Section A · Page 10
The University Daily Kansan
1.
Friday, February 6, 1998
Dave Pearce, a shoe repair expert, fixes the sole of a cowboy boot. Pearce said he enjoyed repairing shoes and helping people to save money. Photo by Lisa Stevens John/KANSAN
Shop owner helps customers maintain spring in their steps
Steady business keeps repairman on his toes
By Lisa Stovens John
ljohn@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Dave Pearce leans over a cowboy boot as a needle punctures a thick, fresh-cut slab of leather. The floor of the room vibrates beneath the thrusts of the heavy-duty sewing machine.
Pearce steadies the boot with both hands and deftly turns the boot when the needle approaches the toe. The scent of fresh-cut leather fills the air.
It's business as usual at Reuter's Boots-Shoes-Repair. 8 W. Ninth St.
For seven years, Pearce has been a mainstay of the Lawrence shoe repair scene. With his shop located near the heavily traveled intersection of Ninth and Massachusetts streets, Pearce said he could always tell when classes at the University of Kansas were in session.
He said business picked up noticeably during those times of the year because people started thinking more about their footwear.
"They start go through their closets looking to see if their boots need to be repaired to make it through the winter," Pearce said. "Fortunately, I like what I do. I like to repair shoes and I like to educate people on how to take care of shoes."
Pearce said the largest shoe he had repaired
"I had to special-order a strip of leather for the soles because what I had in the shop wasn't big enough," Pearce recalled.
belonged to a KU basketball player. The size 17 shoes needed new leather soles.
He said the hardest repair jobs usually come from the owners of puppies.
Larry McElwain, Lawrence resident, also brought a challenging job repair into the shop.
McElwain said he had been in Arkansas in the fall, basking in the warmth of a bonfire with his feet propped on a rock.
"One lady went off to work one day and accidentally shut her puppy in her closet," Pearce said. "She brought 21 pair of shoes in for repair."
"My feet were feeling pretty good," McElwain said. "And then somebody said, 'Hey, your shoe is on fire.' I looked down and there was the sole dripping like flubber off my right boot."
McElwain also said he brought in his dress shoes for regular maintenance.
"I like to buy a shoe that's going to last and that is friendly to half-soleing." McElwain said.
Another customer, Sally Bredeweg, Lawrence resident, brought in a pair of sheepskin slippers, one with the sole dangling from it.
"Looks like we've got a blowout," Pearce said, punctuating the comment with his customary chuckle.
Bredweg said she had tried to sew the slipper back together, but she thought Pearce would make a longer-lasting repair.
Many of Pearce's customers drop off their shoes and wait patiently for the repairs. But
"I like to teach people how to take care of their shoes better, and to buy good shoes in the first place. We have a throw-away mentality and I'd like to change that."
Dave Pearce
reuter's shoe repair
Pearce said there was an occasional shoe repair emergency.
"A guy pulled up in front, parked in the no-parking zone, left his motor running and came inside to pick up some shoes I had fixed," Pearce said. "While he was inside, his car kicked into reverse, backed up Ninth Street, crossed Massachusetts and ran into a light pole."
Pearce said some of the most difficult shoes to repair were Birkenstocks.
"People like them so much and they're so comfortable that they just about wear them to pieces before they bring them in to me," he said.
Pearce said he enjoyed repairing shoes in a college town.
Ski helmets all the rage
"A lot of the time I'm the first person to introduce kids to the idea that their shoes can be fixed," he said. "This of course makes the shoes last longer and saves the kids money. I like to teach people how to take care of their shoes better, and to buy good shoes in the first place. We have a throw-away mentality and I'd like to change that."
Recent tragedies on ski slopes put skiers on alert
By Laura Roddy
Iroddy@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Students planning to hit the slopes on a weekend trip should keep safety on their minds.
The recent deaths of Michael Kennedy and Sonny Bono have made people more aware of the dangers that can be associated with skiing.
