Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1886-11-10
ONLY ONE OF HIS KIND.
A Queer Little Old Man who Gets
Along by Following a Queer Busi-
ness.

Ona much-traveled uptown thorough
fare little half-story wooden shop
stands between two big business blocks,
for all the world like a diminutive
chunk of ham between the abnormally
thick slices of bread in railroad sand
wich. The little shop and ground on
which il is built are owned by a shriv-
eled old man. He has refused every
offer to dispose of the property, not
\ withstanding the eXorbltant prices re-
peatedly proposed by neighboring mer-
chants, who desire to rid the street of
the shabby little shops disfguring
presence. The old mans mode of gain
ing livelihood is fully as peculiar as his
refusal to part with his real estate on
/ the terms that have been offered him.
The shop has two front windows. In
one hangs card bearing the legend:
"Buttonholes inside" and in the other
is another with the inscription: ANY
button matched-ten cents only"
Within the little shop are shelves and
counters covered with pasteboard trays
containing larger collection of but
| tons probably than can be found any
where else in New York. There is
every sort of button known to ciyiliZa-
ton, from the plain white shirt button
whose absence has caused untold mis-
cries in many a family circle, to the
bold-faced metallic military button
which saves life now and then In war
stories, by turning d bullet from its
deadly course; buttons OF jet, gilt, ivory,
bone, glass and wood, PLAN buttons,
parti-colored buttons, enameled but
tons, plush-cOvered buttons, buttons
with slanks and without shanks, rough
buttons and smooth buttons, buttons
that were invented yesterday, and but
tons that were made half a century
ago.
In the back of the shop is bench
like cobDler's, where LGe old man sits
all day croSs-legged. \ pretty-faced
| little girl who looks old for her size,
waits upon customers. She is the 1T
tie old mans granddaughter. Neither
the old man nor his granddaughter is
inclined to talk freely about their bust,
ness. To a reporter, however, the lit
tie girl said: 1--WE match buttons and
sew them on the coats or vests of gen.
tlemen and on the dresses of ladies'.
Oh, yes, we have a good many custC-
mers. principally young men, who have
lost button or two and haven't any
one to sew them on, or can't match the
buttons in the regular stores. We of.
ten have calls from seamstresses also,
who need few buttons they can't find
elsewhere. You see our collection is
so large that we can supply the missing
button in almost any set. Where did
We get such large collection? Grand
pa has been gathering it for years. He
has number of tailor shops and dress
making establishments which he visits
regularly. From these he gets odd
buttons by the hundreds, very cheap.
We charge O.iiy teu eeutssior ss.Iy = s2t-.
ton that may be desired. OF course,
some Of them are worth great deal
more than that, but as the demand is
greatest for the cheap kinds we make
ia T profit in the long run. How did
grandpa conceive the idea of the busi-
ness? L don't know, I'm sure. never
asked him, but | suppose from seeing
SO many persons with buttons missing
from their clothes, wAo would have
them replaced If they didn't have to go
to any trouble. In addition to supply
ing old buttons and sewing them on
while the customer waits, we also mend
ragged buttonholes or make new ones
where they have been torn out"