ROGERS -- Worn linoleum reveals the original wood floor marking the winding path Carl Walter took around machinery and tools in his shoe repair shop for more than 30 years. Walter, 93, moved to a ...

SALISBURY — When it came down to it, all Pat Weddington wanted was a hand-stitcher and a polisher to help with repairs he sometimes had to make to shoes he and his wife were selling on eBay.

The grown-up customers walk in clutching their grown-up wallets and purses, wearing their grown-up suits and work uniforms, talking their grown-up talk about the kids and the job. They leave pouting, ...