I just discovered Fort Worth, Texas. I was always vaguely aware that it was somewhere near Dallas (note: DFW – Dallas/Fort Worth Airport – nothing gets by me), but didn’t realize that it has such a history and that is can rightfully claim status as a true gateway to the West.
A recent Texas trip to visit a truly wonderful and generous family (with ties to the College) combined with some reconnoitering in advance of Michigan’s football showdown against Alabama this coming fall at Cowboys Stadium (affectionately known as “Jerry World” to the locals), included a day in Fort Worth.
From their website (http://www.fortworth.com/about-fort-worth/history/):
In its youth, Fort Worth was a rough-and-tumble frontier town, dusty and lawless, home to the brave and the brawling, the soldier, the frontiersman, the outlaw. Today, Fort Worth, one of the largest cities in Texas and the 16th-largest city in the United States, is a destination shaped by its revitalized downtown, a world-renowned cultural arts district, beautifully preserved Western-heritage sites and major-league attractions.
Originally settled in 1849 as an army outpost at the Trinity River, Fort Worth was one of eight forts assigned to protect settlers from Indian attacks on the advancing frontier. Progress helped the growing settlement survive long after other such towns had blown away with the dust of departing pioneers.
The cattle industry was king for a generation of people working the Fort Worth leg of the historic Chisholm Trail, which ran from the 1860s to the 1870s. Cowboys worked and played in Hell's Half Acre, located where downtown Fort Worth stands today, before driving the cattle on the Chisholm Trail to its ending point in Kansas.
Fort Worth became the heart of the Trail and the heart of the state's ranching industry when the Texas & Pacific Railway arrived in 1876. In the years that followed, oil and aviation brought new wealth throughout the region, and a city grew where a camp once stood.
The post-war years found Fort Worth capitalizing on its strengths as a transportation, business and military center. Cultural pursuits included the development of the city's internationally known museum district, built alongside the Will Rogers Memorial Center, which opened in 1936, and Casa Mañana Theatre. . . .
Still, many of Fort Worth's earliest buildings endure to this day - art deco skyscrapers stand beside older redbrick stalwarts in downtown's Sundance Square, flanking wide brick sidewalks lined with elm and live oak. And though the dust of the old west is gone, Fort Worth's proud Western heritage lives on, blending with thriving commerce and culture to create a destination unlike anywhere else in the world.
Among the jewels I encountered are two “must-stops” for the genuine or wannabe cowboy or cowgirl: Peters Brothers and M.L. Leddy’s.
Peters Brothers was started by Jim and Tom Peters just over 100 years ago. These Greek immigrants began a shoe shining business Waco, TX and soon took their $600 savings and moved to Fort Worth where they opened a premier shoe shine parlor.
Around the beginning of World War I, demand in downtown Fort Worth was so great that the business had 36 men employed to shine shoes on two shifts and soon began cleaning hats for customers.
In 1921 Tom left Fort Worth to work for John B. Stetson in Philadelphia where he learned to make hats from the master hatters at Stetson. Tom returned to Fort Worth and started making hats at the downtown location.
Soon, Peters Brothers' hats were commonly seen on celebrities and dignitaries (early product placement – they gave the stars the hats!) and the hats earned the moniker: The Shady Oaks.
Jim died in 1933 and Tom moved the business to its current location, gave up the shine business in 1973, and oversaw hat production until his death in 1991 at 98 years of age.
Offerings include a variety of hats made from a variety of materials in varied styles – from the 6 inch brim Tom Mix style to an Indiana Jones style fedora.
Although ten years younger, M.L. Leddy's is no “little brother” in western wear.
M.L. Leddy left his family cotton farm in 1918 and, four years later, purchased the saddle and boot shop where he had been working in the small west Texas town of Brady.
In 1922, saddle making and boot making were common trades but the “Leddy Standard” soon became the quality and service others sought to match. By 1936, their reputation exceeded their borders and they moved their business to San Angelo, Texas. Demand for their products continued to expand and a second location was opened in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards in 1941.
My host for the day, Lee M., took me to Leddy’s and introduced me to Mr. Gene Lee Reynolds who had fitted Lee for several pairs of custom boots. Mr. Gene and Lee showed me several different styles ranging from the plain to the unfathomably ornate – and, for the right price, pretty much any design, logo, or other image can be embossed or embroidered into any boot.
I ended up passing on the custom fitting but can imagine how absolutely fun these boots would be to own.
We left Leddy’s in time for the daily drive of the longhorns through the Stockyards district and then delighted at the Woodshed restaurant for some unmatched Texas ribs and fixins including elk sausage and a bourbon & Coke pork taco with “Banh Mi” pickled chiles – all washed down with a locally produced St. Arnolds Lawnmower lager.
I’m going to visit again!
With appreciation to the kind folks at all the stops. See also:
http://www.pbhats.com/private/HISTORY/Default.htm
http://leddys.com/
http://www.woodshedsmokehouse.com/
texas is the best.
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