One nice thing about where I work, I get free access to one of the weekly “for-pay” outdoor industry newsletters. I just got this weeks issue and read a really cool story about Hi-Tec Footwear having bought Falcon Shoe Manufacturing Company of Lewiston, Maine (which, at one time, used to make boots for Timberland). Here’s the press release and a little-more flushed out story from a police website.

While it’s certainly a great heart-warming story about saving the jobs of 26 people and the promise of increasing the workforce in the run-down town of my alma mater, the main reason of the purchase is for Hi-Tec to try to snag the lucrative “Made in USA” boot contracts for the military and law enforcement. While I really have no opinion on Hi-Tec’s products, I hope this turns out well for them and the people of Lewiston.