Why do people put boots on fences?

[yuppiecowboy]

Laces tied together, hanging on a wire. Anyone noticed this? It was brought to my attention recently and when asked what the purpose was I was stumped. Does anyone else see this and have any idea the purpose?

 

[MYT Farms]

Laces tied together, hanging on a wire. Anyone noticed this? It was brought to my attention recently and when asked what the purpose was I was stumped. Does anyone else see this and have any idea the purpose?

#1: You might be a redneck if........

#2: A good use for old boots is to put them on wood posts in an attempt to keep the water from getting down in the post and rotting the wood.

 

[RSC]

Laces tied together, hanging on a wire. Anyone noticed this? It was brought to my attention recently and when asked what the purpose was I was stumped. Does anyone else see this and have any idea the purpose?

It's a tourist attraction!  (lol)  The posts last 10 years longer with a boot cover!  (clapping)

Tony

 

[Sammy]

Actually it is an unfortunate sign of our times - it is to mark a spot for drug transactions.

 

[SouthWest]

Cowboy sayin says "so their souls can go to heaven". 

 

[dori36]

Actually it is an unfortunate sign of our times - it is to mark a spot for drug transactions.

Well, maybe in some areas, but the tradition has been ongoing since "frontier days" before most cowboy boots had laces.  I'd go along with the 'souls going to heaven' and for the practical use of keeping water out of the tops of the posts. 

 

[SouthWest]

Googled cowboy boot superstitions on the internet and found this if it helps......


A boot set atop a fence post is a sign that someone is at home.

Boots hung with their toes pointed to the wall are a sign that their owner is dead.

It's bad luck to step into your left boot first.

Drop an old boot outside the front door as you leave on a journey and you won't have any bad luck on the trip.

Tripping over a boot is a bad omen.

If you wear your boots out on the toe...you'll spend money as you go.

During winter, place red pepper in your boots to keep your feet warm.

If you set your boots on a table, you will quarrel with someone soon.

If you stow your boots higher than your head at night, you will have a restless night's sleep.

To walk along wearing only one boot will bring you as many bad days as steps taken.

New boots that have never been worn should be be put high above the floor for luck.

If you give a pair of boots to a friend, he will walk away from you.

Old boots should be worn on Friday the 13th for good luck.

If a father wears his boots while his baby is born, it will be a boy.

Never accept a gift of old boots, or you will walk in the former owner's troubles.

If your new boots creak as you walk, it means that you still owe the bootmaker his/her bill.

Fill your boots with dry beans or corn, pour in some water, and tie the tops shut.

Fill a zip-lock bag with water, put it in your boot, and put your boot in the freezer.

 

[Sammy]

it is a nice thought to consider it some nice old tradition, however that is just not reality.  It started in urban areas to mark "territory" and transaction sites and has spread to rural areas, just like baggy pants hanging off the butts, hats on sideways, front seats on the cars laid back and rap.  Drug use is so rampant in all segments of society in rural and urban areas.  Many locations would have less unemployment if potential employees could pass the drug screens, in my area I hear that roughly 1/3 in the 18 to 40 age group fail it, and there would be less thefts if these users had jobs and not a habit.  Wake up, and be aware of what is going on in your area to better protect your loved ones.

 

[Dusty]

it is a nice thought to consider it some nice old tradition, however that is just not reality.  It started in urban areas to mark "territory" and transaction sites and has spread to rural areas, just like baggy pants hanging off the butts, hats on sideways, front seats on the cars laid back and rap.  Drug use is so rampant in all segments of society in rural and urban areas.  Many locations would have less unemployment if potential employees could pass the drug screens, in my area I hear that roughly 1/3 in the 18 to 40 age group fail it, and there would be less thefts if these users had jobs and not a habit.  Wake up, and be aware of what is going on in your area to better protect your loved ones.

When i was growing up my parents referred to the people that used drugs as "low lifes."  Teach your kids that the burn outs and druggies are actually a lesser form of life and then they will not want to associate with them.  If they don't associate with them they won't pick up their habits.

I am firm believer that anyone who gets a welfare check has to pass a drug test.  If they can't we are just subisidizing their habits and the procreation of more people that will be a burden on society.

From what I have seen as people move up to harder drugs, which in my part of the world is meth.  They will eventually cure themselves.

 

[bcosu]

it is a nice thought to consider it some nice old tradition, however that is just not reality.  It started in urban areas to mark "territory" and transaction sites and has spread to rural areas, just like baggy pants hanging off the butts, hats on sideways, front seats on the cars laid back and rap.  Drug use is so rampant in all segments of society in rural and urban areas.  Many locations would have less unemployment if potential employees could pass the drug screens, in my area I hear that roughly 1/3 in the 18 to 40 age group fail it, and there would be less thefts if these users had jobs and not a habit.  Wake up, and be aware of what is going on in your area to better protect your loved ones.

When i was growing up my parents referred to the people that used drugs as "low lifes."  Teach your kids that the burn outs and druggies are actually a lesser form of life and then they will not want to associate with them.  If they don't associate with them they won't pick up their habits.

I am firm believer that anyone who gets a welfare check has to pass a drug test.  If they can't we are just subisidizing their habits and the procreation of more people that will be a burden on society.

