From 1948: HPD officer steps in it for wearing boots on...

If you're going to wear boots around these parts, you better prove that you're entitled to wear them.

Houston police patrolman Reno Kirby found that out after a photo of him on the job appeared in the Sunday, April 18, 1948, Chronicle. In the photo he can be seen directing traffic while wearing cowboy boots, the only kind of shoes that would fit his size 14 1/2 AA feet.

"I'll wear the boots unless there is a protest -- and I hope that never happens," he said in that article.

The folks at the Madisonville Sidewalk Cattlemen's Association apparently read that day's Chronicle and didn't take too kindly to Kirby's wardrobe. The group dictates that a person can only wear boots if they own at least two head of cattle.

Sensing an infraction of the rules, the association called an emergency meeting and ordered Kirby to appear at its annual barbecue and provide evidence that he's actually allowed to wear boots.

"It's not that we don't think a policeman isn't a better policeman with cowboy boots on. It ought to improve his efficiency, especially in dodging cars, but we've our rules, recognized throughout the world, and will have to enforce them," the group wrote.

"I reckon I'll just have to go barefooted," Kirby later told the Chronicle. "I ain't got a cow to my name. Those pavements are sure going to be hot this summer, too."

(In case you didn't realize, tongues were being planted firmly in cheek here.)

The organization was founded in 1941 to poke fun at "sidewalk cattlemen," those who wear the boots without actually owning cattle. The term was coined by Madisonville Meteor editor Henry Fox after noticing a sizable number of such young men around the town square, according to the group's website.

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According to its rules, failure to show ownership of cattle results in a ceremonial dunking in the water trough on the Madison County Courthouse lawn.

Kirby, who took part in the Normandy invasion and received a Bronze Star for his military service, was about as much of a fixture at Main and Texas as the Rice Hotel. From 1946 to 1955 the 6-foot-4, 245-pound officer directed traffic at the intersection.

Over time though, gout would force Kirby to put the boots away and finally get some custom shoes.

Kirby retired from the department in 1978. He died in 2003.

These days, the Madisonville Sidewalk Cattlemen's Association is still going strong and providing scholarships for students in that community. Its annual celebration is set for 5:30 p.m. May 5.

J.R. Gonzales, a third-generation Houstonian, covers local history with an eye toward the people and events that have mostly been forgotten to time. Follow him through Bayou City History on Facebook and Twitter. He can be reached at 713-362-6163 or john.gonzales@chron.com.