Katzenmeyer’s: the story of the blue boot and the man behind it

VICKSBURG, Miss. (VDN) — If you’ve ever driven down Washington Street near downtown Vicksburg, you’ve probably seen the giant blue cowboy boot outside of Katzenmeyer’s and at least had a mild interest of what may lay inside the store if such a statement piece was on the outside. 

Well, if curiosity overcame and you gave in to your desire to step inside the store, you’d be pleasantly surprised to find antiques, collectibles, jewelry, furniture, toys, handguns, glassware and just about anything else you could imagine. But perhaps the most interesting and appealing aspect, as well as the heart and soul of the store, isn’t the items sold inside, but owner and founder, Hardy Katzenmeyer, himself. 

Katzenmeyer, a native of Vicksburg, was in his words “born and reared down on First East Street.” 

He held his first job a the Frank J. Fisher Funeral Home on Cherry Street. 

“It’s the oldest funeral home in the state of Mississippi, “ explained Katzenmeyer. “I worked there for Mrs. Fisher, my aunt for 16-years.”

Katzenmeyer had originally joined the Army National Guard while continuing to work at the funeral home. 

“I was just going 24/7 and not making much money,” he said. “So I thought, ‘Well, I’ll just join the Army.” 

Katzenmeyer joined the Army while the US was involved in the Vietnam War. He did two tours of duty in Vietnam. After that, he and his wife, Margaret, travelled all over the world while he was enlisted. They lived in Korea, the Netherlands, and Germany. Katzenmeyer even worked at the U.S. Pentagon. 

“I thought, ‘Well I’ll never go back to Vicksburg,’” he said.

When the couple retired, they moved to Natchez.

“We had all these goodies, ya know, up in the attic,” he explained.

Katzenmeyer said that his wife and he began going to little country auctions. 

“They were little country auctions. They were a lot of fun. Good people, good food, and we started selling that stuff. Man! It went crazy! I mean you know a sword we paid $10 for in Bangkok, we were getting $30-$40-$50-$100 for it. That got our attention,” he laughingly said.

The Katzenmeyer’s began their journey into retail, by purchasing a flea market in Natchez. They eventually sold it and purchased a small antique shop. According to Katzenmeyer, the shop did well competing against the larger stores because they were small and could keep their prices low and competitive.

But then the arrival of grandchildren changed everything. 

“When the grandkids came along,” said Katzenmeyer, “We decided to come on back to Vicksburg.”

When asked how many grandchildren he had, Katzenmeyer caught a smiling glint in his eye and started laughing, “Oh I’d need to count them!” Katzenmeyer showed obvious signs of pride in his grandkids as he listed the successes and locations of his children and grandchildren. 

Katzenmeyer said his shop on Washington Street is very successful even in the present economic slowdown. 

“This shop sees a lot of traffic. We are doing very well. Now, people are buying smaller things. Our inventory has changed over the years. If you’re going to stay in business, well, you better go with the flow,” said Katzenmeyer.

He explained inventory began as high end antique items in the price range of $5,000, but now the market is not for the higher end collectors items. He said some of the beautiful glassware displayed in the store sells for a third of what it would have a few years ago. 

“If you can buy it low and sell it low, you’ll be alright,” he said. 

Katzenmeyer said his most popular selling item is generally small furniture such as tables. 

“Sometimes people want exact measurement of tables and I used to make them for them, but I can’t do that anymore,” he said with a laugh. “Now we do have a warehouse outback. So if people come into the store and can’t find what they are looking for in here, we can take them out back to the warehouse.”

In addition to the antique portion of the business, Katzenmeyer’s also holds auctions and estate sales. 

“I consider the estate sales a service to the community,” he said. “I all the time see children who either are too upset or just can’t come and take care of their parents home or things. So we step in and take care of everything and most of the time can send those children a really big check.” 

Finally, the conversation shifted to the boot. 

This reporter said, “Okay, Mr. Katzenmeyer, you have to tell me about the boot.”

He laughed, rocked back in his chair and said, “Okay, now I’ll tell you about the boot.”

Katzenmeyer went on to tell the tale of the time American Picker’s star Mike Wolfe visited the store trying to disguise himself with a baseball hat and sunglasses. According to Katzenmeyer, when Wolfe approached him asking questions, Katzenmeyer said pointedly, “Now, you look like Mike Wolfe.” 

Seemingly knowing the gig was up, Wolfe removed the hat and glasses and admitted that he was. The two continued to enjoy a lengthy conversation before Wolfe’s departure to visit Vicksburg’s Civil War Museum.

But back to the boot. Wolfe owns an online auction site. One day, Katzenmeyer was perusing the auction and bid on the large blue cowboy boot. 

“I bid on it. Well, it was nationwide. I said ‘Well, that’s the end of that, I won’t ever get it,’” said Katzenmeyer. “Then one day we got a text that said, ‘Hey, you won the auction. Come up to Nashville to pick your boot up.’”

Katzenmeyer said when they first got the boot it was covered in the signatures of country music stars. He said over the years several people have wanted to purchase the boot, but he can’t sell it because it is such a good attraction for the store. 

From a modest start in Natchez, to a store in Vicksburg visited by not only Mississippians familiar with the blue cowboy boot, but by people from around the globe, Katzenmeyer’s is a staple in the community. 

Katzenmeyer values his repeat customers, and said their continued support is what has kept his store open for so many years. 

Katzenmeyer’s is located at 3508 Washington Street. The store is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. and on Saturdays from 11 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. There store website can be found here.