JAMES FREDERICK DEROUIN
A little man with a big heart. In his high school class of 100 (50 being boys) eleven of them were named James. To lessen confusion they decided to call each other by their middle names. That is how Jim/Fred got to be known as Jim to some people while others only knew him as Fred.
Jim/Fred was the original owner of the Only Shoe Repair on North Broadway, known for its excellent workmanship and the tree out front with brightly painted shoes hanging from the branches. He took pride in his work and won several national shoe repair competitions.
After 50 years, Boston Shoe Repair is still busy at Med City mall
The 104-year-old Boston Shoe Repair shop recently celebrated the golden anniversary of its Apache Mall location, where Pete Chafos and Jerry Haas have replaced soles and heels for the past 50 years. Written By: Jeff Kiger | ×
Pete Chafos works on a customer s shoe in his shop at Boston Shoe and Boot Repair in the Apache Mall April 28, 2021. (Ken Klotzbach / kklotzbach@postbulletin.com)
When Pete Chafos approached the then-new Apache Mall in 1971 about opening a second location of his Boston Shoe Repair shop, he was surprised by how welcoming the management was.