Learning

The Man Who Taught Me How To Care for Boots & Saddles

Al Reynolds - Wickenburg, AZ

Master bootmaker Al Reynolds of Wickenburg, Arizona passed away on May 24, 2020. In this photo, Al had just received the top award at the 2018 Roundup, winning the Master category in the boot contest.

1st Place - Al Reynolds (L)

Al Reynolds Passes

By Nick Pernokas  ShopTalk Magazine, July 2020

[ https://shoptalk-magazine.com/information/ ]

The western boot industry lost a well-loved member recently.

Alfred Reynolds was born on May 17, 1941, in Philadelphia. The Reynolds family moved to Chicago when he was five, and this was where he discovered his love of horses. Like many young boys of the time, Al was inspired by his celluloid cowboy heroes and it was something that never left him. Al’s parents frequently took him to a local riding stable so he could ride.

“He was a horse kid from word go,” says Dione, Al’s wife. “It was just something in his blood. He just loved it.”

It was in a Chicago park where Al was first exposed to leatherwork. He told a journalist many years later, “When I was five or six years old, WWII was just over and my folks had moved to Chicago. In Chicago, they had neighborhood parks and on Fridays they had sock hops that were manned by disabled WWII veterans. They always brought leatherwork. I had seen that and it fascinated me.”

Al was drafted and he ended up in the 327th Airborne Division in recon. Al found that he loved jumping out of planes. But Al felt that he needed something to do with his hands in his spare time. He remembered those veterans from many years before, and he began to teach himself leatherwork. Soon, he was making a few wallets for other servicemen. In 1963, Al was discharged from the Army.

Al moved to northern Wisconsin, where he became a town marshal and then later, a deputy sheriff. He also owned and ran a cattle ranch. Al learned to make tack and saddles, and became very proficient. Once Al learned the basics of making something, he would try to push it to its artistic limits. His saddles, spur straps and holsters were beautiful.

In Wisconsin, he was severely injured in a horse wreck. His broken leg wasn’t set properly, resulting in Al’s cowboy boots no longer fitting comfortably. He began thinking about building a boot that would give him the comfort that he needed.

A doctor suggested that he would feel better in a warmer climate. Al and his wife, Dione, moved to Wickenburg, Arizona, in 1984. It was only natural that he would become acquainted with Jim Custer, a quintessential cowboy who lived there. Jim was a former roughstock rodeo cowboy, a former stuntman and a well-known team roper. He also had a thriving silver business and he made a lot of trophy buckles. Al began making belts for Jim’s buckles. Al also met local bootmaker George Martin who owned a leather shop. Soon, he was making leather tack items for him as well.

Kelly Martin, a custom boot maker and George’s daughter, says “Al would come to hang out in the shop. He was super artistic. A crazy, amazing artistic man.”

Al made no secret of his desire to build boots. George decided that he would teach Al to build a basic boot. He taught him the mechanics of bootmaking. The two became very close friends and enjoyed working in the shop together.

George Martin remembers, “Al was a hell of a bootmaker! And my friend.”

“We loved him,” says Kelly.

Al had his own shop in Wickenburg. It was an extremely well-organized and neat shop. The area was good for business. There were many recreational cowboys who came to that part of Arizona to enjoy the numerous dude ranches. They became a major source of Al’s clients for custom boots. Many also became friends.

“He was always busy,” remembers Dione.

For many years, Al went to the Wichita Falls Boot and Saddle Maker’s Round Up.  He enjoyed the camaraderie of his fellow bootmakers and he liked to see what they were working on. He was hesitant to enter a pair of his own boots though, but the other bootmakers always tried to get him to bring some. Al was reserved and never wanted to be in the spotlight. Finally, with Dione’s, and George Martin’s encouragement, Al broke down and made a pair for the show. These boots were the first of multiple awards for the humble man. He won many divisions, as well as the Master Boot Maker Award three times.

“It’s a piss-poor teacher that the student doesn’t get better than the teacher,” laughs George Martin. “I was proud of him.”

Austin bootmaker Lee Miller knew Al through the Wichita Falls shows.

“Al was a humble man. Everybody liked him.  All of his imagination was poured into his bootmaking,” says Lee. “He was constantly trying to get better.”

Lee remembers how Al’s hands were really hurting him at the end of his career. He was impressed with the way Al pushed through it to create masterpieces to bring to the show.

“Al’s work fit into the Arizona style of bootmaker, with high heels, tall tops and a flamboyant style, in an old west tradition,” says Lee. “The term buckaroo might be applicable.”

In 2016, Michigan shoemaker and repairman Bobby Hay was trying to improve his techniques when he became interested in western boots. He visited with many western bootmakers and attended the Wichita Falls show. One day, Lee Miller introduced him to Al. Bobby learned that Al was contemplating retirement and was interested in selling some of his tools. Bobby was interested in more than that. A deal was made. Bobby apprenticed under Al for about eight months, beginning in October 2017. Bobby found Al to be a patient teacher who showed him some unusual ways to do things. Al became both a humble mentor and a friend to Bobby.

“Being able to work with Al Reynolds really helped to take me to the next level. I really owe a lot to him,” says Bobby.

Bobby ended up buying most of Al’s boot shop and moving it back to Michigan. Al told Lee Miller that he was thrilled at the outcome.

This past January, Kelly stopped to visit Al. He told her that he had something to give her. It was his boot bible, with every pattern for every pair of boots that he’d ever made.

“Al was like another dad to me. He was an amazing human being,” says Kelly. “For him to give me that meant that he was proud of me.”

“It’s kind of like a sickness. I can’t make enough of them,” Al said in later years. “There’s all these ideas rolling around in your head, and you have to transfer them to drawings and then make the drawings work for the sewing machine. I have books just full of drawings. It never ends.” 

Unfortunately for all of us, it did.

Al Reynolds passed away on May 24, 2020.

“It’s been amazing…the wonderful life we had. Everybody loved Al,” says Dione.