I only learned today by rooting through the Web that the boots the Amish people here want me to buy are the first and only boots the Amish have worn since coming to American in the late 1800s. Moise never mentioned it.

Moise’s great grandfather wore these boots, so did his grandfather and father. So, I can assure you, will his sons and their children.

By 9 a.m., I had three lists of boots to get for the Miller family and two other Amish families in this area.

I brought Barbara her size 7, the first boot she has ever owned (she wants to start going outside in the winter). She rushed into the kitchen to try them on, and it was a joy seeing her so happy. They fit perfectly.

She always wanted one, and I assured her she would be happy to have them in January and February.

One of the families seeking boots belongs to his brother-in-law Jacob, whose wife Addie gave me a list of their children who need one. The checks all mark a successful search and purchase. Their list is shown above, and the boots are on the way.

I had an extra pair of size nine books in my car – I have a bunch of rejected and wrong-fitting boots stacked up in my car like a traveling salesperson – and Addie put them on, and they fit perfectly. One of their sons already has a boot I gave him last week.

They have nine children. I’m getting five or six boots for a family that lives farther North, but I don’t know much about them, other than the sizes of the boots they want.

Tomorrow, Little Sarah, Moise, and  Barbara’s last child get her boot in size 4.  She is only seven, but her boot has a hole in it the size of a grapefruit. She’s excited. And she is always on the run.

When I pull up, the whole family (and Tina) come rushing out to greet me, shouting “Jon Katz, Jon Katz,” and to say good morning, ask about my foot,  thumb wrestle me,  and ask when the other boots are coming. I’m very popular at the moment. Maria said she understood why  I love to visit.

I find I’m becoming an expert on boots and size. I call tell from looking if a boot will fit or if it is too big or small. I’m not sure this is a skill I can ever use again. But it’s neat to learn about it.

The Amish are more excited about these boots than just about anything else I’ve seen them get excited about. I realize that boots have special meaning to people who work outdoors every day in every kind of weather – hot or cold, snow or rain, mud and ice, and manure. Today  I learned why they have much more significance than that.

Nobody had told me these boots date back to the Amish arrival in America; I learned it online but hearing this helped me understand the spiritual and religious meaning behind getting them. The Amish give very little away.

These boots mean a lot more than boots usually mean. That’s why it’s so hard for them to give them up and why they are so picky about replacing them.

I’m also discovering that “plain” people who have no Internet or cell phones can spread the word quickly when they want to. I guess it’s by the buggy-news network.

This morning, I cleared some time and spent a few hours searching for the boots I needed. The families have offered me money in advance, and I’ll bring the receipts for the others and get paid for them when they come.

It was an intense search; I had to wade through a dozen different websites – most of them feed and farm stores I never heard of – to get the boots in the style and sizes requested.

I have to say, high-class websites have come to the heartland. The sites were almost all easy to navigate and purchase on. Things have changed.

There isn’t a business in the world that would give anything for the Amish’s loyalty to this boot company. Absolutely nothing else will do, and if the company were to go under, they’d probably wear their boots until they fell off their feet. They’ve already done that.

I had the task of finding boots for small children as well as hard-working farmers and carpenters. And very few companies make lightweight all-black knee boots in size 4, 5, or 6. That was the hard part.

In Amish families, the little ones work as hard as the older ones. They need sturdy boots too.

I’m not allowed to get the furry ones that stay warm in winter. Or any with any kind of color or decoration. Everybody suffers alike, no exceptions. (Didn’t Jesus suffer on the cross?)

I hope the ones I got are the ones they want. They will be subject to intense scrutiny, and they must look just right.

Even the Mother company didn’t have boots in stock in these smaller sizes. But some of the smaller feed stores did. But it took a lot of store-hopping.

To my surprise, I found some on Wal-Mart and the others at farm and feed stores scattered through the Midwest, where most Amish live.

It was great fun for me; every time I found one, I checked off the list. And the history of the boots was worth it all.

I’m preparing a list of stores and sizes to leave with the family, so if I did or when I’m gone (which is probably about the time they’ll want another pair for everybody), they can guide another  Boot Man down the road.

All told, I’ve got to get about 19-20 boots, and each one must look exactly like the other. I also found in only one store a specially made farmer boot by the same company, which was and is considered the best farm boot ever made. It even has a rare and unique logo at the top.

Moise has often talked about this boot in reverential terms – he only had one once – and he even saved the logo and markings torn from an old magazine.

He doesn’t imagine the boot still exists and didn’t ask for it, but I could see how much he wanted one, so I’m getting it, and he can still return the boot I gave him as a gift, which started all of this. I’ll let him pay back the difference in money, food, and necklaces for the Bishop Maginn teachers and female students; the boys want the bracelets.

It will be a wonderful gift for Moise, especially now that  I know his father and grandfather wore this special boot.

I’m pretty sure I have all the boot requests I’m going to get, probably for the rest of my life. I’m good at sniffing around online, and I was proud of myself today. I can hardly wait to see what winter might bring to our little neighborhood.

I guess that every Amish foot that wants a boot will be standing in one within the next 10-15 days.

“I used to be a writer,” I lamented to Moise and Barbara this morning, “now I’m a boots buyer.”  They both laughed so hard Moise ended up slapping his hand on the knee of his pants. Was it that funny?

I’m mulling how I’m going to give these new boots to Moise. He doesn’t like surprises, especially if he doesn’t get the chance to bargain.

It’s good to know the Amish can’t get mad; they have to forgive and believe in non-resistance.