Redbow
Senior Member
When I was growing up near the small town of Selma NC we had a shoe shine man who shined shoes for many people on the side walk just outside my cousin's barber shop. The shoe shine man was always there except on the days when it rained during the warm months that's how the old man made part of his living.
The old guy had a shoe shine stand with a seat on it you just stepped up and sit down on the seat and the old fellow went to work on your shoes. He applied shoe polish with his fingers being careful not to get any shoe polish on you pants leg or socks. The man had several polishing cloths that he used to shine your shoes. People used to gather around and watch the old guy as he worked his shining cloth. As he worked he made that cloth pop like a small firecracker while applying the trade that he knew best. Watching the old man quickly shine a pair of shoes and the popping of the shining cloth was entertaining for lots of folks back in the day.
The old fellow charged 25 cents to shine your shoes and when he was through your shoes had a shine on them that lasted for many days. I have seen the old guy many times when I was a boy sitting there on his shoe shine stand waiting for a customer which usually didn't take very long. Many of the people who were customers of my cousin's barber shop would come out after a haircut and hop up on the shoe shine stand for a quick shoe shine before going back to work or home.
Just about every small town and some big towns had a shoeshine man who shined shoes for the public on the sidewalk when I was growing up. The shoeshine man is a thing of the past now fading away as time moved on to a more modernized world. I have not seen a shoeshine man in any town in several decades. Every now and then when I was a boy a TV station would show a shoeshine man who was very popular with the public, some of the shoeshine guys would shout out as they worked they truly enjoyed their trade of shining shoes.
When they finished with the shine they would always say, twenty-five cents please and thank you Cap'n, and come back again soon. Just about every shoe shine man I ever saw was a man of color, I never saw but a couple of white men who shined shoes on the sidewalk of the towns when I was growing up.
Anyone else remember the shoeshine man in years past?
The old guy had a shoe shine stand with a seat on it you just stepped up and sit down on the seat and the old fellow went to work on your shoes. He applied shoe polish with his fingers being careful not to get any shoe polish on you pants leg or socks. The man had several polishing cloths that he used to shine your shoes. People used to gather around and watch the old guy as he worked his shining cloth. As he worked he made that cloth pop like a small firecracker while applying the trade that he knew best. Watching the old man quickly shine a pair of shoes and the popping of the shining cloth was entertaining for lots of folks back in the day.
The old fellow charged 25 cents to shine your shoes and when he was through your shoes had a shine on them that lasted for many days. I have seen the old guy many times when I was a boy sitting there on his shoe shine stand waiting for a customer which usually didn't take very long. Many of the people who were customers of my cousin's barber shop would come out after a haircut and hop up on the shoe shine stand for a quick shoe shine before going back to work or home.
Just about every small town and some big towns had a shoeshine man who shined shoes for the public on the sidewalk when I was growing up. The shoeshine man is a thing of the past now fading away as time moved on to a more modernized world. I have not seen a shoeshine man in any town in several decades. Every now and then when I was a boy a TV station would show a shoeshine man who was very popular with the public, some of the shoeshine guys would shout out as they worked they truly enjoyed their trade of shining shoes.
When they finished with the shine they would always say, twenty-five cents please and thank you Cap'n, and come back again soon. Just about every shoe shine man I ever saw was a man of color, I never saw but a couple of white men who shined shoes on the sidewalk of the towns when I was growing up.
Anyone else remember the shoeshine man in years past?
