Bootmaker
Slavko Drazic (Shane O’Neil)
Slavko Drazic, who also goes by the adopted name Shane O'Neil, came to the United States from Yugoslavia in 1974 and settled in Rankin, Texas. He learned bootmaking in his spare time while working as a cowboy under C. W. Cannon of Dickens, and by 2002 was known for boots built for hard-to-fit feet. He was teaching the trade to his teenage son, Shawn, who had already made his own first pair.
Related: C. W. “Tooter” Cannon
History
Slavko Drazic ran a bootmaking shop on Texas Highway 329 in Rankin, Texas. Texas Monthly's June 2002 bootmaker roundup says he emigrated from Yugoslavia in 1974 and took the name Shane O'Neil from the family that adopted him.
He learned bootmaking in his spare time while working as a cowboy under C. W. Cannon of Dickens, Texas. By 2002 he was teaching the trade to his own son, Shawn, then thirteen, who had already made his own pair the year before. The shop specialized in boots for hard-to-fit feet, with prices starting at $750 and turnaround running from a few months to a year. Customers were described as ranchers and cowboys.
Known for
Boots for hard-to-fit feet; learned under C. W. Cannon