William H. Lawson, shoe repairman Big Stone Gap, Virginia. Mr. Lawson was my grandmother's uncle.As is often the case in genealogical research one finds many relatives not directly in ones line. Such a case, for example, would be great great uncles or a great aunt and their descendants. We are related, yes, but the pursuit of their lives and their offspring is not our primary concern.
A few years ago I received a packet of pictures which included a number of the offspring of my great great grandmother. William H. Lawson was among them. I know from his mother's obituary that he was "a well-known shoe repairman" in Big Stone Gap. From the photo I infer that he not only could sole your shoes he could block your hat and "French dry clean" your whatever, whatever that is. The picture is really cool though.
Word of the day: infer
STSTT post #2200
*French dry cleaning is a process whereby hand spotting and hand pressing and close attention to detail is employed. I looked it up.
11 comments:
His stance indicates that he is a proud man and the French Dry Cleaning advertises that he took pride in his work.
Hubby just had his winter felt hats blocked. Cost and "arm and a leg," so to speak. Much cheaper than a toupée though.
"an" not "and" : )
A "go to" sort of guy.
That's some fancy lettering on the windows...
Vee, justifiable expense. Your hubby would not be himself without his hat.
Chuck, apparently a man of many parts.
Grace, yes, very nicely done.
Great old picture. And Big Stone Gap - isn't that the town that author Adriana Trigiana writes about all the time?
Marsha, I have not read Trigiana but perhaps I should since I have "ties" to Big Stone Gap and SW Virginia.
WOW! That IS a cool photo.
He apparently wasn't good with the home repairs though. The place is sorta falling apart in spite of the fancy lettering on the windows.
Lin, you are thinking along the same lines as I. It appears to me that the building's only foundation is a series of blocks under the sill. I have seen many buildings based in this manner. Guess it works in some times and places.
This is a great picture. I, of course, had to Google French dry cleaning. This was the first dry cleaning method. They used kerosene. The method was apparently discovered when kerosene was accidentally spilled on a garment.
Ilene, aroma? We had a home spotter called "Energine." Much higher flash-point than kerosene. Outlawed today, of course.
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