

you know, the aliens have landed.

The Pope admired his boots ...

and the dummy gave them to him.

KW: Part of being one of Jack's students
is getting to know his routine.

After a few hours of work,

we head down to the diner
for a morning meal.

As does most of the rest
of Maton, California.

Or at least it seems that way.

I felt like I'd met everyone in town
within a few days.

After lunch, it's back to work.

Well, at least for me.

Jack: Well, I tell you what -

I'm gonna let you
play with this a little bit

and think about this

And look at leather

and you know, try some different colors
if you so desire or -

And I'm gonna go take a nap.

KW: Once we spend a few more hours
working on our boots,

and the day is coming to an end,

there's still more work to be done.

It turns out

that an important part
of learning how to make boots

involves helping Jack with his chores.

It's nice, though,

after spending most of the day
trying to learn something new,

to finish with tasks
I've got years of experience doing.

I'm making my second pair of boots now.

But after I made my first,

I wore them everywhere I went.

All the way from home place,
in Hubmboldt County,

to San Francisco, to New York City.

I was pretty proud of them,

and I admit it -
I wanted to show them off.

They may look like just an ordinary pair
of brown, leather boots to some people.

But every time I pull them on,

I am reminded of the time
I get to spend with Jack.

(Guitar music)

[Boot Camp]

[By Kristin Windbigler]

[Music: Matthew Margolin]

[Camera help: Donna Crowe,
Glenn Deno, Shawn, Wendy Owen]

[Special thanks: Taki Telonidis,
Patrick Mullins, the Windbigler family]

[Jim Frew, Evany Thomas]

[The Western Folklife Center]

[And Jack Rowin]

(Music ends)

[Deep West]