Footwear

[KHickam]

My father was born in 1922 my grandfather in 1884 - I remember my uncle did not have an indoor toilet until early 1970s I had to use the outhouse.

[Sir Michael]

First off I have to say that the longhunter period is out of my area of interest.  However, all this discussion about going barefoot reminded me of any individual that I saw almost every day when I was at University in Moscow.  He never wore shoes.  Starting in the fall I would see him padding across the quad bare foot and he continued to do so every day through the winter regardless of how much snow there was.  I often thought about how he could do that but concluded that if you never put shoes on the gradual change in the weather and the temperature of the ground would be easy to get used to.  I never go close enough to him to find out why he did what he did just watched from a distance.

[Groundhog]

sick puppy ... bet he had thick skin.

[tg]

How common were high top boots similar to calvary type of the period, are there any references to these at all being used by civilians?

[RichW]

High top boots were common in the early 19th century for farmers, and young gents who rode horseback.  In polite company, farmers and young gents wore shoes.  

[mike rumping]

Keep in mind in the Middle Ground trade goods were very scarce from 1776 until 1782 due to Injun troubles.  During that time most ended up barefoot or wearin' centerseam or puckertoe mocs.  Yep, they indeed wore shoes, if available, but it depends where & when you're portraying.
Mike

[Morgan]

About tender feet....when I was a kid my mother simply refused to allow her kids to go barefoot outside.  Shoes had been such a scarce and precious commodity when she was growing up that she was determined that her kids always had shoes on.  Down side of that was that I grew up having very tender feet.

Now, I go without shoes whenever and where ever I can just to toughen my feet up.  Doing this makes the times of wearing mocs much more comfortable and helps immensely when it is necessary to go barefoot while in the woods.

Morgan

[Kermit]

Someone mention "Roman" sandals? Try this guy. He's been at it for decades, and chooses to live in Lahiana, Hawaii. Wouldn't you?

http://www.islandsandals.com/

Pretty "PC" for sandals--he'll use a leather heel if you want. They look spendy, but last forever. I hung out with him for hours one day, and learned a lot about stitching leather, with a good bit of history thrown in.

Somehow I don't think his footwear would pass muster...

[Loyalist Dave]

Yep, they indeed wore shoes, if available, but it depends where & when you're portraying.  

Even when available on the frontier, shoes are often not chosen.  Morgan sold shoes in his store in Kaskasia in the 1760's, and (iirc) a single reference exists for one of the many hunters there buying a pair.  For self use, for trade, as a gift to a young lady ..., who can say, but none of the other hunters appear to have bought or taken them on credit.

LD

[mike rumping]

But it does depend also if you'll be walking on pavement or not.  I made my Nancy about 8 or more pairs  
of centerseam mocassins in deerskin, Elk, and buffalo, but 1st time she went to Williamsburg, Va., she  
got shin splints.  So I got her some hard soled buckle shoes for the pavement or hard floor events now.
Mike

[Loyalist Dave]

I would think the shin-splints were caused by the lack of the heel on the mocs, not the hard pavement.  The preventive cure for the ailment is to stretch the muscles on the back of the calves by flexing the feet upward.  

 

LD

[Shawnee Mike]

Osayo All,
I know this is an old thread, but it does have alot of good info.
  As far as greasing mocs, This is MY experience.

  I use mocs alot.  I have found that greased mocs, in any weather WILL get wet.  It just may take a bit longer to happen.  The difference is what happens after they get wet.
  Now from my experience, Wet greased mocs are really slippery. They retain the water and eventually can actually fill with water.
   They take forever to dry.

  I stopped greasing my mocs and what i have found is that, yes my feet and mocs get wet.  However they dry really fast at the end if the day.  I carry a second set for night that are dry and use them the next day.  If not dry by morning, the wet ones will dry in short order.

   As far as Insoles are concerned, I use them too.  There are all sorts of period alternatives to modern insols that are perfectly PC to use.  They do help with the sharp stones.

   In winter, I have a second set of mocs that are larger and fit over the other set.  These are heavilly greased.  When frozen they are just as good as when dry. they do a tolerable job of keeping the inner mocs dry and warm.

   Theses are just some thoughts from things that I have done.

[Gordon H.Kemp]

I know that when I was a boy , you went bare foot once the weather began to warm. If you were the oldest of the kids you would get new shoes for scchool ,church etc. the old pair would get repaird /// and given to the next kid in line this would be repeated untill you ran out of kids or the shoes just couldn't be mended ! This process was common with rual kids and those familys in towns that were  low on the money scale .  :idea:  If the shoes you inherited from an older kid were a little big  , paper got stuffed in the toe to make them fit untill ( you grew into them ) :walk
         I have read that the rifle brigade from Pa. durring the Rev. made the several hundred mile march to Mass. mostly barefooted. One of the Hessian officers had discribed the appearence of the patriot riflemen  as having a fringed rifle frock leather britches and "barefoot " :!:

[Fireman645]

Was wanting to make a pair of center seam mocs and would like to know where would be a good place to buy or download a pattern.  Also what type of leather should I use?

[Archer]

I found a good pattern on the Native Tech site.  There is a pattern there for centerseams that you can custom make to your foot.  I was successful the first time I used it.  I don't know what leather most use.  I just used some I had on hand although it may be a little thin.  I was able to double sole a pair by making a tracing of my feet.