One hundred years of time allows a business to grow and change throughout the decades and for Elskamp Shoe Repair, that certainly has been very true.
Elskamp Shoe Repair, which was started in February of 1919, has actively been a much needed repair and workshop in Fulda for the entire one hundred years. Lois Elskamp has been a part of that thriving business for sixty of those 100 years.
Elskamp Shoe Repair was started by Lois’ father-in-law, Fred, along with his brother Walt. They were following in the footsteps of their grandfather, Joseph, who had begun the first Elskamp’s shop in Merrill, Iowa, in the late 19th Century. No less than twelve Elskamp’s Shoe Repair shops were scattered across the United States by the time the 1940’s rolled around. The Elskamp’s Shoe Repair shops were known for the harnesses they made.
“Phil began working in the shop to help his dad when he was ten to twelve years of age,” Lois shared. “He and his brother, David, helped out. Fred died in 1955 and Phil took over the shop. Harnesses went out in the 1950’s and then the binder canvases started coming in for repairs. We would work day and night to get them repaired so they could be used the next day in the field.”
Lois described the binder canvases as about 50 inches wide, and usually, they came to the shop quite dirty with the dust from the field. “We had two benches that were made 12 inches by 12 inches and there was a 2 by 4 on each side. We’d throw the canvas over the bench and roll it around looking for the holes that needed repair. We’d put on new laths if they were needed and you would rivet them on. Then you used a stapler that you had to hit with a hammer to complete the repairs,” Lois explained.
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