The Lusk Herald, July 8, 1992

COWBOY BOOT SHOP OPENS IN RANGER BUILDING IN LUSK

Lusk can now boast of having another new business in its borders.

Cowboy Boot Shop opened its doors Monday, July 6, in the Ranger Building, It is being operated by Dean and Linda Butler and will offer factory defects, seconds and over runs. Dean just returned from Texas with a load of boots and the shop now has about 150 pair in stock.

Linda said the couple's reason for opening the shop was partly personal."We went to buy a pair of boots for our son and we couldn't find any to fit him, but they were so expensive. We wanted to see if we could offer factory defects and over runs that people could afford --reasonable priced boots," Linda said.

"Everyone who has kids can't afford expensive boots that last a year. We knew where we could get these factory defects and it grew out of that," she said. "There's no place to buy boots in the county and we feel like if people  have to go out of town to buy boots, they'll buy other things while they are there," Dean said.

"If we can offer name brand boots at a reasonable price, people can afford them and they won't have to go out of town," he said.

"Most of the factory defects are so slight you can't even tell it."

The shop plans to offer men's, women's and children's boots. The hours will be Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

"We can only stock so many because of the investment, as we go along we plan to add to it (inventory) and expand. Until we get bigger, we will have catalogs to order from, but they won't be factory defects,"  he said.

"Once we get going we can order from other companies with a week or two week delivery. With defects, you take what you can get. It's hard to order a specific boot."

"We anticipate making several trips to get different boots. Boots we current;y have in stock include Roper style laceups, exotics, riding boots and work boots."  He said.

The shop will have a display at the Niobrara County Fairgrounds during the Legend of Rawhide Days' activities. The shop will also offer display space for artwork, handiwork and crafts, Linda said.