The Washington times., 1923-07-30
SHOEMAKER FOR
NOTABLES| IN
81ST YEAR
Edward BouIter Tells How He
Follows Mans Development
Through His Feet.

Shoe builder for scores Of Wash
ington notables, Edward >Boulter,
eight-one years old, is entering on
his fifty-sixth. year on the bench.
He has been resident Of Wash
ington since the close of the civil
war.
From his cutting bench within
the doorway of H. c. Reinhardt's
bootshop on Sixth street, above
Pennsylvania avenue, he looks
across the street to the old camp
site where he lay with his regi.
ment awaiting orders to advance.
1t is sixty-two years ago since he
and his comrades slept four in a
tent for the three memorable DAYS
the regiment remained in Wash
ington. Time. however. has left
unclouded the memories Of those
days and he smiles as he tells of
how they carried water across
Sixth street and entertained the
many visitors at the camp.
Surrounded by great sheafs of
paper shoe patterns, some of them
heavy with dust, others showing
signs Of recent usage, he recalls the
identity and pecuilarities of those
for whose feet they were made
years ago, while he points with
pride to the numerous corrections
penciled on many of the patterns,
each a foot record Of the customer,
in some instances stretching back
for half a century. Among them
are shoe patterns for a majority Of
the prominent members Of Con-
gress, Cabinet members, and mem
bers Of Presidential households.
since the days of Lincoln.
II guess it is true / have cut the
shoes and made the upperS for
practically all of the national
leaders Of my tirue," said Boulter.
Fifty-Year Customers.
For some of them have con-
tinued to make shoes for fifty years
and more. They first came when
they were just getting started in
their public careers. know the
foot history of all of them. and
many of them are interesting
chronicles.
Feet, you know, develop char
acteristics as do individuals. Maybe
feet are responsible for some Of the
things men and women come to do.
Tendencies develop which have to be
taken into account. They say the
tailor makes the man. Maybe he
does, but the shoemaker has q good
deal to do with what a man amounts
to. 1t is a shoemaker's mission not
only to produce a stylish shoe but to
insure the wearer being comfortable.
You must anticipate changes and
provide for them. / don't know
would call it a science, this forecast
ing foot development, but the pro-
cess of anticipating what will de-
velop, and providing comfortable
footwear accordingly, is something
more than a guessing matter. Lots
of things must De taken into &C.
count.
The customer may be putting on
weight or thinning down. Legaments
may be stretching and muscles los
ening. A nervousness may be de-
veloping which will be aggravated by
ill-fitting shoes. Then there is the
element Of personal vanity to be
considered. Some persons become
more vain about their shoes as they
age. To keep them sweet tempered
you must keep them we'll shod and
pleased with the looks of their shoes.
ut is not saying too much to in.
sist that life is heightened or short
ened by ones shoes. If you want
to live long, avoid being uncomfort-
able, dyspeptic and nervous; make
sure your shoes fit. The best way
to determine this Is to note when
fastened up whether they give the
impression of supporting you. There
is such a thing as a shoe being too
roomy, but harder to wear than if
it pinched. On the other hand
shoes may sometimes seem like q
snug fit but you wear them all day
and never tire your feet.
Shoes that pull on the heel are
misfits. If it is hard to come up
on your toes the shank is too
straight. The secret of q properly
fitting shoe lies in its conformity
to the foot so that the bone action
taking place in walking is not inter
fered with while the foot is held
just closely enough to prevent I'M
necessary spreading. If a shoe
needs stretching the best way to
remedy the trouble is to put the
shoe on the foot, lace or button it
up, then emerse it in water until
the leather has become fairly we'll
soaked and walk round on it, keep
ing it on until it Is pretty well dried
out. Unless the trouble Is in the
cut of the sole and shape Of shank
the shoe can be made to fit fairly
well this way providing it is not a
misfit as a result of the cutting Of
the uppers.
Boulter declines to predict how
much longer he will continue at his
trade. His friends say he will be
cutting shoes at the century mark.