While many were kicking back Friday and enjoying a four-day weekend, Mike Papadimitriou was where he’s been for much of the past few decades — behind the worn wooden counter at Peoples Shoe Repair in downtown Everett.
Dressed in a white shirt with blue pinstripes, his blue paisley tie sporting a crisp knot, he talked about the business, which celebrated its 70th anniversary "of fixing Everett’s soles" on Nov. 22.
Papadimitriou hasn’t been there all that time.
His uncle started the business on Colby Avenue and worked it for the first 35 years. Papadimitriou has nurtured it for the second 35, working mostly out of the space at 2825 Wetmore Ave.
During that period, Papadimitriou has watched four or five other downtown shoe repair businesses go by the wayside.
He says it’s not completely for lack of work because there’s still a fair amount out there.
"We don’t have enough people who have good training," he said.
I suspect the throwaway nature of our society may discourage people from considering a career in shoe repair. And there aren’t too many folks around these days who want to apprentice themselves to learn a trade.
While Papadimitriou said he isn’t hurting for business, he did add that the number of people who get their shoes repaired has diminished these days.
People are more casual, he said, and more wear tennis shoes or cheaper dress shoes.
"If you buy them for $50 to $60," he said, "it’s not worth it to fix them."
But he said he’s still kept pretty busy resoling and repairing more expensive footwear.
As we talked, he pulled a $200 pair of hand-tooled cowboy boots off the shelf and showed the new soles and heels he’d added. They were beautiful boots — well worth the $65 it took to make them look new again.
In addition to basic repairs, Papadimitriou specializes in orthopedic work — devising shoes that work for people with foot problems or other issues that require special shoes.
He showed off one shoe on which he’d added a three-inch sole to help a person with a short leg. As he described how he’d helped someone else with a swollen ankle get a comfortable and stable fit, it was clear he takes great pride in his work.
"I saw her problem and I fixed her shoes," he said. "She was happy."
It’s clear Papadimitriou enjoys helping people and enjoys the challenge of orthopedic work and of repairing the latest styles.
"We learn every day," he said. "New style shoes come out and we have to learn. If we stop learning, we are dead."
Papadimitriou, who is 70, doesn’t plan on dying anytime soon. Nor does he plan to retire.
But he said he’d love to find someone to take over the business. "I don’t want to close," he said.
Until then he plans to be right where he was Friday, behind the counter, fixing shoes.
"I’m enjoying what I’m doing," he said. " I will work as long as I’m healthy and I feel good."
Let’s hope he stays healthy.
Good craftsmen are a hard thing to find these days.
Mike Benbow: 425-339-3459; benbow@heraldnet.com
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