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Yoakum rides high on leather |
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By MONETTE TAYLOR | South Central Texas Edition |
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September 1, 2002 -- After the Civil War was over, between the years of 1867 and the mid-1880s, more that 6 million head of cattle were herded from the southern areas of Texas, down well-worn cow trails, all the way to Kansas. According to literature from the Texas Historical Commission, one of the major paths was the Chisholm Trail, and "feeder routes" sprung up in the areas around Houston and San Antonio to assist the herders on their way to market. Because of the great influx of cattle, tanneries became a necessity, and cowhides and leather products soon became big business. One of those feeder routes came through Yoakum. Soon, local businessmen saw that Yoakum could build a future in the leather industry, and the rest is history. "Back in the cattle drive days ... we're not on the Chisholm Trail ... we're one of those little feeder routes. All the cattle from South Texas and the Houston areas needed to be put on the Chisholm Trail. "Hides were so plentiful that there was a tannery started called Texas Tanning, and they tanned hides for years. As times changed, they started making knee pads (for cotton picking) and harnesses ... they just developed with the times," said Barbara Smith who with her husband, Leo, own The Leather Capital Store in Yoakum. Texas Tanning became Tex Tan Western Leather Company in 1919, and did its own tanning of the hides until the tannery burned "in the late '30s or '40s," according to Smith. The Smiths moved to Yoakum in 1979, where Leo first worked in sales and later took over the advertising department at Tex Tan. After a successful career as a commercial artist, and since each of them had a "western heritage," the move to the leather industry seemed a logical step. Soon after the move, Bona Allen, which was a "sister" company to Tex Tan, began making boots, like Tex Tan had done in years past. It was at this point that Smith became involved in the retail of some of the first Yoakum leather products actually sold in a store in Yoakum. "I went out and opened the store for them (Bona Allen), and ran the boot store, out there on the hill ... which was first called 'Boot Hill,' and, later, 'Boot Corral,'" said Smith. She said that store remained open until about 1984 when Bona Allen went out of business and Tex Tan bought them out and was back in the "boot making" business, again. Throughout the last half a century, Tex Tan has grown into one of the largest retail outlets in the world, and much of the leather all over the United States can be traced back to the Yoakum area. By 1985, Tex Tan decided to discontinue the inventory and the shop closed, but the Smiths weren't finished with the sale of Yoakum leather. The Smiths purchased one of the older buildings in the historical part of downtown, remodeled it and started their own retail shop. "We went to all the leather companies, before we opened the shop, and we told them we'd like to sell Yoakum leather. There was no one selling it, here, so, of course, we were able to do that," said Smith. In the years since 1986, Smith has seen the sale of western wear go in "cycles." According to her, the young people set the fashion "trends" and those with money are able to keep up with the latest type of clothing. "Western will always be a style, but not always in fashion. Western goes in cycles and ... it's on the down side, right now," she added. Several years ago, Rocky Mountain jeans and starched Wranglers were the rage with teenagers, but she said that has been replaced by tennis shoes, tee shirts and baggy pants without belts. All of this has not dampened Smith's resolve to continue selling Yoakum leather and Western wear, but she has diversified into sports clothing, jewelry, arts and crafts and some antiques in their shop. They continue to carry articles from the various leather shops, and she is the first one to get on the phone and track a certain hat, or belt, or pair of boots, or clothing for a customer. It's just good customer service, she stressed. While Yoakum is not located on an Interstate highway, with access to millions of customers, those who take the time to drive over to Yoakum and see the little town that grew from the Chisholm Trail, and later a huge railroad center to move the cows, will not be disappointed. There's even a museum with a special "leather room," at The Leather Capital where visitors can trace the progress of the industry, as well as view the beautiful saddles of yesterday and today, and remember time when the world was a different place ... and cattle ruled this part of Texas. |
