Folks - I stumbled across an old photo of the Hyer Boot Co. in the 1940s on the Kansas State Historical Society website. I'm trying to locate information for the following: (1) Where would their factory have been located in the 1940s (It seems that they were in a location close to central Olathe; however, the only information I can locate is on their new 1960s factory near I-35)? (2) Anyone have insight on how they would have shipped? It's purely conjecture, but unless they had a dedicated siding on the ATSF in town, I could build a case for their shipping mostly LCL shipments through the Frisco depot, and receiving raw materials via the team tracks. Thanks, in advance. Best Regards,
Chris - I still have my brown pair of Hyer boots that I purchased in 1977, for about $40.00. There is definitely some history with The Hyer Boot Company. As for your first question, I did some research and found some sites, and quotes, for you to look at. They were in downtown Olathe, close to the current courthouse (east and south - I think). Here is the information: Kansas Historical Society – Kansapedia: http://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/hyer-boot-company/12093 “In 1903 the firm moved from its original location to a three-story brick building. In 1914 an empty hotel building next door was acquired and converted to factory space.” Hycrest – Johnson County Museum – Register of Historic Kansas Places: http://www.jocomuseum.org/docs/HP%20Articles/State%20Register/Hycrest.pdf "A Civil War veteran, Dow arrived in Olathe in 1866 and soon established a general merchandise store on the northwest corner of Cherry and Chestnut Streets in a building later occupied by the Hyer Boot Company." Johnson County History: A black and white picture of buildings in the area: http://search.jocohistory.org/cdm4/...ODE=viewer&DMTEXT=&REC=2&DMTHUMB=1&DMROTATE=0 As for your second question, they were located closer to the Santa Fe. I don't believe there was ever a spur, of sorts, that served this area. So, my guess is that they might have shipped LCL shipments on either, or both, Frisco and Santa Fe. As you probably read in the historical pages, Hyer shipped boots all over the country, including many large military orders. This was interesting reading that turned into a learning experience. Well, I guess I'd better preserve my 33 year-old boots - ouch! Thanks! Bob McKeighan Lenexa, KS
How do you get the last link to hold its picture? The image only stays for a moment, then clicks off?? Tom
Bob, many thanks for the additional information; you're way ahead of me on locating much of this information. I'd completely missed the article on Hycrest. I did find it interesting that they would make boots-to-order for farmers and ranchers! And, I did have to shudder a bit when I found a photo of some one-of-a-kind Jayhawk Hyer boots. At any rate, I'll have to ensure that an occasional car is spotted at Olathe for their shipments. Tom - I ran into the same thing yesterday and again this morning on getting the photos to hold. I assumed it was a problem on my end, but it makes me wonder if the historic society's website is having fits. Best Regards,
Hey Tom - I clicked on the link, it took me to the picture and information, and the picture remained, until I closed the window. Here's the full web-site address again: http://search.jocohistory.org/cdm4/...ODE=viewer&DMTEXT=&REC=2&DMTHUMB=1&DMROTATE=0 If you are still having trouble, go to JoCoHistory.org, click the "Search Images" button at the top, and in the search box, type in "Downtown Olathe". The image will be #81. You can adjust the image sizes up and down. I'll probably visit this site again, as there are a bunch of historical photos of this area. Hope this helps you out - Bob
