Wisconsin – -(AmmoLand.com)- During the Great Depression, money was hard to come by, so people were not able to go to the store or order whatever they wanted or needed online. In fact, there was no online in those days! People became creative in the way they used and reused what they had.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without” became a popular saying. Today we call that “repurposing” or “upcycling.”
The above quote comes from the F.D. Roosevelt Presidential Library.
Hard times are not just coming they are already here. “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without” needs to become the motto for you and your family for the foreseeable long-term future. You need to consider extending the usable life of any hard assets that show wear and tear. Do you really need a new vehicle? Would good detailing, a new set of tires, and a tune-up keep your current vehicle on the road for an extra 12-18 months longer than you planned?
If the fuel crisis continues much longer, the average American suburbanite who drives everywhere is fixing to start doing a lot more walking. What does your current footwear look like? If you were told to put something on your feet right now and then be directed to walk ten miles today, could you safely and comfortably do that? Do you have any quality footwear that could meet the task?
What I am talking about are boots, well-constructed, quality lace-up boots. Not only quality boots, but boots that can be repaired down the line as they start to wear out. Unfortunately, many of the boots on today’s market have injected molded plastic soles that work great and need a little break in time but cannot be repaired.
Carolina Shoe makes my favorite style of boot, the Carolina 505, a steel-toed, with a metatarsal guard and lace-up work boot that are the most comfortable boots I own. The secret is, I use them up, wear them out, make them do–but I do not have to do without.
BootConnection Boot & Shoe Repair Service
Brian Campbell, the co-owner of the Boot Connection in Greenfield, Wisconsin, www.bootconnection.com has been repairing serviceable footwear since 1980. He does an outstanding job of repairing boots and returning them to the owner for more rugged use. He also is a Carolina Shoe and Boot dealer, so he uses real Carolina products to enhance the life of your Carolina boots.
Now you are reading this column, and you are five states away from Wisconsin, how does this help you? Start calling around and see if you can find a boot repair shop in your local driving area. If you do find a local place that alleges they repair boots, do they really know what they are doing, or do they glue on generic mass-produced soles and call it a day?
The Campbell brothers started out repairing shoes and boots, catering to the factory workers in Cudahy, Wisconsin, who needed quality repairs done on their working man’s footwear. They expanded into retail sales of shoes and moved to their current location based on the need for more space.
Boot Connection caters to the manufacturing industry in the greater Milwaukee, Wisconsin, area. Selling work boots and repairing those boots to provide a longer working “life” for those boots. They have repaired thousands of boots and shoes in their forty-two-plus years in the footwear industry.
After becoming unsatisfied with what you find in the boot repair service in your local area, pick up the phone and call Boot Connection at 414-325-7208. Find out what quality repair services for your favorite boots are available, how to ship them to Campbell brothers, and what it will cost.
A new pair of Carolina 505 boots is about $325, and Boot Connection can take your favorite well-broken-in pair and, for approximately $100 and shipping, can give a new and longer life to those boots.
Boot Connection works on just about all major brands of quality boots, and if they are designed to be repaired, then the Campbell brothers can most likely repair them. The issue is, call first and let them know what your boots are and what repairs you need. This starts the correct process of getting your favorite, rugged, manly boots on the road to reconditioning and back to you in the shortest time.
You do not have to throw quality-made hard assets out just because they are starting to wear out. Fix it, repair it, recondition it, make it last and put it back to work, supporting you in good times and, more importantly, supporting your needs in hard times.
When I attended US Army Infantry school as an Air Force officer, I learned a lot of Army terms that were new to me. One of those terms that stuck in my mind was and is “LPC”. “Take care of your LPCs, and they will take care of you, Soldier,” was what I kept hearing.
“LPC” stands for Leather Personal Carriers,” and my big Army was talking about my boots.
When you are ground-pounding “leg” Infantry, your first line of defense is not your M-16 rifle it is your “LPCs.” Always keep your boots in top working order, and never go into a crisis with bad footwear.
Whatever your quality footwear brand is, give them a new lease on life for about a third of what a new pair of boots will cost. Send them to the Boot Connection, and the Campbell brothers will improve and enhance the lives of those boots. Call them at 414-325-7208 and never get caught out in the “open” in hard times with poor footwear.
If you have a bug-out quality boot brand or local repair-shop to recommend? Other readers and I would like to hear from you in the comments. The more resouces we have the better!
Major Van Harl USASF Ret.
[email protected]
About Major Van Harl USAF Ret.:
Major Van E. Harl, USAF Ret., a career Police Officer in the U.S. Air Force, was born in Burlington, Iowa, USA, in 1955. He was the Deputy Chief of police at two Air Force Bases and the Commander of Law Enforcement Operations at another. He is a graduate of the U.S. Army Infantry School. A retired Colorado Ranger and currently is an Auxiliary Police Officer with the Cudahy PD in Milwaukee County, WI. His efforts now are directed at church campus safety and security training. He believes “evil hates organization.” [email protected]
Yup, keep them dogs from barking. Take care of your boots (and feet) and you can go further faster with less pain. Most of the time some good socks, foot powder and boot polish constitute basic needs. If ignored, your dogs will kick your @$$. Lots of people will ignore basic maintaince on leather footwear. The Army that I was in teaches otherwise. These days, with biden robing the country dry every effort should be made to keep the existing running up to par.
Arm up and carry on
Never buy cheap boots, take care of your feet and they’ll take care of you. Lately I have been wearing a pair of low boots from Vasque that I have enjoyed for over 2 years. The Vibram lug sole gives great traction. For work boots I have gone through Herman Survivors, that didn’t survive much of anything before the soles cracked, Dunhams made locally but no more, Danners and finally a pair of Redwings that last a long time. I’ve had them resoled once. I’d like them resoled with Vibram lug soles when the time comes. A good boot and… Read more »