# The Village Cobbler



## Meanderer

The Village Cobbler is Open!


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## Meanderer




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## Meanderer




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## Meanderer




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## Meanderer




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## Aunt Bea




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## NancyNGA

_Do you make house calls?_


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## Aunt Bea




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## Aunt Bea




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## Meanderer




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## Aunt Bea




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## hollydolly

My Grandfather was a cobbler all his life  with his own shop...and my father learned the trade at a very young age although it's not the career path he took ...but all our shoes were repaired at home..


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## needshave

We had a shoe cobbler in our town. He just recently passed, he was 92. I used him often, sometimes just for shoe lashes but he was such an interest to talk to. He said his building and business had not changed since he inherited the business when he was 23. It was a beautiful old brick with well worn interior woodwork but always repaired and up kept. The business and building have now been passed to his grandson that trained under the master for many years part-time. He does it full time, and the city sponsors his business and its history at every opportunity. It seems like a win, win. I hope they do well, but I fear it will be difficult.


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## Meanderer

Tommy Makem - The Cobbler


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## Meanderer

*Viking hand made shoes*


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## hollydolly




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## Aunt Bea




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## Meanderer

Peter Brocklehurst The Singing Cobbler


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## Keesha




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## Meanderer

Female cobbler from Greenfield stands toe to toe with male counterparts


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## Meanderer

_*The Cobbler....The Last Man Standing!*_


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## Meanderer




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## Meanderer

Animated Short "The Small Shoemaker" - by La Petite Cordonnier Team


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## Meanderer

Fixing Mother's Shoes


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## NancyNGA

You can always count on Norman Rockwell for a good image, or two, on most any subject.

"Cobbler and Holey Shoe," Saturday Evening Post Cover, January 30, 1926






[SIZE=+1]The Cobbler  (studying a doll's shoe)[/SIZE]


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## NancyNGA

There is at least one shoe repair service in town here---Marvin’s Shoe Service.

_"Marvin Eberhart started the shoe shop in 1977, and his son Frank started working there at age 15. Marvin passed away on December 14, 2004 and left the business to his sons Frank and Ric."_







They still use an old Singer machine for some repairs. 






Wonder how they keep the shoes straight? layful:


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## Meanderer

NancyNGA said:


> There is at least one shoe repair service in town here---Marvin’s Shoe Service.
> 
> _"Marvin Eberhart started the shoe shop in 1977, and his son Frank started working there at age 15. Marvin passed away on December 14, 2004 and left the business to his sons Frank and Ric."_
> 
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> 
> They still use an old Singer machine for some repairs.
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> 
> Wonder how they keep the shoes straight? layful:



Great pictures, Nancy did you go in and take them?


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## NancyNGA

Meanderer said:


> Great pictures, Nancy did you go in and take them?


No.  They were on the shop's website. There was an older repair shop in town that I have been to, but it has either moved or closed. Seems it's mainly men who get their shoes repaired.


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## RadishRose




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## NancyNGA

RadishRose said:


> View attachment 51993



Rose, I remember that brand of boot polish.  We had cans and cans of that at home when I was a kid---brown and black.  Tried to avoid getting near that stuff.  If you got it on your fingers it stayed until the skin wore off. lol


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## Meanderer

How to polish your shoes (KIWI)  DUH!


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## Meanderer

Made in the 1930s, this silent German educational film shows how shoes are made from scratch by a shoemaker.  Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand. 

1930s FILM SHOEMAKER MAKES SHOES BY HAND GERMAN EDUCATIONAL MOVIE 75222


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## NancyNGA

Cool video!  I may have to learn how to do that.  They don't make narrow shoes anymore.  They *claim* they are narrow, but they aren't.


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## RadishRose

LOL Nancy yep! on the Boot Polish. it never came off.


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## RadishRose




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## Meanderer

RadishRose said:


> View attachment 52109



Where do I begin?


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## RadishRose

Think he has a shoe fetish? layful:


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## Meanderer




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## NancyNGA

_"C.H. Hyer learned the art of boot making from his father William, who immigrated to Illinois from Hanover, Germany in 1850.  Hyer moved to Leavenworth, Kansas, for a railroad job. In 1872, after his railroad job ended, he taught leather working at the Kansas State School for the Deaf in Olathe, Kansas. _ _Hyer began making shoes out of his home to supplement his income in 1875 and later opened a small boot shop in Olathe, Kansas. "_






_One of Hyer’s contributions to the boot trade was his measuring system that allowed customers from all over the country to mail order their boots." 

