REMEMBER SHOE SHINE STANDS?

       Someone recently mentioned when they could remember having their shoes shined. It brought back memories of having my shoes shined on occasion at a stand in the lobby of the Des Moines Building @ 6th & Locust, in downtown Des Moines, Iowa.

       While working at Allied Mutual Insurance Company just south of Vet's Auditorium, I would walk to downtown at lunch time and having my shoes shined was a big treat. I loved to watch the guy apply the paste with his fingers, also apply a liquid around the soles for added color, and then get that rag out and shine away with an occasional "snap! " It was  a performance.

      Those guys were artists and they always knew what was going on and passing along that information from their valued customers. Along the same lines, were the many small shoe repair shops that were through-out  the city. A vanished breed!