Don Armes
For Southwest Ledger
When the Facebook post hit social media right before Thanksgiving that Crutcher’s Western Wear would be having a huge retirement sale, it took a bit for most of us to process what was about to happen.
Bob Crutcher started his Western wear business in Duncan in 1977. His wife’s maiden name was Hicks and together they had Hicks Crutcher’s Department Store in Chickasha prior to his first foray into supplying the fashion needs of those living the Western lifestyle. Bob was a pure entrepreneur and answered the demand for that population almost half a century ago.
He wasn’t the only one filling the demand for quality Western wear. In fact, this idea of a look back into western wear history in southwest Oklahoma led me to an all but forgotten business in Lawton that started in 1947: Moore Hat Company.
We had plenty of cowboys in our area back then, and hopefully this deep dive will bring back a lot of good memories for many of you, just as it has for me.
I worked at two different Western stores through high school and college. So, I guess, I sort of lived part of this history. This is going to take a few minutes, so put your phone down, mute the TV, and walk with me as I introduce you to a few of the ghosts of this cowboy’s past.
Crutcher’s is the last of a long line of Western stores, and has held on longer than any of the others. Had it not been for his daughter and son-in-law Tammy and Geary Tibbetts, as well as his skill as a talent scout, Crutcher’s might have ridden off into the sunset years ago.
Bob hired Mary Crow in 1981 as he made the purchase of Red Barn Western Wear which was located on the corner of Sheridan Road and Lee Boulevard in Lawton. Mary was the best thing to ever happen to Western wear in the history of Lawton. Her husband Richard, a Lawton Ranger, raised cutting horses down on Baseline Road.
Since Mary’s boys were cowboys, she knew the products from living in that world. She helped Bob and Geary make the transition to the Central Mall not long after the acquisition. Bob often quipped that he worked for Mary. Mrs. Crow started at Western Showcase even before Red Barn. She was the unequivocal ‘Queen of Western Wear’ and outfitted multiple generations of us in just the right duds. When Bob retired in 1994, the Tibbetses and Mary moved to the old C. R. Anthony building where Crutcher’s has remained for the past 19 years.
Now, I mentioned Moore Hat Company. I remember my old buddy Harvey Cox and I went down and bought hats sometime in the mid to late ‘70s. I did a quick search just for fun, and conjured up an article from Western Horseman Magazine dated 1954 titled, “Western Hats – Pride of the Cow Country.”
Moore Hat Company, whose slogan was “Home of the Bulldogger,” was at that time nationally known for quality hats. The ‘Bulldogger’ was a patented style. In the article, the author spoke about Moore Hat Company in her opening, and later, mentioned Resistol and Bailey, which was pretty significant back in those days, as Western Horseman was a national publication and gained the manufacturer prominence across the country. Moore Hat Company was not the only nationally known supplier of cowboy gear in town.
Let’s not forget the late Howard Council, saddle maker to the stars. Council Saddle Shop was over on south Second Street. Many of us remember the horse statue above the door.
Howard produced handmade saddles for many nationally known world champion calf ropers, such as the great Roy Cooper. Not only rodeo stars, but even a few wannabe ropers like George Strait.
Some of us remember when George performed at the Country Convention Center out by Lake Lawtonka in about 1980. But what many folks don’t know was that ol’ King George returned to Lawton many times to pick up saddles at Council Saddle Shop. Some of Howard’s tools are on display at the Museum of the Great Plains.
While we’re on Georges, we can’t forget George Forducey and Four Deuces Western Wear. Mr. Forducey came from Hollis in 1955. His original shop was at 313 C Ave. His niche was boot and saddle repair. When Four Deuces moved to the Cache Road location, George added Western wear to become a major player in Lawton’s Western wear game. He moved the boot repair shop to the back of his Western wear store. His son Dale took over as George became older, then grandson Mark operated from that location later. When Four Deuces closed in 1985, Mark continued to repair boots. He is the only Forducey left in our general area.
As I stated earlier, I had the privilege of living part of Lawton’s Western wear history. My first stint was for Willoughby’s Western Wear. Jim Willoughby, a former banker, and his late wife Rita purchased what was then, Lawton Boot and Western Store around 1978. His daughter Christy was around 3 or 4 years old at the time. Now she was as helpful as she could be from memory but, unfortunately Jim couldn’t help us with dates. I told Christy, “Don’t worry. I will fill in the blanks from my own memories.”
Jim was a stickler for quality. He taught me how to properly fit a boot and shape a hat just right. There is an art to both of those, and a skill that I’ve been proud to have throughout my life. Willoughby’s closed its Lee Boulevard location in around 1988. They were right across from Beavers Animal Hospital. It was hat-shaping skill that Jim taught me that took me to my next stop on my short Western wear journey: Windmill Western Wear.
Located at the corner of Third and C Avenue in Lawton, Windmill was a little different from some of the others; it was a very high-end store, as they carried Mercedes boots, high-quality Pima cotton Western shirts and plenty of good quality felt hats.
Windmill was owned by Ken Holloway and Mattie Kinder from about 1980 to 1985. Mattie’s late husband is the well-known, successful farmer/rancher Billy Roy Kinder. Ken Holloway of Coyote Hills Ranch was nationally known as a purebred cattle sales manager and had contacts all over the country.
Mr. Kinder was known for saying, “I don’t want to own all the land in the world, just everything that joins me.” Many times, some big shot like a purebred cattle breeder from South Dakota or big rodeo stars like world champion team ropers, the Camarillo Brothers would stop by for custom orders.
Ken and Mattie were what we call “real deal” cattle people. Mattie was an amazing decorator who could take a deer antler and a piece of rusty barbed wire to display a pair of very high-end Mercedes boots like nothing I had ever seen, and the store always smelled of spice. This old raw-boned country kid was in awe to say the least.
Mattie still lives on the Circle K Ranch near Frederick. Sadly, we lost Ken about a year ago.
It's sad for many of us to watch the demise of the Western wear industry in southwestern Oklahoma and to points beyond. It isn’t that we lack farmers and cowboys or horsemen, we just shop differently than we did then. Or do we?
Knowing quality and identifying craftsmanship that I learned from Jim Willoughby, Mattie Kinder and Ken Holloway, I contend that I will never buy a hat that I can’t hold in my hand first. And I have a hard-to-fit foot, so a pair of boots won’t ever show up at my house in an Amazon box. There is too much variation in quality today, and an X doesn’t mean what it did years ago, but that’s a whole different story.
What we lose with evolution is that personal touch, that smell of new boot leather, and a salesperson who knows what a good fit really is. It’s been coming gradually. It’s not a new dynamic, just sort of a melancholy feeling to watch Lawton’s last truly family-owned Western wear store fade into the sunset.
In addition to being an auctioneer and lifelong ag producer in southwest Oklahoma, Don Armes is a former ag teacher and ag broadcaster and has served as state Representative for Oklahoma House District 63 from 2002 to 2014.