Mr. Dunn was born on a houseboat on the White River in Arkansas. A few years later he & his family moved near Paris, Texas in a covered wagon. His great-grandfather, grand-father & father were all bootmakers. Mr. Dunn followed in their footsteps when he became an apprentice for his father & Ed Lewis, a master craftsman bootmaker, on his 7th birthday. He quit school & began working for Mr. Lewis at age 8. By his 11th birthday he'd completed his first pair of boots - a present to himself.
Singer/songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker wrote & recorded a song about Mr. Dunn in 1972. He had customers from all over the country including celebrities like Arnold Palmer, Rusty Weir, Bobby Lane, Mary Kay Place, Gene Autry, Slim Pickens, Harry Belafonte, Ernest Tubb, Peter Fonda & Carole King. His boots could cost up to $3,000 & the waiting list could be up to 3 years long.
In an interview with Mr. Dunn he stated he never much cared for money. It was less about quick production & more about talking to his customers, learning of any problems then creating custom boots to help fix the problems. I believe his last employer preferred a quicker production, which was one of the reasons he tried to retire in 1973.
In 1977 a couple of Austin businessmen lured him out of retirement by offering to set him up in his own shop. Here he managed & trained new apprentices. He suffered a stroke & died at the age of 95.
Singer/songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker wrote & recorded a song about Mr. Dunn in 1972. He had customers from all over the country including celebrities like Arnold Palmer, Rusty Weir, Bobby Lane, Mary Kay Place, Gene Autry, Slim Pickens, Harry Belafonte, Ernest Tubb, Peter Fonda & Carole King. His boots could cost up to $3,000 & the waiting list could be up to 3 years long.
In an interview with Mr. Dunn he stated he never much cared for money. It was less about quick production & more about talking to his customers, learning of any problems then creating custom boots to help fix the problems. I believe his last employer preferred a quicker production, which was one of the reasons he tried to retire in 1973.
In 1977 a couple of Austin businessmen lured him out of retirement by offering to set him up in his own shop. Here he managed & trained new apprentices. He suffered a stroke & died at the age of 95.
Mr. Dunn was born on a houseboat on the White River in Arkansas. A few years later he & his family moved near Paris, Texas in a covered wagon. His great-grandfather, grand-father & father were all bootmakers. Mr. Dunn followed in their footsteps when he became an apprentice for his father & Ed Lewis, a master craftsman bootmaker, on his 7th birthday. He quit school & began working for Mr. Lewis at age 8. By his 11th birthday he'd completed his first pair of boots - a present to himself.
Singer/songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker wrote & recorded a song about Mr. Dunn in 1972. He had customers from all over the country including celebrities like Arnold Palmer, Rusty Weir, Bobby Lane, Mary Kay Place, Gene Autry, Slim Pickens, Harry Belafonte, Ernest Tubb, Peter Fonda & Carole King. His boots could cost up to $3,000 & the waiting list could be up to 3 years long.
In an interview with Mr. Dunn he stated he never much cared for money. It was less about quick production & more about talking to his customers, learning of any problems then creating custom boots to help fix the problems. I believe his last employer preferred a quicker production, which was one of the reasons he tried to retire in 1973.
In 1977 a couple of Austin businessmen lured him out of retirement by offering to set him up in his own shop. Here he managed & trained new apprentices. He suffered a stroke & died at the age of 95.
Singer/songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker wrote & recorded a song about Mr. Dunn in 1972. He had customers from all over the country including celebrities like Arnold Palmer, Rusty Weir, Bobby Lane, Mary Kay Place, Gene Autry, Slim Pickens, Harry Belafonte, Ernest Tubb, Peter Fonda & Carole King. His boots could cost up to $3,000 & the waiting list could be up to 3 years long.
In an interview with Mr. Dunn he stated he never much cared for money. It was less about quick production & more about talking to his customers, learning of any problems then creating custom boots to help fix the problems. I believe his last employer preferred a quicker production, which was one of the reasons he tried to retire in 1973.
In 1977 a couple of Austin businessmen lured him out of retirement by offering to set him up in his own shop. Here he managed & trained new apprentices. He suffered a stroke & died at the age of 95.
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