Mandy Schuenaman, Houston junior, was skiing in Colorado with friends when she heard of Kennedy's and Bono's deaths. She said the news did not concern her because she stayed on the trails and didn't horse around.
However, other skiers have taken the accidents to heart.
Alpine Hut, 8931 Metcalf Ave., Overland Park, has seen a significant increase in safety concern
among its customers.
Andrew Frye, an Alpine Hut employee, said many customers have been asking about helmets and the store has been selling one to two helmets daily.
Frye said skiers should also make sure to wear proper protective gear, such as long underwear, gloves, hats and goggles.
Austin Baumgarten, Prairie Village junior, went skiing during the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.
"For a skier that has no experience, I was a little worried," he said. Baumgarten is right to worry.
One KU student broke two vertebrae in a skiing accident Sunday. Christopher Benlon, Shawnee freshman, was on a McCollum hall-sponsored ski trip to the Snow Creek Ski Area in Weston, Mo. Benlon will spend a month wearing a full-body brace.
Gary Tabor, ski instructor and member of the Winter Park, Colo., ski patrol, said skiers should follow the Responsibility Code to ensure a safe skiing environment.
SKIER'S CODE
Tabor said skiers should follow
Always stay in control, and be able to stop or avoid other people or objects.
People ahead of you have the right of way. It is your responsibility to avoid them.
You must not stop where you obstruct a trail or are not visible from above.
- Whenever starting downhill or merging into a trail, look uphill and yield to others.
Always use devices to help prevent runaway equipment.
Observe all posted signs and warnings. Keep off closed trails and out of closed areas.
Prior to using any lift, you must have the knowledge and ability to load, ride and unload safely.
specific steps if they encounter a hurt skier. Crossed skier standing on-end in the snow in an "X" signal an injury. Skiers should then call ski patrol with the trail location, the injured skier's gender and the nature of the injury.
Forums focus on abstinence
Sexual restraint prevents disease promotes respect
By Marcelo Vilela
mvfield@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
The St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center will present its annual forum on human sexuality today and tomorrow
The theme for this year's forum is abstinence.
The first session will begin at 4 p.m. today in Parlors A, B, and C of the Kansas Union.
The second forum session will be at 10 a.m. tomorrow at the social hall of the St. Lawrence Campus Center, 1631 Crescent Road, and will focus on the Catholic view on abstinence and sexuality.
The Rev. Vince Krische, director of the St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center, said the forum's objective was to take a different angle on abstinence.
He said the forum would also encourage the audience to see
sex as commitment instead of a shortcut to momentary pleasure.
Krische said many young people questioned the path of their sexual lives.
"We want to support people in their decision for abstinence," Krische said. "We want to appeal to the best in people rather than to their weakness."
Krische said once people understood themselves, they would learn to appreciate their bodies.
"We want to do that by teaching them how their bodies work," he said. "The power of sex is really tremendous: Used in the right way, it can be creative. In the wrong way, it can be destructive."
Mary Beth Bonacci, a national speaker on abstinence and chastity, also will speak today.
Bonacci will address issues of love, dating and sexuality.
Henry Buck Jr., a physician at the Watkins Health Center, will be speaking about the medical aspects of abstinence as they relate to the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
"The power of sex is really tremendous. Used in the right way, it can be creative.In the wrong way, it can be destructive"
The Rev. Vince Kricshe
the Rev. Vince Krieshe director of the st. lawrence catholic campus center
"The way you prevent infection is by avoiding exposure," Buck said.
Buck agreed that on a college campus, it was difficult to convince students that not having sex was the best way to prevent diseases.
"The education needs to start long before college," Buck said.
In previous years, the discussions were centered on family planning and chastity.
Attendance has been growing throughout the years, Krische said.
This year, about 75 people should attend the event, Krische said.
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ON CONTINUING ISSUES IN WESTERN CIVILIZATION
"The French Revolution and the Creation of Modern Citizenship" GAIL BOSSENGA
Associate Professor of History The University of Kansas
February 10, 1998
8:00 p.m.
Alderson Auditorium, Kansas Union
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