Glidden Homestead to host historic shoes and leatherworking presentation

DeKALB – The Glidden Homestead and Historical Center will host a presentation on historic shoes and leathermaking later this month.

The event will take place at 2 p.m. on Aug. 14. at the homestead, 921 W. Lincoln Highway in DeKalb.

Leatherworker Norman Walzer will discuss historical footwear. Walzer studied and made historical footwear as a hobby for more than 50 years. He also volunteered in the Lukins-Ferguson Cobbler Shop at Lincoln’s New Salem Historical Site for almost 30 years.

Walzer studied shoe and boot-making at Colonial Williamsburg and Old Sturbridge Village. He also served on the board of the Honourable Cordwainers’ Company, which includes museum staff and others interested in historical footwear and visited major shoe museums including the Steamboat Arabia in Kansas City and the BATA Museum in Toronto.

The Glidden Homestead museum will be open for tours, and The Phineas Vaughan Blacksmith Shop will be open and operating during the day while volunteer blacksmiths provide demonstrations of the craft.

Admission to the presentation will be $4 for adults and free for Homestead members and children ages 14 and younger.

The Glidden Homestead and Historical Center is a nonprofit organization working to preserve the home and barn while providing educational opportunities to the public. The house and Welcome Center are open from noon to 4 p.m. every Sunday, June through November, with a special event in December.

For information, call 815-756-7904, visit www.gliddenhomestead.org or visit J.F. Glidden Homestead & Historical Center on Facebook.