Parry's New Deal Era Photo Blog: Monday, October 21, 2013

The very next day, during the beginning of our class time for this New Deal Era project when we meet on Mondays, we had an opportunity to walk around the neighborhood close to the Board Office or get in our cars to find a location or subject to shoot. Hunter Roush, a teacher and friend of mine who's also in my class, partnered up and decided to walk in the general location of 5th Avenue immediately. The think that first caught my eye was sign dancing lady from Little Caesar's so I approached her and asked to take her picture but she declined. So we first made it to the building immediately beside the Little Caesar's, Hanlin's Shoe Repair. So we walk in and start a conversation with the owner, Wayne Hanlin. We briefly told about him what the project was about and at first he seemed hesitant, saying it was close to closing time. But as we were still exchanging dialogue he at some point changed his mind and said it was alright (maybe he felt more comfortable about the idea as we added a little further in detail of what the project was about..) So, we asked him if we could take a few pictures of his workshop. He agreed to show us around. He was a real super nice guy all-around answering all of our questions and was very hospitable. We wanted to know if we could see him working on sewing something up if he could at all possible. He didn't have anything that needed patching, but luckily I had on my classroom-battle tested dress loafers with a couple rips in them. (Thanks Marshall's clearance aisle Calvin Klein shoe selection!) To my defense, the shoes were recently bought and holes early in their development...well, mid-development....I digress. So he fixed both shoes (yes, both had holes in them) for me, right in front of my eyes with double the amount of original stitching over top of the rip and voila! my shoes were fixed in a lickety split.

Wayne told us stories about how this is has been a family business for quite some time in Huntington. I didn't even really know it existed. All of this equipment that he has in his workshop were actually his father's when he ran the store in its former downtown Huntington location years ago. Most of the equipment are antiques and he told us they are worth a great deal in themselves because they're so rare to find and still fully functional. I just wish I'd taken more pictures of Wayne using or even standing beside some of the vintage equipment....(I suppose that will be for a repeat visit.). So here are a couple of the pictures from that session.

Oh, and guess how much it cost me to fix my shoes? I offered money, but Wayne wouldn't take my money. Like I said before super nice guy all-around. Totally recommend his service and he does a variety of repairs and customization to your shoes and other products.

Check him out at: Hanlin Shoe Repair
                              2887 Fifth Avenue
                              Huntington, WV 25702
                              (304) 522-6632

Cobbler (Wayne Hanlin) fixes my shoe, Oct. 21, 2013

Cobbler shows off his custom shoes, Oct. 21, 2013

Here are a couple more shots from that day of shooting. We met a few interesting people who were nice enough to briefly let us in to their lives and talk with us for a few moments. Stories accompanying them will follow soon.