Shoes. I love shoes.

And I think one of the reasons I love shoes is because these lovely people introduced me to my first shoes:



This is Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Lipsitz and they've run Lipsitz Department Store in my hometown of Beaufort, South Carolina for....well....a really, really long time. I found out yesterday that Lipsitz Department Store is finally closing after all these years and I am, quite honestly, a little sad and nostalgic over it.

I can remember being a very, very small child and going into this very, very old building on Bay Street. There were two places to buy shoes when I was a little girl - Lipsitz and Schein's next door. For some reason, Lipsitz was our shoe store. We knew them. And they knew us.



No backroom for this store. All the shoe boxes were stacked on shelves, under chairs, in corners. They were everywhere. There was this funny minah bird in a cage right in the middle of the store and we loved to hear him talk.

I would climb up on the raised red vinyl chair and have my foot measured - by a real person who did nothing all day but sell shoes. That was exciting. Who knew how much bigger my foot would be than last time? Off with the old shoe and into the metal sliding foot-measurer with my sock foot.

In those days we bought three kinds of shoes: church shoes, school shoes, and play shoes. One pair each. In the 1960's in our little hometown there weren't a lot of choices, but we didn't know what we were missing so we were quite happy with what we got. A pair of shoes would come back in the right size and a great deal of checking for fit would happen. They would squeeze my foot, use a thumb to feel for my big toe ("wiggle your toe" they'd say) and watch carefully as I walked away and back again. Then the same process would happen all over again with the other shoe. They would never in their lives let a child get out the door unless both shoes had been tried on and fitted.

And, what little girl in the 1960's wouldn't be delighted over these?

The store had the big Red Goose on the counter - symbol of Red Goose Shoes which everyone wore, unless they were wearing Keds or Buster Browns. Once the shoes were chosen and paid for, Mr. or Mrs. Lipsitz would let me pull the big Red Goose's neck and out would pop a golden plastic egg with a prize inside and a slit on the top so the egg could serve as a bank. I'm sure they were only supposed to let me do it if we actually bought a pair of Red Goose Shoes, but I don't ever remember a trip where I didn't get to pull the goose's neck.

I visited with them the last time I was home and they were as fun and smiley as ever. Nothing had changed. The shoe boxes were still everywhere and the red goose, though retired to a top shelf, was still alive and well. The minah bird seemed to be the only thing missing.

So, Mr. and Mrs. Lipsitz are calling it quits. They were old when I was little so they're really old now and I can't blame them for finally taking a break. I don't think they've sold a lot of children's shoes lately. Wal-Mart has taken over that business and what a shame for all the children who will never know the excitement of that red vinyl chair or the thrill of pulling the goose's neck.

So, to Mr. and Mrs. Lipsitz I say thank you.

Thank you for caring that my growing feet had shoes that fit right.

Thank you for giving me sweet memories of something as simple as buying a pair of shoes.

And, thank you for being such a lovely, unforgettable part of my childhood.

God bless.