__Work order for Will Rogers’ boots, 1932. The cost for two pair was $26.50. __
_



_
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_https://olatheboots.com/about-us/heritage-since-1875


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## Meanderer

FINISTRE BRITTANY BRETAGNE: The village cobbler, 1905


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## StarSong

Thanks for a delightful thread and some smile provoking images.  

I've used shoe repair shops over the years, but not lately.  Since I'm semi-retired (I do consulting work out of my home), most days you'll find me in sneakers, flip flops or sandals.  Living in ultra casual sunny Southern California means my dressier shoes fall out of fashion long before they wear out.


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## Meanderer

The Making of Wooden Shoes

Mr. Beekhuiszen from Eemnes in The Netherlands. He is the champion wooden shoes maker in Holland. This hand craft can't done on an commercial way and is therefore slowly dying out.


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## RadishRose

Why do they call them "Cobblers" and does it have anything to do with cobble stoned streets?


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## Meanderer

RadishRose said:


> Why do they call them "Cobblers" and does it have anything to do with cobble stoned streets?



 A cobble is a stone. 

My guess is that they mended streets by cobbling them together using new stones. These streets wore out the shoes........repeat

"Cobbler. Cobblers are people who make and mend shoes and boots by replacing worn soles and heels by either sewing or gluing on the new pieces. ... They cement, nail or sew soles and heels to shoes, and shape shoe heels with a knife, sanding them on a buffing wheel for smoothness".


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## Aunt Bea

I found this explanation.

From the word cobble verb transitive [late 15th century, a back-formation form ‘cobbler’] 1. verb transitive and intransitive. Mend (especially shoes); mend roughly or clumsily; patch (up). 2. verb transitive [late 16th century] Put together roughly or clumsily.

and I learned a new word.

Cordwainer, A cordwainer is a shoemaker who makes new shoes from new leather. 

The cordwainer's trade can be contrasted with the cobbler's trade, according to a tradition in Britain that restricted cobblers to repairing shoes.

I love the internet, LOL!!!


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## Meanderer

Welcome to the Worshipful Company of Cordwainers

One of the oldest livery companies in the City of London


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## Meanderer

"A statue of a cordwainer can be found in Watling Street at the Queen Victoria Street end, beside the wall of St. Mary Aldermary Church. A cordwainer is basically a shoemaker. The word derived from the Spanish town of Córdoba in Andalusia where high quality leather was produced. It was originally made from the skin of Musoli goats which was tawed with alum after a secret method only known to the Moors. The Crusaders brought the fine leather back to England and it became the material of choice for the best quality footwear".


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## StarSong

So the shoemaker's elves were actually a helpful group of cordwainers?  Who knew?  Thanks for the lesson. Aunt Bea.  I love the Internet, too!


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## Meanderer

Petula Clark - The Little Shoemaker ( 1954 )


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## NancyNGA

The Smallest Shop In London (Circa 1900)
_"Measuring in at 13 square feet, this London shoe shop serves as a symbol of the capitalistic fervor at the dawn of the 20th century."_


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## Aunt Bea




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## Meanderer

Sherlock Holmes "The Case of the Untrackable Shoes"


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## Keesha

Aunt Bea said:


>





Meanderer said:


> Sherlock Holmes "The Case of the Untrackable Shoes"


 Very cool !


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## Aunt Bea

1938 Drive-In Shoe Repair, Hollywood Ca.


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## Meanderer

March 01,1949


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## Meanderer

Vintage 1940's Manoil Old Man Fixing Shoe - Cobbler Figure - Lead Hand Painted Toy Figure


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## Meanderer

Sarah Sitting in a Shoe Shine Shop - Pearl Trio


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## Meanderer

Don't pass up the chance to tell your friends that you've had your shoes Shanghaied in Shanghai!nthego:  
(Street cobbler in Shanghai, China, in 2003)


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## Pappy




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## Meanderer

Really Big Shew....


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## Meanderer

Dave Shoe Repair in Farmington, CT - Highest Quality Craftsmanship


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## Meanderer

Duffy the Singing Cobbler  (VIDEO)


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## Meanderer

A Texas tradition: Cowboy bootmaker


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## Pappy




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## RadishRose




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## Meanderer




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## Pappy




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## Meanderer

The Victorian Cobblers Shop Blists Hill UK


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## Pinky

My older sister's friend's father was the only cobbler in the small town we grew up in. He was very successful, and the kids never wanted for anything. They were the first to have a t.v. set, and a house with indoor plumbing (we had a wood stove, outhouse, and got water from a well).
The old shoemaker shop apparently still stands (he passed in his 90's, I believe). One of his sons lives above the shop.


