My brother and I, growing up in a big rock pile in the late 50s and 60s, out on Spicewood Springs Rd, were very hard on shoes and cowboy boots.

We could go through a pair of black hightop Keds in a few weeks. We always got black ones, because the white ones sure wouldn’t stand the test of time. I’d be off in a mud hole the first day.

We had cowboy boots, mostly of the pointy toe variety. Round toe boots didn’t make a real entry until later in the 60s, it seems. But the leather soles on the cowboy boots wasn’t compatible with sharp rocks.

So about all that was left was to buy hightop, lace up work boots for school, chores and play. We found the best value down on Congress Ave, in about the 300 block. Austin Army & Navy was our work boot place. We’d do our back to school shopping there too.

We always started school with several pairs of Levi’s, always Levi’s. We got them several inches long and a little large in the waist. They were so durable, momma knew they would shrink and we’d grow before we could wear them out. Of course I would always do something to tear the knees out of mine. But she keep a good supply of iron on patches around, to extend the life awhile.

In those days it wasn’t out of the ordinary for boys to show up with new jeans rolled up 4 inches or more. Momma would even starch and iron that fold in, to make it stay up better.

The rest of our back to school attire consisted of fresh white briefs and white tee shirts. No colors, just white. Jeans and white tee shirts were our uniform.

We rode the school bus to Jollyville on a Round Rock ISD bus. Our little school, Pond Springs School (grades 1-8) was a part of RRISD. But we were certainly treated like the stepchildren, of a resentful step momma. But at least they did let us ride the bus.

There was a big high schooler that rode the bus with us, Buddy Rainer. He would taunt us unmercifully. “Well I see the Lewis boys bought their britches too long again and are wearing their dancing pumps“. That all worked pretty well for him, until we each got big enough to tag team him. That’s about the time he probably got his drivers license and a car, so we didn’t have to endure him any longer.