European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 24, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The Boot making Biz by Bill Johnson associated press is stubby. Stained lingers Caress the dark leather As Jim Pope slowly forms two pieces together gluing Here and there under his careful hands a Cowboy Boot begins to take shape you can t gel Rich doing  he says i do it because i enjoy doing it. And the satisfaction of seeing some old boy who says he can t get boots to fit slip on a pair i be made and walk out of Here with a smile on his face " but not just anyone can Alford a visit to Pope s shop in Oklahoma City prices Start at about $400, half up Iron and. As Pope says Lor the exotic leathers you better get out your big Check Book " the customer has a Choice of leathers from calf Al the Low end to shark and Snake at around $550, full Quill Ostrich Al about $1.000 and Alligator at $1.500 to $1,600. I made one pair Oul of armadillo and another out of  he says i have enough elephant to make one More pair of boots and then that s gone " Pope says he demands a 50 percent Deposit because i have to buy the leather. A full Quill Ostrich hide costs about $700 and i can t Alford to just keep it around " the amount of stitching on the uppers and whether there s any inlay also can run up the Cost Pope just delivered boots to a Texas banker that have the outline of the stale inset in the uppers i give the customer Lour rows of  Pope says ii they want More it s $25 a Row " Jim Pope says Boot making is not a business Tor those who just want to make Money Pope says besides looking pretty the stitching helps keep the uppers standing straight. It lakes about 40 hours to make a pair of boots he says it depends on How fancy they Are some More some less but it averages out to about 40 hours " i be had them ask me to include a Little hidden place Lor  Pope says. Others want a place to carry a gun rows of leather Are stacked on an overhead shelf and virtually every Inch of the building that serves As office and workshop is filled with some sort of shoemaking machine. A window air conditioner at the rear fights to a draw with the humid. 90 degree plus heat Pope says he is one of Only two custom bookmakers in business in Oklahoma City. The Young people coming along. They Don t want to work this hard Lor More Money than they get.1 he says Pope got into the Boot making business in a roundabout Way he worked with leather making belts and wallets and repairing saddles when he was a ranch hand but if anybody had told me then i d be making boots today i would have said they re  he says Pope takes about a half dozen measurements of a customer s foot and draws an outline on a piece of paper houses wooden lasts As close to the Man s size As possible and either builds up with leather or shaves the Wood off until he has As near a perfect match for the foot As is possible the loot part of the Boot is formed Over that i Don t give a Money Back guarantee but i do guarantee that you la have a Boot to my he says there was a time when the Boot making business was almost As Good As most people think owning an Oil Well is that was Back in the Early 1980s when everyone believed there was no top to the spiral my Cost of Oil you commonly ran 75 to 100 orders behind several months Worth the 47 year old Pope says but with the Oil bust the flamboyant lilies and the Bankers who backed them faded away along with the wild parties where Beer toasts were drunk from the fancy boots now he says he makes five or six pairs a month sometimes seven the bust has Hurt All the custom made leather  says Pope leggings saddles All that sort of thing they re All  thes ipes Reagan s testimony released sex president denies he had any inkling his aides were illegally arming contras cons rust on cutbacks Likely to remodel role of corps of engineers Conrad had to be stopped witness testifies at spy trial fears balk of latest baseball offer see Page 77 every Day can make a world of difference. In a world that never takes a Day to rest every Day can make a world of difference. A Day can mean the difference Between a Campaign and a Victory. A budget and a budget Cut. A revolutionary idea and a revolution. The stars and stripes has All the news it takes to keep you on top of the world s events. And a subscription to the stars and stripes can assure you that you la never fall a Day behind. Call one of our circulation offices today listing on Page 11 for your subscription to the stars and Stripe or wre of the stars and stripes attn sales promotion Apo 09211 and find out How the stars and stripes can make a world of difference in your life. Every Day. Saturday february 24, 1990 the stars and stripes