Alice, shoes were a concern with my parents as to the type of shoes we wore. I assumed that it was something inherited – inherited in the sense of being born with bad feet or a concern passed down from generation to generation. When sneakers were introduced, problems with the feet became an issue. Walking barefooted was preferred to wearing the wrong shoes. Arch supports became a selling point with shoe sales. In the military, care of the feet was an issue. Making sure that we had a proper fit brought attention to shoes. As occurred with many families when purchasing shoes for children, shoes were purchased with larger sizes to allow for the growth of the feet. It seemed to me that just when the shoes felt good, they were worn out. There are true stories about soldiers taking shoes off dead comrades. Many Confederate soldiers walked barefooted simply because they had no shoes. In the story of Hermann Frech, he talked about difficulties he had with finding a pair of shoes and the problems he had walking long distance with shoes he found that didn’t fit causing much pain. I recall an old Negro Spritual song about shoes. “I got shoes you got shoes all of God's childrens got shoes. When I get to heaven gonna put on my shoes I'm gonna walk all over God's heaven (heaven) heaven (heaven)
Everybody talkin' bout heaven ain't a goin' there heaven (heaven) heaven (heaven)…”
Shoes are important - past and present.