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Shoemakers and shoe repair shops
What's on this page:
- 20th-century shoemakers and shoe repair shops
- Shoemakers and shoe repair shops listed in directories, 1900-1940
- 19th-century shoemakers
and shoe repair shops
- 20th-century clothing stores
- 20th-century shoe stores
- 20th-century jewelers,
watch stores and watch repair
- 20th-century tailors, seamstresses and milliners
- 20th-century laundries and dry cleaners
- Sewing machines
and fabric stores
The photo at top left, taken after the 1914 blizzard, shows a shoemaker sign in front of a building in the 700 block of Centre Street, west side of the block; thanks to the Freeland Historical Society for this photo.
SHOEMAKERS / SHOE REPAIR SHOPS
[Thanks to Eddie Barna, Hank Bartol, Tom Lavinka, Lisa Alzo for additions and corrections. 1940 census notes come from Ed Merrick.]
Mike Amentler - Mike's
Shoe Repair Shop -
410 Cedar St. - "Don’t throw away your old
shoes; we rebuild like new" (from Ed Merrick, 1948 ad)Henry Bartol - 973 Chestnut St.; earlier location was 164 Main St. in Eckley, but shoemaker was listed in census as Ludwick Bartol, shoemaker, shoe repair shop (1940 Census) (From Hank Bartol in 2005: My father operated a shoe repair shop on Chestnut Street (the building in the back yard is still there) from when we moved there from Eckley in 1942. He repaired shoes in the business his father had started in Eckley in the 1930's. He sold the equipment and left when the coal mining slowed so much that he lost his job in 1954 after 29 years. The Freeland shop was at the rear of the side-yard (building still there last month) 973 Chestnut Street. In Eckley it was the first building across the street from the Company Store. Grandfather lost his leg in a mine accident, and the only compensation was to allow him to rent the company house and act as a watchman at the breaker for the coal company.)
Angelo Cordaro's - 713 Centre St. - His shop was later taken over by Dominick Sandora (from Ed Merrick, 1938 ad)
Joseph and Jerry
DeMelfi - 446 Centre St. - (Joseph a shoemaker in 1940 Census)
- later was Jerry's Shoe Shop (from Ed
Merrick, 1939 ad) (CT - I remember Jerry DeMelfi at this
address in the
late 1950s or early 1960s)
John
and Anthony Dinovic - 605 Centre St. - home 636 Ridge
St.
(ages 62 and 35 in 1940 Census) – Anthony Dinovic – 609 Centre St. –
“Bring us your shoes and let us make them look like new” (1924 ad) –
Dinovic Shoe Repair Shop – 605 Centre St. – Anthony Dinovic (from Ed
Merrick, 1946 ad) Mihaly Fenscak - location unknown (From Lisa Alzo: My great-grandparents Mihaly and Ilona (Helen) Lesko Fenscak/Fencak (father's side) settled there in 1893 and one of my grandmother's sisters was born there and baptized at St. Mary's Byzantine Church. They only stayed there a couple of years and then returned to Slovakia. My great-grandfather was a bootmaker by trade.)
Antonio
Ferreira, John Ferreira - Centre St. - Ferreira's
Shoe Rebuilders
- 509 Centre St., former location of Phil
Petrilli barbershop - John Ferreira (from Ed Merrick, 1958 ad)(CT: My brother Steve and I both remember this man, living on Fern Street with his wife Lucille, and his son Joe and family lived next door to them. Antonio had a shoe repair shop on Centre Street, between Luzerne and South streets. Both Steve and I remember it well, as our family had lots of shoes repaired by him over the years. Antonio's son Joe was in the military and served in both WWII and then the Korean War, my brother thinks he remembers hearing. By the mid-1950s he's living in the duplex, and soon after he was managing Allan's Shoe Store on the corner of Main and Centre streets. We both remember buying shoes from him there, and my brother thinks he ran that store for more than 10 years; he commented that it was interesting that Antonio was a shoemaker (the usual term in town for the folks who repaired shoes) and Joe ran a shoe store.)
Louis and Leon Guerriere - 730 Centre St. (Louis Guerriere, employer, shoemaker, and Leon Guerriere, shoemaker) (age 55 in 1940 Census) ; he and Leon are listed in city directory as both living at 723 Main St. (725 in Census and 1941 phonebook), with Leon having the shop
Leon Guerreri – north Centre Street – Cobbler (1923 newspaper notice)
John Klinger’s Saddler Shop
–
739 Front St. – In 1923, “Specialists in repairing
automobile tops, cushions and side curtains”; harness and leather goods
for the teamster and horse fancier; also
shoe repair (for people, not horses - CT) (from Charlie Stumpf,
1923 ad) Rocco Lutz - 428 Centre St. (From Eddie Barna: My wife Maria's grandfather Leo Ravina and his wife Theresa ran the shoe repair shop at 428 Centre, and when he bought the bar at 449 Ridge Street, Maria's parents, Rocco and Katherine moved to 428 Centre Street and Rocco ran the shoe repair shop until the mid sixties.)
Leo and Rocco Ravina - 428 Centre St. (Leo Ravina, proprietor, and later Rocco Ravina took over) (From Eddie Barna: My wife Maria's grandfather Leo Ravina and his wife Theresa ran the shoe repair shop at 428 Centre, and when he bought the bar at 449 Ridge Street, Maria's parents, Rocco and Katherine moved to 428 Centre Street and Rocco ran the shoe repair shop until the mid sixties.) (From Charlie Stumpf's Freeland book, page 44: Leo Ravina, a native of Revo, Italy settled in Freeland in 1920 and for the next 20 years he operated a shoe repair shop ...")
Matthew Sabella
- 238 Ridge St. - shoemaker shop (age 26
in 1940 Census)Dominick Sandora - 713 Centre St. - Took over the shop formerly conducted by Angelo Cordaro (from Ed Merrick, 1938 ad)
Frank Spock - 613 Schwabe St.
John A. Williams - 333 Centre St.
Shoemakers and shoe repair shops listed in directories, 1900-1940
1900-1901 city directory
Shoemakers in business listings:
Black Diamond Shoe Repairing Co., 117 Centre
Williams, Tony, boot repairing, 35 Centre
1921-1922 city directory
Shoemakers in business listings:
Avigliano, John – 333 Centre
Chiarella, Lawrence – 349 Centre
Cordaro, Angelo – 432 Centre
Craigle, Frank – 1115 Birkbeck
Defina, Michael – 609 Centre
Didonato, Dominick – 247 Centre
Giarletto, Louis – 323 Centre
Guerreri, Louis – 323 Centre
Guerrieri, Leon – 730 Centre
Guerrere, Salvatore – 453 Centre
Stunz, Henry – 901 Ridge
1928-1929 city directory
Shoe repairers in business listings:
Avigliano, John, 333 Centre
Cordaro, Angelo, 432 Centre
Del Regno, Victor, 232 Ridge
Dinovic, Anthony P., 607 Centre
Guerrieri, Antonio, 706 Main
Guerrieri, Leon, 730 Centre
Guerrieri, Salvatore, 736 South
Ravina, Leo, 428 Centre
Stunz, Henry, 901 Ridge
1940 city directory
Shoe repairers in business listings:
DeMelfi, Jos. - 446 Centre
Dinovic, Anthony - 605 Centre
Guerrieri, Leon - 730 Main
Ravina, Leo - 428 Centre
Sandora, Dominick - 713 Centre
Shpock, Frank - 613 Schwabe
Williams, Jno. A. - 333 Centre