Craig Simpson's memories of his grandfather come in small but unforgettable moments. First, his handshake with a grip like iron; even in his 80s, he had a firm grip from decades of working the bootmaker's hammer and pliers. Then, his workbench, which still stands at the back of the family's Lambton shop, where he tinkered away quietly, never sitting down. Then, in another moment, he recalls his attention to detail, his careful skill and how he had never bought a pair of shoes in his life.
Stephen Simpson was an unassuming man of steady routine. He took his bootmaking apprenticeship in New Lambton as a young man before going out on his own and renting a shed in the backyard of the local pub around 1931, where he started his life's work lovingly mending shoes in a time when fashion was not so fast and repairing was the way business was done.
