Our last stop in Amarillo was to Beck Boots, Amarillo's custom boot maker, located near 6th Avenue/ Route 66. The owner, Harry Beck, takes pride in making boots for custom clientele. He was once quoted in a newspaper article, "I don't make boots for celebrities, I make boots for cowboys."
It's just that Beck wants his boots to go to a good home, just like his dad, Earl, and twin brother, Bearl, did when they sold their first pair of boots to a Dalhart ranch hand back in 1916. They are intended to go to a proper home, a place not for show, but for practical use. That was the way the Becks did things when they moved to Amarillo and opened their first store in 1921. A cowboy would come in, tell them what he wanted, and they'd craft some working boots to his specifications. A mold is made of their customers' feet and kept on file for future orders.
We took a tour of the facility with the production manager, Carlos Quiroz.