From what I have seen as people move up to harder drugs, which in my part of the world is meth.  They will eventually cure themselves.

i could not agree more. in my high school ap government class our teacher showed us a video with john stossel that was all about who got welfare checks and how they were spent. One of the guys that stossel interviewed was quite a character who admitted to being addicted to crack, heroin, and the occasional joint. the funny thing is that they showed him walking out with is check and straight to a dealer.

 

[JbarL]

Laces tied together, hanging on a wire. Anyone noticed this? It was brought to my attention recently and when asked what the purpose was I was stumped. Does anyone else see this and have any idea the purpose?

  The posts last 10 years longer with a boot cover!  (clapping)

Tony

plus they are less likely to get a........  stpd    jbarl

 

[cowman]

it is a nice thought to consider it some nice old tradition, however that is just not reality.  It started in urban areas to mark "territory" and transaction sites and has spread to rural areas, just like baggy pants hanging off the butts, hats on sideways, front seats on the cars laid back and rap.  Drug use is so rampant in all segments of society in rural and urban areas.  Many locations would have less unemployment if potential employees could pass the drug screens, in my area I hear that roughly 1/3 in the 18 to 40 age group fail it, and there would be less thefts if these users had jobs and not a habit.  Wake up, and be aware of what is going on in your area to better protect your loved ones.

Whoa, whoa, whoa...where you're at it may be drug related but it did not start there I assure you. This has been done in rural areas for decades by people who would put your ass on the post if they caught you doing drugs. Let's not make a blanket statement here accusing good old fashioned traditions of being involved in the drug trade. Where I come from we still hang boots on posts, and drug use will still get the boot placed where the sun doesn't shine.

 

[farwest]

Were talkin cowboy boots upside down on posts. A sign for druggers is the dumbest thing I've heard.

 

[dori36]

Were talkin cowboy boots upside down on posts. A sign for druggers is the dumbest thing I've heard.

Agreed. I don't think the author of that post has ever lived in Cowboy country!  Hard to think of the boots as a symbol of a drug deal location when there aren't any people around for 100's of square miles.  Dang, you'd REALLY have to want to make a deal to go out that far!  And, the rancher'd probably administer the 3-S's if you were dealing drugs on his spread!

 

[smurf]

I think you guys are talking about a few different things here.  Some of you are talking about boots on the actual fence post and others are talking about a pair of shoes/boots with the laces tied together and wrapped around a wire.  From what I hear, the latter of which is a symbol of territory and drug issues, it is also common to see them wrapped around a power line.  It is nothing more than people marking territory.  Again, just what I've heard, take it for what it's worth.

 

[JbarL]

i seen a  nine iron  wrapped around a small tree once....i think that was marking a drinking deal though..     jbarl

 

[justintime]

Some of the posts in this thread are referring to boots on posts being a sign for a place for a drug transaction. I have seen boots on fence posts in cowboy country long before there were drug transactions taking place anywhere. Some of these comments made me think of a new theme for a Survivor series. It should be set in Montana, and the teams should have shirts that have " I am a vegetarian, I am Gay, Cows are destroying our planet, and I voted Democrat. The first team to make it through the state with less than two broken appendages is the winner.

 

[dori36]

Some of the posts in this thread are referring to boots on posts being a sign for a place for a drug transaction. I have seen boots on fence posts in cowboy country long before there were drug transactions taking place anywhere. Some of these comments made me think of a new theme for a Survivor series. It should be set in Montana, and the teams should have shirts that have " I am a vegetarian, I am Gay, Cows are destroying our planet, and I voted Democrat. The first team to make it through the state with less than two broken appendages is the winner.

I like the idea!  Could it extend through Wyoming as a sequel if there's anyone left?

 

[aj]

I know down by Russell Springs, Ks they have an annual trailride that can have as many as 1,000 or more riders. Russell springs has a population of around 15 people but during the trail ride it ballons to sometimes 3,000 people. It is located on the smoky hill river and is the old bod stagecoach route and the smoky hill trail from fort leavenworth to Denver,Colo during the 1850 gold rush. There was a line of fence that used to have worn out boots on the tops of post's. I think it got to be almost an annual destination for horse people to retire old boots from around the U.S. there. This country wasn't settled by white people untill really around 1885 or so. So like in Europe where man has been building on top of each other for thousands of years here in western kansas there are some 5th generation farmers and ranchers who "settled the land" and still own it. I think its kinda unique. I had one grandad tell me one time as we were in a pickup that he remember when "that quarter was broke out". He was a young kid at the time and he helped break it out. I think that is why I am interested in the amerind or native people of this area from 200 years ago to 10,000 years ago. There hasn't been a lot of building and disturbance of old paleo indian sites. I know that is to much information but the old Russel Springs line of boots used to be like a mile long by the highway.Times are a changing.

 

[ROAD WARRIOR]

AJ - I've been down the "boot row"  out there. Never been out there during the trail but I have heard alot about it from one of the 15 natives (15 maybe an exageration!) It is a really cool little part of the world. I have spent quite a bit of time out there and really enjoy the scenery and history, but it can be a little "remote" from the rest of the world. I think Winonna is about the closest civilization there is and thats being pretty generous, they have a little cafe/motel and an elevator there. If you don't mind getting away from the real world for a while it is a great place to visit. RW