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BY VANESSA RENDERMAN
vrenderman@nwitimes.com
219.933.3241 | Thursday, August 23, 2007 | (8 comment(s))
HANOVER TOWNSHIP | Like most local lore, this story has some soul. Or in this case, soles.
For decades, the intersection of 109th Avenue and Calumet Street in Hanover Township has been a dumping ground for shoes old and new, of every color, size and variety.
Solo or in pairs, the shoes are scattered along the gravel edges of the streets, sit squarely in the center of the intersection and even hang from nearby utility lines.
An unofficial landmark for people traveling the backroads between Indiana and Illinois, Shoe Corner is a bit of a mystery.
The shoes appear and disappear without many witnesses.
"It drove me crazy," said Rick Tozzi, who rents a house near the intersection and finally asked his landlord about Shoe Corner.
She told him the story that was passed on to her.
Years ago, a man sat on the corner with a sign reading, "Will work for clothes and shoes." People gave him shoes. Even after he left the corner, they kept dropping off the shoes, and it became a tradition.
Beverly Ambroziak has a different story, the one her husband used to tell.
It started when a woman's boot ended up in the middle of the intersection. The boot sat unscathed as cars zoomed past for weeks.
"Then it's like they multiplied," Ambroziak said.
People as far as Valparaiso have heard of the happenings, she said.
More people know the intersection as Shoe Corner, not by the actual names of the cross streets, neighbors have learned.
Tom O'Shaughnessy, who lives at the corner, said a furniture delivery company called to say they couldn't find where he lived. They asked if it was near Shoe Corner, and he told them it "is" Shoe Corner.
St. John Town Manager Steve Kil, who grew up in the area, said the intersection has been covered in shoes since he was a little kid, almost 40 years ago.
"I have never seen anybody throw a shoe out there," he said. "I just know that they're always there."
Tozzi has a view of the intersection from his house, but he has never seen anyone leave or pick up the shoes.
O'Shaughnessy said he once saw a woman stop to try on a shoe, but he's never seen anyone dump them there.
Ambroziak, who has always lived within sight of Shoe Corner, said it used to be an ordinary intersection.
"I know there weren't shoes (there) when I was a kid," she said.
Now, there are so many that Dianna O'Shaughnessy and her family have to pluck them from the edge of their property before they can mow.
Neighbors say a small sign went up for a little while, offering a reward for whoever is caught dumping shoes, but the sign disappeared days later.
Tom O'Shaughnessy has a plan for the discarded boots, heels, slippers and gym shoes, some of which are like new.
"I'm opening up a shoe store," he said jokingly.
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sabrina wrote on Jan 25, 2009 11:49 PM:
Sole provider wrote on Nov 14, 2008 11:24 AM:
Ron from ST John wrote on Aug 24, 2008 7:41 PM:
Grumpy old man wrote on Aug 26, 2007 12:23 PM:
Say it ain't so Joe!! wrote on Aug 23, 2007 1:41 PM:
what a smuck wrote on Aug 23, 2007 12:36 PM:
passer by wrote on Aug 23, 2007 12:18 PM:
shoeless joe wrote on Aug 23, 2007 8:59 AM: