The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1923-08-31
SHOEMAKER
DISCUSSES
AVON BARD
CobbIer Is Doubtful About
Birthplace of Shakes
peare
BY JOHN w. RAPER

|! = 1TRATFORD ON AVON: Mark
Twain once bewailed the fact
- that none Of William Shakes
reare's associates had left, for the
benefit of future generations, any
writings in which they told something
of the personality of the great writer
or discussed the human side of him.
He regretted that the village shoe
maker had not written some letters
in which he repeated some of the con-
yersations with the bard when the
latter dropped in to have a shoe re-
paired or had stopped, on his way
up town." to pass the time Of day
and have moments friendly chat. He
wished, too, that the shoemaker had
written to some acquaintance in a
distant city, giving his opinion of
Shakespeare work and telling what
the neighbore thought of him.
Unfortunately the shoemaker of
Shakespeare day has returned to
dust, but Stratford still has a shoe
maker and it so happens that he lives
right straight across the street from
the house in which the townsfoik
II.
What Shoemaker Said
I have had a talk with the shoe
maker and after thinking over our
chat 1 have come to the conclusion
that he knows just about as much Of
Shakespeare as the ancient shoe
maker did.
The 1923 shoemaker is short
roly-poly Englishman close to 70.
with twinkling eyes and an almost
white beard
Like all the Stratford on Avon folk
l met, he Is exceedingly gracious in
his manner toward the strangers
who visit the little town. especially
the American goose that lays so
many golden eggs here.
''1s the house across the street the
one in which Shakespeare was born?'
! asked, as I sat on stool, waiting
for a shoe 20 be repaired
Yes, sir, that's the house-that
is. in manner of speaking sir. that's
the house In which he was born, -
be answered.
I'm a manner of speaking7" I re-
pested. IT don't understand
II mean. sir. that we speak of It
as the house in which Shakespeare
was born But speaking proper, sir
he wasn't born in that house at all.
ut was this way. sir, The people
here in Stratford didn't really know
what big man Shakespeare was. 1t
was you Americans that showed us
that. Shakespeare was born over
there. but nobody paid any attention
to the house and II went 10 rusn. us
rot knowing how important a house
it really was.
But I must say the Yankees are
a wideawake lot One day a sharp
one came along and he made an Of
fer for the house. intending to buy
it and ship 1t to America. But Mr..
INT, our town clerk"
"Mr. who?"
Mr.. Unit, the town clerk"
How do you spell it?"
He Spells II
"'Unt. sir, just plain Unit, Hatch,
hugh. hen. tee. Unit. He was just as
smart as the Yankees, and he went
to work real quick and got the peo-
pie interested and we bought It.
1T was that run down. sir. that 1t
had to be built up again. so It was
fixed up to look the way 1t did when
Shakespeare lived there-restored, we
say.
80 you see it's really all new
building excepting one room, I be-
heve. That's the room Shakespeare
was born in. at least he was sup.
posed to be born in that room-so
they say"
How long ago was it restored2"
II cant say exactly, sir, but quite
a while ago. / have lived here more
than so years and 1t has looked that
way ever since 1 can remember