Shoetown Has Arrived at the Central Plaza branch in Haverhill

Jeff Pierce, Tom Allanach, Hank Allard and William Betton

For the past month, five foot tall shoes from Haverhill’s “Shoe-la-bration” have been on display at various locations in the Bradford/Haverhill area. Now, the shoe called “Shoetown,” created by Rob Sardella and sponsored by Merrimack Valley Federal Credit Union is on display at Central Plaza, Haverhill. The shoe’s design is in black and white and pays homage to Haverhill’s shoe manufacturing history with great detail. In October, all of the shoes will be auctioned. The Credit Union designated local charitable organization, Emmaus, Inc. as the benefactor of the auction proceeds from “Shoetown.”

For many Haverhill residents, these shoes have significant meaning. In the early 1900s, Haverhill was known as the “Queen Slipper City”.  During that time, Haverhill’s shoe industry produced approximately 10% of the shoes sold in the United States. Carol Katsulis, a Credit Union employee at the Central Plaza branch, worked in the shoe industry at Davco for a brief time in the spring of 1978. She remembers the smells of new leather, solvents and glues. Her workdays on the assembly line were hot and tedious with just two 10 minute breaks in the day and a 30 minute break for lunch. “I can only imagine how it must have been in the earlier years for the laborers,” she said. Carol’s mother also worked at Davco for about 2 years. She was excited when she learned her Credit Union would be paying tribute to those people who helped make Haverhill a great city.

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