One Hundred Year Feet — er, Feat!
A local shoe retailer in Fremont, Michigan will celebrate its centennial mark this coming September, according to a local newspaper. Vredeveld Shoes opened September 9, 1909 and has been serving its community by selling shoes ever since. The current owner, Lon Vredeveld, is the great-grandson of the shoe store’s original owner — meaning the store has seen four generations at its helm. As a result, the store is filled with all kinds of shoe-related antiques — so many, in fact, Vredeveld plans to start a mini-museum on the second floor of the store. Like many other businesses though, Vredeveld Shoes has suffered at the hand of the economy, but Lon still sees hope in the future. “We’re not getting to 100 years and stopping,” he told the paper. And I must say, an 100 year-old independent shoe retailer is an impressive accomplishment. Now, if only shoes would last that long…