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## fuzzybuddy

I barely remember the last shoe repair shop in my Massachusetts town. It had this ancient musty smell, mixed  with wiffs of  glue.  Stuff was piled up all over the place. and shoes, shoes and more shoes.  There were these tiny tickets on everything. The owner was very old-had to be in his late 80s.


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## Pepper

I have two or three shoe repairs within a few streets from each other.  They are all run by Russians or Eastern Europeans who took their crafts with them when they re-settled.


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## Meanderer




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## Meanderer




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## RadishRose

Meanderer said:


> Dave Shoe Repair in Farmington, CT - Highest Quality Craftsmanship


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## Meanderer

Click the link below to hear  Get Rhythm - Johnny Cash Tribute - Terry Lee Goffee
https://www.seniorforums.com/threads/cash-only-please.30639/page-10


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## CinnamonSugar

Just had a pair of brown loafers fixed at the cobbler this week... first time in-- oh, too long to remember!  The distinctive smell of a shoe repair shop takes me right back to childhood.


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## treeguy64

I really like the atmosphere of old shoe repair shops. Brings back faded memories of my very young childhood. The one I go to gives my Spanish a nice workout.


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## Meanderer

treeguy64 said:


> I really like the atmosphere of old shoe repair shops. Brings back faded memories of my very young childhood. The one I go to gives my Spanish a nice workout.



Spanish Shoemaker Cobbler recipe


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## Meanderer

The proprietor of Dom's Shoe Repair in South Philly is a charismatic character who cares deeply about the neighborhood he serves. 

Dom the South Philly Cobbler


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## Meanderer

The game is afoot!


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## Meanderer

Riverhead cobbler is the last of his kind on the North Fork


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## Meanderer

"Thank you.....you can pick them up on Wednesday"!


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## Em in Ohio

My funny feet have trouble finding comfortable shoes, so I have cobbler envy!  One of my life goals was to make shoes out of the lost treads from tires seen along the freeway.  Sadly, I never achieved this.  I'm a DIY cobbler - some of my shoes are over 40 years old!


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## Meanderer

Em in Ohio said:


> My funny feet have trouble finding comfortable shoes, so I have cobbler envy!  One of my life goals was to make shoes out of the lost treads from tires seen along the freeway.  Sadly, I never achieved this.  I'm a DIY cobbler - some of my shoes are over 40 years old!


How to make sandals from an old tyre


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## Em in Ohio

Meanderer said:


> How to make sandals from an old tyre


Thanks, Meanderer!  This really brightened the start of my day!


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## Meanderer

Shoe Repair in Fulton, Mississippi 1920 ("Dried prunes for relief" carton)


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## Meanderer

*Re-acquainted With That Wonderful Goo:*

I found myself remembering a great product they had back in the 80’s and 90’s called Shoe Goo. I remember using it with great results back then. This led me to do an internet search, and sure enough, the product still exists today. How can I describe it – it’s basically like model builders glue but a tad thicker, and is more flexible when it dries. You put it on your shoes, filling in the holes and ripped areas, and any other areas you want to rebuild or protect, then leave it to dry for about 24 hours. It dries to a very hard rubbery consistency that is solid enough to stand up to some serious grip tape punishment. One application lasted a couple of weeks as opposed to the duct tape every few days. A 1oz. tube lasts for about 3.5 applications – so do the math and you end up with a few more months on those ripped up Airwalks. It certainly isn’t pretty – in fact it’s downright ugly, but it works great! Here’s a shot of my shoes with a fresh application.


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## Meanderer

(Not sure what year this was written)
_Quaker Shoe Repair owner James Spinelli will lay down his tools for the first time in 84 years September 1._






*By Matt Skoufalos*

"It’s only as Haddonfield cobbler James Spinelli approaches his 100th birthday that he’s acknowledging the possibility of taking a break from his life’s work."

_“Soon to be 95 years of age, time to retire,” _reads a handwritten sign in the window of Quaker Shoe Repair, the Tanner Street business that’s been his home and workplace for decades.




_“84 years of shoe service + 74 years of being in business,” _it continues._“Thank you, James David Spinelli.”_

*‘Mother and Dad didn’t have much of anything’*
"Work has been a part of Spinelli’s life since the age of 11, when he was a Depression-Era kid growing up in Camden City. On the way home from a basketball game at the YMCA, he and a few friends passed by a shoe shop on Broadway and were offered jobs.  His wages were $1.50 per week, but as Spinelli recalls, “a penny and a nickel was a big deal to me because Mother and Dad didn’t have much of anything.”

