TIP #539 - THE FAMILY SHOEMAKER I give credit to a 5th grader in a south central Kentucky school for giving me the thoughts about this topic. So I did some research and learned a little more about the family shoemaker. In pioneer times, many went without shoes in the countryside. During the spring, summer and early fall, children ran barefoot, their feet toughened by running though the fields and timbers, hunting with their father, playing games among the trees and tall grasses. But, families did desire shoes for church and community affairs and many times the shoemaker was the father of the family. If he was really good, the word would go out and perchance he would find himself making shoes for his neighbors and friends. So, how did one create a pair of practical shoes? It started with the slaughter of their beef cattle. Normally slaughter took place in the fall and the meat packed away in salt and stored to feed the family during the winter months. The hides were saved and were used for making shoes, boots, harnesses, and rein for the family use. Nothing was wasted. Tan yards were found in most of the early communities and it is here that the process moved. They were normally found near a body of water and could be an acre in size. The tan yard had a building where the hides were kept during their various phases of production. A number of vats were created which were dug in the ground that were usually about ten feet long, six feet wide and four feet wide. There was also a bark mill which would be similar to a big coffee mill; measuring two feet across the to and weighing 600-700 pounds. This mill was operated by horse power. Workers would collect bark by cutting down trees, white oak was frequently used. The bark would be skinned off and ground down to sawdust size before being added to the vats. Water was then put into the vats and the skins were left to soak, removing the hair from the hides. The hides had to soak for approximately 9 months; they were then pulled out and a currying knife was applied to the skin. This removed the skin and hairs. Next the hide was worked back and forth over a pole until it became soft and pliable. Next men came with mallets and beat the hides. Lye soap could also be used in the curing process. When the hides were ready, the tanner notified the owner who was given one half of the hides that had been processed; the tanner kept the other half for his pay. The owner of the hides then either took the leather to a shoemaker, if the town had one, or took it home and made his own shoes. The family shoemaker would tote the leather home in his wagon and draw a pattern for the size of shoe he needed. After cutting the leather out based on the pattern, he would take the upper part of the shoe and punch holes in the leather with a pegging awl. This could also be accomplished by pounding a nail into the leather to make the holes. Next he would take another piece of leather to make an inner sole which he fastened to the bottom of the shoe. Next he fastened the upper part of the shoe to the sole and inner sole. He then used an awl and drove holes through the 3 layers of leather and drive pegs through the holes to hold everything in place. The pegs were then trimmed off close to the leather. The next step was the making of a heel. This normally came from the back of the cow and was two layers thick. The soles were fastened to the heel and pegged down. The upper part of the shoe was sewn on using home-made flax that had been waxed with tallow and bee's wax. He then made eyes for the strings to go through (the laces). Eyelets as we know them today weren't available to the average family, but could be sometimes ordered through the mercantile. If he used eyelets they would be slipped into the holes, the soles was then greased with the same tallow and bee's wax. When finished, the man had a pair of shoes that he hoped would last a year. What about the strings used as laces? They were from the hides of a hog. After killing the hog, skinning it and processing the meat for the family, the father would put the hide in a pit of ashes for a week or so. He then removed the hair and put the hide in lye soap for a few days. It was worked until pliable then and the hide turned white. Shoe strings were then cut from this about a quarter of an inch wide. They were very sturdy and could be re-used for many pair of shoes. A man skilled in making shoes could make a decent wage in making them for other villagers. So, the next time you buy a pair of shoes from the local store, wear them awhile and toss them out when they become worn or out of fashion, take a minute to think of how those shoes used to be made. Now manufactured by machine and being produced in mass by the modern equipment, look at those shoes one more time and think of the old-time shoemaker and all he had to do to provide his family with "Sunday go to meeting" footwear. (c) Copyright 5 May 2005, Sandra K. Gorin, All Rights Reserved Gorin Publishing: http://ggpublishing.tripod.com/ New books available now! 29 Apr 2005 Sandi's Puzzlers: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~gensoup/gorin/puz.html SCKY Links: http://www.public.asu.edu/~moore/Gorin.html