The Oskaloosa Herald
March 14, 2008 11:52 am
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This display in the alley was a head-turner. The picture was taken in 1983 of an open shoe box, mostly out of a Howar Shoe sack, with old rundown shoes carelessly left. Note the still tied shoestrings which might indicate the shoes were too large for him. They look to be a size 10 or so man’s shoe. Alleys were often times more interesting than the sidewalks. The shoes were left in the alley against the south wall of the present Smokey Row restaurant at 109 S. Market St. Back then, it was Ross Clothing Store, Sonja Larsen, manager, and Rob’s Clothing Store next door at 107. What happened? Maybe he wore the new shoes out of the store and threw the old in the alley, or maybe a mother told her son not to wear the new shoes home before she could seem them, but he disobeyed her. One person had a scenario like this: a hobo was passing through town and saw the sack through an open auto window and stole them. The bum later went into the alley to change into his new heist. What’s your read? The four shoe stores listed in town 25 years ago were Howar’s, Brown’s, Nobil and Stewart’s. The shoe store is no longer in business but the person who might have a clue is Bob Howar, who was the owner of Howar’s Shoes.
— Chuck Russell
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The Oskaloosa Herald