Authenticity Pt. 1
3rd April, 2023The Service Boot® is the foundation of our collection and was created by Edwin Viberg, over 90 years ago in 1931, to meet the needs of farm and prairie labourers in his native Saskatchewan.
(Viberg workshop circa 1933. Edwin Viberg shown to the right, with his employees at his left. Shown above is our Service Boot®.)
The modern naming of our classic 5" ankle boot came from the idea of providing "Service".
adjective.
1: of relating to the armed services
2: used in serving or supplying
3: intended for hard or everyday use
The original Viberg Service Boot was introduced at the beginning of the Great Depression, in response to the need by Canadian farmers for a purpose-built boot suitable for heavy agricultural work that was durable and well-built that it could be "bought once" and last forever.
To achieve this goal, Edwin built the original Service Boot using "Nail-Down" construction, which we still use to this day in our heavy industrial products.
During the late 1960s / early 1970s, Edwin adapted the nailed-down Service Boot® by offering a Channelled Insole Goodyear Welt version that allowed the product to be worn more formally rather than for only work. Due to the success of the heavy industrial products being made at the time the Service Boot model was discontinued.
