It’s etched in Stone: Runfola’s ‘Shoe Hospital’ saved many soles

By Ralph E. Stone
MVI columnist

Once upon a time, there were shoe repair shops that lined many of the neighborhoods throughout the Mon Valley.
The one that I am most familiar with was Runfola’s Shoe Hospital, located on Schoonmaker Avenue, between Second and Third streets, just a half block from our family apartment.
In addition to my several errands to Beery’s Grocery store or Span’s Drug store, on occasion I was sent to Runfola’s to either deliver or pick up a pair of shoes.
The shop, or shoe hospital, was operated by the two Runfola brothers.
They referred to it as a hospital because they healed many a pair of needy shoes.
I suppose they also could have been identified as a shoe church since they worked on SOLES while other churches worked on SOULS!
Anyway, those Runfola brothers certainly saved many of my own heels and soles. When I received the repaired shoes, they looked better than they had when they were first purchased.

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