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The Shoe Cobbler’s
Daddy's Hands
By
Lorinda (Adams) Grubbs
In the late 1940’s through the early 1950’s
in the mountains of Southeastern Kentucky, there
lived a husband and father of six. As a
young man he had worked at different jobs.
His father owned a large farm in Cowan,
Kentucky so he helped out with the chores there.
Later on he drove a delivery truck for the Coca
Cola Bottling Company. He also worked at a saw
mill. He was a tall man with dazzling brown eyes
that twinkled when he smiled. His hands were
large and strong, yet ever so gentle. He and
his family lived in a place called "Rocky Hollow."
Of course they knew it as "Rocky Holler." He
owned a dry goods store and a shoe repair shop in
East Jenkins. In this town he was known as the
"shoe cobbler."
(Click on picture for larger view, then
"Back" to here)
Early in the morning the cobbler would begin
his day. He would drive out of the
hollow and up the road to the shop. If it
was winter he would have to build a fire in
the little coal stove to warm the building.
The dry goods store was in the front of the
building and the shoe shop was in the back.
The store was filled with apparel and shoes
for men, women and children.
Everything was placed in order on shelves
and on tables. There were two large
windows in the front of the building where
he would make a display of items that were
for sale. In the window you might see
a combination of ladies high heels, men’s
work boots, Carhart overalls and ladies
dresses.
Each day as he entered the shop he would
reach up and get his shop apron off a hook
and slip it over his head. He would
then take inventory of what he needed to do
that day. All the shoes were tagged as to
what kind of repair needed to be done and
when they would be picked up.
There were shoes of all kinds. On one shoe
was an unusual order, it was for a man who
had one leg that was shorter than the other;
he wanted the shoe built up. This was a
little out of the ordinary, but he would
tackle it.
(Click on picture for larger view, then
"Back" to here)
The shoe shop was a marvelous, mysterious
kind of place. There were shelves that held
large sheets of leather. There were boxes
and boxes stacked high containing different
sized rubber heels. Each box had a picture
of a black cat with it’s paw sticking up.
That was because the brand name for the
shoe heels was "Cat’s Paw." In another
area you would find heel and toe taps made
of metal and some very distinct tools, some
for taking the old soles and heels off the
shoes and others for putting new ones on.
With his skillful hands he would remove all
the old soles and heels on the shoe, then
with one of the special tools he would cut
the leather to the shape needed. Next he
would carefully place the shoe on a metal
pedestal that was shaped like a shoe but
turned upside down. The shoe was ready to be
glued and then sewed. A heavy-duty
sewing machine sat in one corner of the
shop. The machine had to be pedaled by
foot. He would take such care as he
guided the shoe with his hand through the
machine to make sure the seam would be
straight.
With the flip of a switch a machine started
running and the wheels started turning. It
was a large machine about 8ft. long and very
loud. There were different sized wheels for
grinding the leather smooth around the soles
and heels. There were wheels that had
brushes and cloths for polishing the shoes.
He meticulously held the shoe in his hand
and would rotate it around and around until
the leather was smooth to his satisfaction.
The finishing touch would be to polish the
shoes, then they would look like new again.
The cobbler took great pride in his finished
work.
His customers consisted of doctors,
preachers and teachers, but mostly his
customers were coal miners and their
families. He treated everyone the same.
He was a friend to all of them and highly
respected by all. He was a man of
integrity. Sometimes men would stop in just
to talk to him, if they wanted a good Bible
discussion they knew where to come.
He was
very hard of hearing and had to wear a
hearing aid in each ear. It was the kind that the
battery had to be worn in the pocket of the
shirt and the cord ran up to the ear into
the ear piece. Even with his hearing problem
he enjoyed his conversations with the
customers.
In the early 1950’s the shoe cobbler and his
family had to leave East Jenkins. Hard
times had come to the small town because the
coal mines were not doing any good.
Since most of his business came from the
coal miners and their families his business
couldn’t survive. It was a hard move
for the whole family, but it was something
that had to be done.
The shoe cobbler now had a shop in Detroit.
(Click on picture for larger view, then
"Back" to here)
Once again he started his morning routine,
but he no longer drove from the hollow and
up the road; he no longer had to build a
fire in the coal stove, but he still
repaired shoes and won the customers' hearts
in the same way he did while he was in
Jenkins. He still had many Bible
discussions with his customers.
The reason I know so much about this shoe
cobbler, he was my dad. Those same hands
that made a living cobbling shoes all those
years were also those same ever-so-gentle
hands that led me.
They led me to learn about the good things
in life, like fishing, plugging watermelons,
going on trips and making a guitar out of a
shoe box with string. Most of all they
led me to church every Sunday, which led me
to know the way to salvation, through Jesus
Christ.
I will forever be grateful to my dad~~
"The Shoe Cobbler, The Man"~~Kelsey Adams.
To read more, go to
Daddy's AutoBiography
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