Quote:
Originally Posted by Cool 50th AE
I remember seeing lots of shoe repair shops back in the day.
What the heck happened?
|
Imported shoes/boots are cheap enough to toss when there's a problem. When I was still working a pair of $40-50 work boots would last me several years, and I was walking on steel chips most of the time. Back in the '80s I bought a $75 pair of boots and they came apart after a while (and not fixable, according to a cobbler I went to) so I went back to the cheap ones.
How much would a cobbler need today for an hour's shop rate? More than new boots would cost.
FWIW, my dad had a cobbler's anvil and repaired all our shoes, putting half soles and heels on them. He was a young man during the Depression and learned these oddball things out of necessity. I'm guessing the anvil came from his father.