Neighbors

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By Dwight Williamson

There was a time in Logan County’s history when such occupations as being a cobbler and a bicycle and lawnmower repairman was not such an unusual thing.

In fact, Logan County used to be dotted with small shoe repair shops. Joseph Edwin Kohoutek, known to his friends simply as “Ed” is one person who can remember the shoe shops well. After all, his father was a cobbler and Ed later got into the business himself.

“As well as I can remember,” says Ed, “there were four shoe shops in downtown Logan, one at Peach Creek, two at Mt. Gay, and one at Omar, one in Man and one at Becco. And that’s just the ones I can remember.”

Photo of Ed Kohoutek.Ed’s father and mother were Czechoslovakian immigrants who came to America in 1922. His parents chose Logan County because his father figured he would go to work in the coal mines. But after working for a considerable time at the old Monitory No. 3 mine at Wilkinson, there were so many miners being killed at the mine by slate falls that his father decided to go into another line of work.

Ed’s mother, who he described as a thrifty person, saved enough money so that her husband could go into the shoe repair business. So, in 1929 he opened up a small shop where he worked until his death.

In 1950, Ed went into the shoe repair business and also opened a bicycle repair shop.

“It was just a young man’s ambition at the time,” recalls ED. “I didn’t have anything to do, and I didn’t want to become a bum or rogue.”

Ed, who at 22 became a diabetic, said he could not find a job doing anything else because of his illness.

“It was a form of discrimination, really,” he explained. “When people heard you were sick, they just didn’t want to hire you.”

For many years, Ed repaired bicycles and shoes, later going into the lawnmower repair business. But as fate would have it, a bad turn of events forced him out of business.

In 1965, he suffered a stroke which left him partially paralyzed on his right side. Later, doctors discovered that he had what was called a massive congestive heart. Naturally, his work came to a near halt.

During the flood of 1977, Ed, who has lived in Deskins Addition for 40 years, lost his shoe machine in the flood. His insurance company awarded him $400 for the loss. But when he called a company to purchase a new machine, he was told it would cost him $35,000.

“I just said ‘thank you’ and hung up”, Ed said.

He and his wife, the former Fay Aliff, survive on a small disability check each month since he’s no longer able to work. However, as a pastime he collects aluminum to sell.“

“I can take my foot and crush the cans,” he said pointing to a box of crushed beverage cans. “But that’s about all the work I can do. I think everybody in Logan County must be saving aluminum nowadays.”

The Kohouteks were married in 1960 and have no children. Ed says several nephews and nieces come by to see us a lot, though.”

“I’ve fixed a lot of kids’ bicycles in my time,” he said. “I have a lot of friends, young and old. And a lot of friends are dead and gone.”

Ed still lives above the shop he and his father both once kept busy at. He said there have been several people who “wanted to buy me out.”

“Where would I go?” he asked. “I’ve been here 40 years and the next move I make will be to the graveyard. I’ve got one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel. All I need is a little shove.”

If there’s one thing that bothers Ed about Logan County, it is littering. He said he gets tired of picking up papers and junk that people throw out of their automobiles alongside the road.

“Logan County needs more jobs, better education and a lot less bickering in politics,” Ed said. “All that bickering ain’t doing people here two cents worth of good.”

“This country’s in poor shape, too,” he continued. “But I don’t think we ought to let anybody run over us. Like my daddy taught me, you’ve got to take care of yourself.”

Dwight Williamson is a former writer for the Logan Banner and a retired magistrate for Logan County.

*Published with permission.

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  1. Bob Piros

    Dwight, good story. Ed senior lived in Cherry Tree.He was known as Mr. Shoemaker due to people couldn’t pronounce his name. My Uncle Steve Tarkany bought the building from Ed and started Handy Andy Grocery Store.

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