On Halloween Roy used to put on the Leather Man’s suit, his shoes, and his roomy hat, which fit like an upside-down pot, and shoulder his great big leather bag. The Leather Man never spoke for himself, for the most part leaving his riddle to Roy Foote to puzzle and piece together, the way he did the Leather Man’s suit, a crazy quilt of leather scraps boldly stitched together with leather thongs. Roy even devised a suit of clothes believed to be a close replica of the Leather Man’s cumbersome and peculiar leather pants, leather jacket, leather shoes, and leather hat. He also had a large collection of memorabilia such as a tin pipe and a hatchet that belonged to the Leather Man.
#LEATHER BAG REPAIR MARTHAS VINEYARD FULL#
In his house, which he and his wife Sarah built on the south comer of his father’s farm, Roy Foote had accumulated closets full of information and stacks of photographs. His legend and the mysteries of his life came to mean a lifetime’s search for Roy Foote, who otherwise spent his life as a banker. The Old Leather Man was a legendary beggar who trudged a wide circle through southeastern Connecticut and western New York State during the late 19th century. And while I am training Darry in the art of fixing the impossible, he is trying to train me in the art of saying no.A local legend like that of the Old Leather Man - Connecticut’s most famous tramp - can easily die of neglect unless someone takes an abiding interest in keeping it alive. They work well together: “Darry sometimes shakes his head about some of more challenging repairs I take in. There continues to be enough work to keep both cobblers busy. Today Nancy is on the mend, and Darry stays on. But that date was moved up when Nancy needed help. A summer visitor and avid fisherman for years, Darry and his wife planned on retiring to the Vineyard at some far-off date. Then help showed up in the form of Connecticut cobbler Darry Spain.įor Darry it was a dream come true. When another challenge came on the horizon in recent years - a cancer diagnoses - shoes had to be sent off-Island for a while. “Being on an Island, we have learned to fix our machines ourselves, and I have a couple of duplicates in case one breaks down then we can use the other until it gets fixed.” A beautiful old Singer sewing machine, still powered with a foot pedal, is used to repair sails. “Some of the machines came with the shop and are older than I am,” Nancy explained. The beauty of the the newly repaired shoes queued for pickup is exceeded only by the loveliness of the massive old machines lining the workroom, huge ancient beasts, their original shiny green enamel muted now to a fine patina by decades of use. And then there are the boat shoes and work boots. Now my granddaughter wears them.”Īsked if Islanders have a certain style, Nancy replied: “Yeah, it’s ‘anything goes’ - from Birkenstocks to high-priced Ferragamos. Basically Nancy has been transferring these beautiful tops to new soles for years. “Beautiful sandals with classic American coins woven together with strips of leather. Fran Gaskin spoke of her long patronage of the Cobbler Shop, and of a job that has for years required Nancy’s best skills: a pair of sandals passed down through generations. In a conversation at the seawall beside Inkwell Beach, Dr. You need rubber soles.” So Nancy installed rubber soles on John’s shoe wardrobe. He claims some of the shoes in his closet are decades old, but he explained, “they still shine up nice.” But the leather soles and heels - an old-fashioned cobbler’s dream - needed what Nancy calls Vineyard-specific help: “Here you’re walking on gravel, you’re walking on concrete, you’re not walking from office to office on carpet. A snappy dresser, it is apparent John is one of those guys who believes in investing in quality footwear.
Over coffee at the Y Cafe, John Samways tells of having his shoe wardrobe revamped when he retired from office work as a newspaper executive.