Ferenc György, everyone's Uncle Feri, the 86-year-old legendary cobbler from Érd has given up his craft. He fought until the last moment to preserve the cobbler's land, as he put it. Finally, he hung up the hammer forever and retired for good.
It's a long story that didn't even begin in Hungary. As an overseas Hungarian, he comes from Székelyföld, Gyergyó, and learned his trade in Cluj. According to him, he never wanted to be a cobbler, in the fifties everyone wanted to work in the metal industry.
At that time, his mother put him on the train to Cluj, saying: "go, my son, learn a trade, because without it you will become nothing." He was not accepted to the metal industry school, but the leather industry seemed like a good option. He thought that he would be able to prosper in the village with the trade he had learned.
Finally, he stayed in Cluj and started working in the famous Clujana shoe factory. He never wanted to change this, until his retirement he made shoes there and taught young people.
"I loved my profession, I have never regretted that I finally chose it. No two shoes are the same, each piece was a real challenge for me"
Uncle Feri said with a smile.
He and his wife did not want to come to Hungary, but after the children moved in the early nineties, they decided to do the same a few years later. Their new home became worth it. By then, he was already working on a pension, so he continued his craft here.
The news quickly spread around the city that Uncle Feri was a master of his trade, so every day he received more and more kunchafts, not to mention that he didn't work expensively.
"I looked at how much they work for here, what the prices are, and I did everything for half the price compared to that. I didn't want to take advantage of people because I could do with less"
Uncle Feri remembered.
He doesn't have a classic workshop, but his small toolbox has everything he needs. Many times the real workshop work takes place in the shade of the old apple tree in the garden, but on one cold, rainy day, the kitchen and the cellar hosted the repairs.
Unfortunately, shoemaking is slowly becoming a thing of the past, because not many people choose this profession anymore. Uncle Feri thinks it's because you can't really get rich from this. Ever since cheap Chinese shoes appeared, there has been noticeably less work. Fewer and fewer people have their shoes repaired.
However, the money came in handy as a supplement to the pension. They lived poorly, but they had everything they needed to get by. As the years went by, many things changed. His beloved wife passed away five years ago. The old cobbler lives alone in his tiny house, and he hasn't left the carpentry there yet. He is in his 86th year, but only now has he started to feel that his patience is running out. Something has changed.
"It probably comes with the times, but I never thought there would be a time when creating something would be a problem"
Uncle Feri thinks.
He still has some minor work to do, but the repaired shoes already have a tag, so he informs the repairmen that he cannot undertake any more repairs. As he put it, he realized that his hand was not as strong as it used to be.
If there is another pair of shoes in the family that needs to be repaired, he does not hesitate to take out the tools, but it will be more like nostalgia on his part. You won't be bored, and you have plenty of free time. He spends his days walking, he goes everywhere on foot. Uncle Feri made his own shoes, he still uses them today, they are indelible pieces.
It seems that the old adage that the cobbler always has holes in his shoes is devoid of any truth. At least in Érd...
Featured image: Attila Gárdos