_"When he was 14, Spinelli said the owner told him he’d “messed up a pair of shoes” and owed the shop $22 for his error. The only thing he could think to do was leave town. “Mother didn’t have that kind of money,” he said. “I was running away from home with thirty-two cents in my pocket.”_

"Spinelli headed over the Ben Franklin Bridge to what he thought was the end of the road, and spotted a shoe shop at Market and 69th Street. The manager there told him, “Go back to school,” but on his way out the door, another cobbler directed Spinelli to the nearby Quaker Shoe Repair."


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## Meanderer




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## Ken N Tx




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## Meanderer

Shoeshine in his veins: the USC Village Cobbler


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## Meanderer

*Sherlock Holmes The Devils Daughter How to Shoe Shine *


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## 911

I didn't read all of the posts, but I bet someone already wrote about the following. Being a shoe cobbler is a lost art and a thing of the past. No one replaces soles or heels anymore. I knew an old Greek shoe cobbler that I would stop in at his shop just to watch him work. He did it all by hand, except he did have a trimmer for the new soles he put on. I liked watching him put a handful of nails into his mouth and then brig them out to his lips one at a time as he nailed the new heels on. This guy was amazing. 

He always wanted to shine my shoes the old fashioned way. I would sit up on his chair which was on something like a platform and he would never use a rag to put the polish on. He did it by hand. After brushing my shoes, he would buff it out and then 'snap' the cloth. They really shined and almost looked like patent leather when he was finished or like glass. He only charged $2.00, but wouldn't take a dime from me. At Christmas time, I would stop by and give him a big basket of assorted chocolates. He once told me that his family loved Swiss chocolates, so I bought him a gift box from some Swiss chocolatier out of my wife's one magazine.


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## Meanderer

Christos Is a Cobbler


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## Meanderer




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## Meanderer

Shoe Repair by Mail - 100 Years of Craftsmanship from MYSHOEHOSPITAL.com


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## Meanderer

Kay,s SHOE REPAIR


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## Gary O'

Meanderer said:


> *Re-acquainted With That Wonderful Goo:*
> 
> I found myself remembering a great product they had back in the 80’s and 90’s called Shoe Goo. I remember using it with great results back then. This led me to do an internet search, and sure enough, the product still exists today. How can I describe it – it’s basically like model builders glue but a tad thicker, and is more flexible when it dries. You put it on your shoes, filling in the holes and ripped areas, and any other areas you want to rebuild or protect, then leave it to dry for about 24 hours. It dries to a very hard rubbery consistency that is solid enough to stand up to some serious grip tape punishment. One application lasted a couple of weeks as opposed to the duct tape every few days. A 1oz. tube lasts for about 3.5 applications – so do the math and you end up with a few more months on those ripped up Airwalks. It certainly isn’t pretty – in fact it’s downright ugly, but it works great! Here’s a shot of my shoes with a fresh application.


Not sure how I missed this thread......or should I say *tread*.......

Anyhoo, I'm a dedicated disciple of *Shoo Goo*

Saved many a sole with it

My last rites, after many many years, and more than a few tubes of goo, for my mountain trods;





shame too, tread still had many hikes left



jus' no place to put the goo anymore


Basically, the uppers remained intact on some

so

The transformation to sandals was natch
(pardon the deformed big toe....no goo for that'n)


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## StarSong

Earlier this year the zipper broke on my favorite purse.  The local shoe repair shop owner fixed it and I had it back in less than a week.


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## Gary O'

StarSong said:


> The local shoe repair shop


Sadly, they're getting a bit rare

But, there's usually at least one in every town

Heh, China still can't replace great craftsmanship


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## Aunt Bea

RadishRose said:


> View attachment 52109


It happens!

Ralph Rotella, the owner of downtown Syracuse's Discount Shoe Repair, poses with boots he resoled for KISS band member Paul Stanley.











Ralph is a local hero.  He came from Italy fifty years ago and set up shop in Center City.  Each year Ralph uses his spare time in the shop to repair and refurbish shoes for the local Rescue Mission.  Last year with a little help from the community he managed to collect and donate 23,187 pairs of shoes.


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## Ken N Tx




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## Meanderer

The Cobbler

wonderful vignette of life is kinda the way life is! loved the pacing and framing - get the sense of timelessness, simplicity and honesty of the cobbler.


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## fuzzybuddy

I think it's a law that a shoe cobbler has to be over 100 year old, or at least look like it.


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## Meanderer




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