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Farrier, boot doctor keeping crafts alive
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Former cowboy Matt Felke jokes that he shoes people by day and horses by night. Great Bends Boot Doctor five years ago purchased the shoe repair business he and his father used since he was a boy. - photo by Veronica Coons
The smell of leather, glue, and polish and the sound of a quiet fan oscillating in the back of the store greet customers as they enter The Boot Doctor, the shoe repair shop of Matt Felke, a long time cowboy turned cobbler. Felke, as it turns out, is drawn to hands-on crafts that are fading into the past. Not only does he know his leather work, he’s an experienced farrier, having shod horses with his father from an early age.