The Arizona sentinel., 1889-12-21
LINCOLN'S SHOEMAKER.
How a Poor German CObbIer Won Sudden
 Fame and Fortune.

How a Poor German CobbIer Won Sudden
 Fame and Fortune.
 Near the city of Scranton, Pa., at the
 outbreak of the late rebellion, there
 lived poor German shoemaker named
 Peter Kahler. He had his own ideas of
 how boot or shoe should be made to
 give the greatest comfort to the wearer,
 which was far in advance of his humble condition, but he lacked the capital
 necessary to put his ideas into the shoes
 and the shoes before the public. Short
 ly after the election of Abraham Lin-
 coin to the presidency the press of the
 country was full of the oddities of ex-
 pressions, witty sayings and peculiari-
 ties of ''Old Abe"
 Among the many publications of that
 time there appeared a diagram of the
 foot of the President, coupled with the statement that the Presidents foot was so abominably large and awkward of build and covered with corns, bunions, etc., that it seemed impossible for him to get shoe which he could wear with any degree of comfort. The statement and the accompanying diagram came to the notice of the humble country shoe maker, Peter Kahler, and he set about making pair of shoes according to his ideas of comfort and to fit the measure ments of that diagram. In due course the shoes were completed and shipped to Washington, D. C., addressed to 'His Excelency Abraham Lin- coin, President of the United States" accompanied by a note signed by the rustic shoemaker, stating under what circumstances the shoes had been made, and hoping that the Presi- dent would accept the shoes as pres ent from an humble admirer and for the good the maker felt sure they would do him.
 The shoes proved to be perfect fit for the presidential pedal extremities and pleased His Excelency very much. MT. Lincoln lost no time in sending MT. Kahler an autograph letter of thanks, which the rustic disciple of St. Crispin was shrewd enough to have published. The publication of that letter brought both fame and fortune to Mr. Kahler. He soon after removed to New York, where he became known as the presi- dential boot-maker and was patronized by the wealthy, whose carriages were frequently to be seen in front of his door. During the war Kahler took Government contract for furnish ing shoes for the army, introducing the now celebrated broad-soled, low-heeled shoe, known as the Government shoe." He made considerable money from his trade and the contract, and soon estab- lished the house of Kahler 6 Son.
 Up to the time of his death MT. Lin- coin bought all the shoes he wore of MT. Kahler. During the last two years of his life MT. Kahler spent much of his time at Harvey's Lake, the Indian name of which is Skandara Lake, the largest body of fresh water in Penn sylvania, and popular summer resort. | It was while at Harvey's Lake in 1888 | that Mir. Kahler conceived the scheme | of establishing what he called the ! 'Kahler Sanitarium." This scheme he thought would bring him much | wealth, and in the fall of the ! year he bought of Mrs. Betsey | Worden her farm of about fifty acres lOE RO,OOOs dllu db OuC6 udu d survey made, and the portion of the farm bor- dering on the lake beautifully laid out in winding streets and building lots. Finding that his land was not so shaped that he could complete his plans, he wanted to buy the adjoining ground, known as the 'Lake Hotel'' property, owned by the estate of Caroline Phoades, deceased, for which he offered S20, GOO cash, the offer being refused. In the spring of the present year Kahler removed his family from New York to his Harvey's Lake farm, hoping to bene- fit his health, which had been failing, with the pure mountain air. Being chronic dyspeptic he suffered greatly until July last, when he died. He sunk about $15, 900 in his ''sanitarium'' and mountain village" schemes, but never thelesS left a large estate. He fre- quently related with pride that he was Lincoln's shoemaker, and the auto- graph letter he always carried with him.-COr. St. Louis Post-Dispatch.