Sunday, March 31, 2013

A GIRL'S GOTTA HAVE THE RIGHT SHOES

Girls love shoes.  That’s a given.  But when you’re growing up on a farm; wading in irrigation canals hunting for frogs, or running through the mud chasing cows, shoes are more trouble than they’re worth.

Still it’s important to make some kind of a fashion statement at school and on those trips to town. 

Usually mom bought my shoes.  
I’d get one pair at a time and they lasted until they were too tight or trashed.
Occasionally I did have a pair of dressy sandals to wear to church.

I distinctly remember a shopping trip for shoes when I was probably about six.  
Mother must have been busy so she sent me with my dad.

 A girl knows how to work the system when it comes to daddies.
  Somehow I talked him into buying me a pair of Krazy Keds.

 I must have heard the commercial on the radio a hundred times
 about how U.S. Keds would help you run faster and jump higher. 
And believe me they did!

 I had to look all over the internet for an image of something like those wonderful Keds.
  Each piece of the shoe was a different color; the soles were soft and kept me from slipping on wet rocks along the ditch where we played. And since they were canvas they were washable. 

My dad worked winters in Pocatello, Idaho while Mom tended to the farm.  Sometimes we’d ride the Union Pacific train to visit him where he stayed with his mother who just happened to be my grandma. 

On one of those trips I went shoe shopping in the big city.
 
 To my delight I came back with a pair of real Buster Brown saddle shoes.


Buster Brown was another brand marketed to children 
on the Saturday morning radio shows.  
My shoes were another pair my dad got for me.

After all, his favorite fishing buddy needed the right kind of foot gear.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't remember Keds but I surely do remember Buster Browns.

susan m hinckley said...

I had those keds too! The multi-colored ones! My grandma made me a little culottes jumpsuit with all the pieces made of a different color to match! And I had a wonderful pair of saddle oxfords, which my dad did indeed purchase me for 4th grade. They were my favorites, and it was partly because he bought them for me. Thanks for the memories!

jeanie said...

I am not a shoe girl - we do exist - but I love that your dad bought you great shoes!!

Anonymous said...

I'm with Jeanie, I only own a few pairs - but I love your stories and photos. I like that they tied in with lovely memories of your parents.
As Australian kids in a hot sunny climate, most of us went shoeless over summer, and the start of school meant the return of the obligatory stiff and unforgiving brown Harrison sandals - a classic Australian school shoe.
You look like you had fun growing up!

Joanne Noragon said...

Buster Brown and his dog Tige. Mom trusted our feet to none other.

Val said...

I hope you got to stand on that metal foot-measuring thingy!

Alica said...

I don't remember too much about the brand of shoes that I wore...but I do remember going barefoot in the barnyard! Something I would never do now!! :)

TALON said...

Oh, this was a true trip down memory lane, Leenie! I remember my saddle shoes...and my Keds (which I begged for after both my brothers got some and I swore they did run faster and jump higher). I also remember having to have cleats put on my black patent dress shoes so they would make noise...like the sound of high heels. lol! Thank you for the wondrous trip down memory lane and hope you and your family had a beautiful Easter!

Magyar said...

__I just love my Clark,s desert boots... Chuckas as they are called by some, though I wish they were still made in England. The source often counts.
__My wife Kathy is the shoe person, and some day soon we're 'gona-git' those saddle shoes she wants... black and white, and brown and white... some had red soles.
__Enjoyed! _m

joeh said...

I put my trust in Paul Parrot...they made your feet run faster, as fast as the Parrot could fly!

Anzu said...

I love the pretty fashion in your girlhood days.(*゚ー゚*)
Thank you for sharing !

Sarah said...

All good shoes! The style of the Keds and the other ones reminds me of Camper shoes-they must have got some design ideas from them. I remember deliberately scuffing shoes I didn't like so I could get to buying new ones sooner. I can't believe I did anything so spoiled but I did! I also remember looking at stripey platform shoes with my sister in my Mum's catalogue and thinking how wonderful they were.
Love the pictures of you!

Pearl said...

Oh, how I wanted Keds!

We had a store in one of the many towns I lived in growing up that had that Buster Brown and his dog sign up in the window. I thought it was wonderful then, and I loved seeing it now!

Pearl

Anonymous said...

I grew up wearing Clarks shoes, and I still remember the thrill of finally getting "grown up" shoes once I went to secondary school!

Janice Grinyer said...

I didnt get my first pair of keds until I was 16 - with my own money - and I have been wearing them ever since...well, interchanged with boots of course...

LOVE THIS LEENIE BABY PHOTOS!!!!

Terry and Linda said...

You made me smile! I had saddle shoes and Keds also, although I am older than you!

My keds were white and they were my school shoes the saddle shoes were my dress and school shoes.

Thanks for the memories!

You favor your Daddy, I'll bet you also had him wrapped around your little finger!

Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com

Linda Sue said...

such a cute little pip, you. I would have bought (or stolen) every pair of shoes your little heart desired. Good thing I was not your Dad or I would have landed in the slammer for petty theft, I suppose.
I always liked shoes that I could wear everywhere- in the creek, on the mountain, on my bike, never too keen on fashionable foot wear- just what ever worked and felt comfy- mostly bare foot. I know- OUCH!

Buttons Thoughts said...

Oh you are so darn cute your Daddy was a push over wasn't he mine too:)
Love the Buster Browns I had a pair I actually wore them till my toes poked through the top and still insisted they still fit hence the stupid bunion now:)
I had a pair of Penny loafers and sometimes but rarely they had a penny of which I would go to the store spend it and my Daddy would give me another because I lost mine. Hugs B