Return to school always meant trip to Angeloni’s in Republic for new shoes
Some kids love it, some hate it and some are in between those feelings when it comes to the start of another school year.
I was far from a straight-A student but I always loved the first day back. You catch up with all your classmates, anticipate what the new teachers will be like, maybe show off a new wardrobe.
Part of that wardrobe was usually new shoes. Just about everybody had a nice, spotless, just-out-the-box pair on their feet.
Back then it was basically one pair of shoes, which would have to last you until they basically wore out. That无毛视频檚 certainly changed over the years. I can tell as I look at my 13-year-old son Westley无毛视频檚 collection of about eight or more in the corner of the room.
无毛视频淚 need all of them,无毛视频� he told me. 无毛视频淭his is my running pair for cross country, these are my baseball spikes, this is for school, these are what I wear up to the barn, these are for hot days 无毛视频ξ廾悠禎
I pointed and asked, 无毛视频淲hat about those over there?无毛视频�
无毛视频淭hose are to wear around the house,无毛视频� Westley quickly answered.
无毛视频淐ouldn无毛视频檛 you wear any of those other ones around the house?无毛视频� I responded.
无毛视频淣o, geez Dad,无毛视频� he said.
OK, I无毛视频檓 an idiot. Sigh.
When I was young it was basically a family adventure to go out and buy new shoes, the most anticipated trek was to prepare for the return to school.
We would all hop in the car and my dad would drive us from Masontown over to Republic where we无毛视频檇 go to see Charlie and Gene Angeloni. They were friends of the family and Charlie owned Angeloni无毛视频檚 Shoe Shop, which sat on the first floor of their house. It was a place that seemed to be straight out of a movie set to me. There were shoes stacked all around and aisles that went back into the building with countless shelves rising up to the ceiling.
My brother, sisters and I usually had plenty of time to explore as my dad would always discuss current affairs and other topics with Charlie, who always had many war stories to tell (he was a WWII veteran), and my mom would often talk to Gene, a former teacher.
Charlie无毛视频檚 laugh was one of a kind. An infectious, staccato, 无毛视频淎h-ha-ha-ha-ha!无毛视频� You couldn无毛视频檛 help but laugh along with him when he laughed. Even now I smile when I recall the way he would tell a joke or a story.
Walking through and around the store was like a fun house at a carnival for us. Some corridors were dark and mysterious, others were bright, each had a slightly different shoe smell.
The wide variety of footwear in the place was incredible. There were shoes of all shapes, sizes and colors. Dress shoes, work shoes, sneakers, basketball shoes and boots, for men, women and children 无毛视频� just about anything you could imagine putting on your feet.
My favorite section of the place was one you won无毛视频檛 see at any shoe stores nowadays. It was Charlie无毛视频檚 work area where he would repair or make alterations to old or new shoes. There were spinning types of abrasive wheels, an over-flowing container of glue, big shoe stretchers, leather and other materials, cutting shears and scissors, needles and laces.
It was fascinating to me.
When it was my turn to select my shoes it was always a long process. I wanted a comfortable, but cool looking, pair that the kids would envy, and my dad wanted something that would last a good long time without being overly expensive. We无毛视频檇 sort of barter with each other until we agreed on a pair.
Different trips ended up with different sneakers. There were mainly Converse when I was younger, but other big-name brands made there way into Charlie无毛视频檚 shop as the years went by. Some companies came and went, others are still around today.
I was extremely excited one year to score a pair of Bart Starr shoes which I thought were really neat, plus I always loved the Green Bay Packers star quarterback.
I would become attached to certain brands or styles and seek them out on multiple occasions. One year I bought a pair of high-top Pony sneakers, one of the most comfortable shoes I ever put on my feet. I loved them and wore them everyday.
The tread eventually wore down drastically and on a December trip to Angeloni无毛视频檚 for our annual Christmas visit with the couple and their daughter Rachel, I sought out a new pair.
Charlie told me he was out of those. The saddened look on my face must have caught his attention, because he looked at me then told me, 无毛视频淟et-ta me see those,无毛视频� and I took off one of the old pair I was wearing and handed it to him. 无毛视频淗mmm. I tel-la you what, you leav-a them here, I fix-a them for you,无毛视频� he told me in his thick Italian accent.
Fix them, I thought. How? But I left them with him. My dad made a trip back there the next week and returned with my shoes, with an entirely new tread on the bottom. Charlie had removed the old sole and replaced it.
I was amazed and elated.
Eventually another place that sold shoes opened in Republic, Gus无毛视频檚 Sporting Goods, owned by Gus Cardarelli, and it became one of the most popular stores in Fayette County for years. Countless boys would come to school proudly sporting shoes from Gus无毛视频檚.
I would shop there for other sports items, but usually stuck with Angeloni无毛视频檚 for my shoes.
After awhile Angeloni无毛视频檚 and Gus无毛视频檚 and similar places faded away and were replaced by the name brand stores that dominate the market now.
Charlie died in 2001 and Gene, who was a an extremely intelligent former language teacher at Redstone High School, died in 2003. Rachel married Paul Lesako and the two own Paul M. Lesako Funeral Home in Carmichaels. They had a daughter, Gina Rose, who is a Geibel Catholic and Kent State graduate, and is now married and living in Ohio with her husband and a child of her own.
Time flies by, but I无毛视频檒l never forget those treks to Angeloni无毛视频檚 for shoes and our annual Christmas family get-together there.
Now if I can only find another pair of Pony shoes like I used to have 无毛视频�
Rob Burchianti can be reached at rburchianti@heraldstandard.com or on Twitter (@rvburch).