community
december6
2018
13
The West Coast Shoe Company Story continued from page 8
percentage of our production like it used we were heavy into work boots but we comfortable fit. Customers can choose
to,” says Roberta Shoemaker. “But it were starting to do other things,” says which style of toe they want for their
is still an important part of us, because Chris Warren, who used to work on the boots, and dress shoes have several op-
it goes all the way back to our roots factory floor but is now the Sales Man- tions for toe caps. Customers can make
and our history. So many people come ager. “The transition to other styles and many personal choices in their design –
here to our showroom and say, ‘My models needed to happen. We use a lot the color and type of leather and liners;
grandfather used to wear your boots of designs that are derived from our the color and style of thread stitching;
in the woods.’ So there’s generations old catalogs. I don’t think we needed the style of straps, buckles, rings, hooks
of that history. It’s not just a boot that to reinvent the wheel for Wesco, but we and eyelets; the style of laces, and even
we made and there’s nothing more to it. needed to do something to evolve to a the type of sole. Extra midsoles can be
There’s family history to it. So they’ll bigger marketplace and bigger clien- added, as can heel lifts, safety toes and
always be important to us.”
tele.”
linings, and extra straps. You can even
Other well known Wesco work
A tour of the factory allows a have them add on a pocket for a phone,
boots are still in regular production. The visitor to see the entire production pro-
Jobmaster, Packer, and the classic Ro- cess. From the rolls of different grades
meo are versatile work boots and shoes of leather, each hand inspected and mea-
designed for everyday use both outdoors sured for appropriate thickness, to the
and indoors. The Volt Foe, Highliner, and numerous stations where craftspeople
Firestormer are specialty boots for elec- cut, sew, and attach the various leather
trical workers, climbers, and firefight- pieces, to the bottom soles being nailed
ers. Law enforcement agencies around on by hand, to the stock storeroom
the West purchase the Motorcycle Patrol where the final product sits, it’s a labor
model for their officers.
intensive and skilled operation.
Their boots are made for both
One of the most unique aspects
men and women says Bruce Shoemaker, of Wesco’s product lines is the oppor-
a great grandson of John Henry. “Peo- tunity to customize a purchase; custom
ple think of our work products as a guy’s orders make up about 55% of all sales,
boot, but so many women are taking says Sales Manager Warren. Customers
nontraditional jobs now and they de- trace and measure their feet and legs in-
serve to have the same quality tools to dividually so the bootmakers can hand
wear as anybody else.” Bruce Shoe- cut the leather to the exact size and build
maker joined the family business a few the boot from the sole up for an exact and
years ago to help prepare for
the 100 th anniversary cel-
knife, or credit card.
ebration after running his
Of course, all those
own market research com-
custom options do come with
pany.
a price, and their boots and
As mentioned earli-
shoes are not inexpensive to
er, Wesco doesn’t just make
start with. Wesco likes to think
work boots. Motorcycle and
of their boots as an investment,
horse enthusiasts love their
one you will wear and use for
Boss, Morrison, and Har-
many years, maybe even de-
ness model boots. The JH
cades. “We sell to that five to
Classics, Hendrik, and the
ten percent of people that re-
Robert William are oxford
alize the difference and buy
dress shoes for men with
quality things because they
the same toughness and in-
last a long time and they get
tegrity of their boots; the JH
their money’s worth from it,”
Classics is named after com-
says Bruce Shoemaker. And of
pany founder John Henry. A
course those work boots that get
line of signature boots that
used and abused day in and day
includes the Fraze, Pheonix,
out can always be rebuilt. “We
Black Widow, and Athena
have guys come in that have
add some savvy feminine
been wearing the same pair of
style to Wesco’s collection.
boots for 10 and 20 years, they
Wesco boots and
just keep sending them back and
shoes have a worldwide fol-
having them rebuilt. They keep
lowing and have become
them oiled and don’t let them
particularly popular in plac-
dry out. The leather will last a
es like Japan, China, Hong
long time if you maintain it.”
New
pairs
of
boots
and
shoes
waiting
for
the
next
step
Kong, and in parts of Eu-
An American owned
in the shoemaking process.
rope. “When I started here
manufacturing business that has
VNC
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Above: Craftspeople at the Wesco
factory in Scappoose build boots
and shoes, cutting leather by hand
and hand nailing the soles.
Left: Wesco makes more than just work
boots for loggers, climbers, and electrical
workers; horse and motorcycle
enthusiasts are also loyal customers.
remained family owned is a bit of an
anomaly these days. But the West Coast
Shoe Company and the Shoemaker fam-
ily seem to have hit on the right recipe.
“The thing about Wesco Shoes is
that they’ve been great community part-
ners throughout the years, but they’re
kind of quiet and in the background,”
says County Commissioner Heimuller.
“Until this year during their 100 th anni-
versary celebration, I would guess that
over fifty percent of the people who live
in Scappoose had never heard of Wesco
Shoes.”
“In logging communities like
Vernonia they were well known be-
cause their product lasts forever and
were a high quality safety boot,” adds
Heimuller. “And they’ve done a great
job marketing a high-end product to the
world. But they’ve done all that with-
out having lost their true DNA, which
is building a damn good shoe in Scap-
poose, Oregon.”
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