 |
I attended the Lynn Independent Industrial Shoemaking School, (Lynn MA)
now defunct. Ben Tenagalia, director of the school, was sensitive to my needs (actually, he told me I was crazy) and gave me a great deal
of assistance. He had a fine staff who had spent a lifetime making shoes. Each of them had a wealth of information to share and a real eye
for "doing it right."
Later I enrolled in a custom western boot-making program taught by Earl Bain at the Oklahoma Tech in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. (Now Oklahoma
State Univ.-Okmulgee) It was an exceptional open-ended program with 20 or so aspiring bootmakers working together in a very well appointed
shop. Earl was a jewel-saw him recently.
Additionally, as instructor at the Merrell Institute of Bootmaking, I have gained many valuable insights into this ever evolving craft. In the
past 20 years, we have instructed over 400 individuals in the art and craft of boot-making.
I now have 30 years experience helping people with challenging foot problems. While there is no institution of higher learning that awards a
degree in bootmaking, if the degree were available, I am confident that I would have earned a Ph.D. in bootmaking and a master's degree in
dealing with pathomechanics of the foot. |
