By Shaun Tilghman
Allen Selleck has provided shoe and leather repair services in North Manchester since 1980. But, after more than 30 years in business, the owner and operator of Selleck’s Shoe Repair & Western Wear (214 E. Main St.) says if he had it all to do over again, he wouldn’t.
Selleck was working in the foundry when his father-in-law, Paul Frieden, proposed to finance purchase of the local shoe repair store from Fred Barnes. “I was a foundry guy, and the former owner that we bought out had money, and I mean money!” said Selleck.
“All he had was a shoe store and repair shop,” he continued, “and I knew I could do that. So, when my father-in-law was willing to buy the machines and get me in business, I decided to go for it. I thought I was going to come in here and make some money – like Fred Barnes did. I never expected to get rich or anything like that, but we’ve just struggled and struggled, and did without, to keep our business here.
“I got into business to be a shoe repair shop, but the world has changed big time since then. If I had it to do over again, I wouldn’t be here; I would never put my family through what we’ve been through. It’s been a struggle, it’s been a big struggle, and we’ve kept our business by doing without – we don’t go see movies and go out to eat like everybody else does. I think we own plenty, but that’s because we didn’t give the money to those big companies.”
Selleck never intended to be a retailer – he just wanted to fix shoes – but he found out long ago that he had to be in retail if he wanted to be in business. His store now carries Double H, Tony Lama, Nocona, Abilene, Rocky, Georgia, Wolverine, and LaCrosse boots, as well as Western wear, Western hats, wood carvings, artwork, footwear treatments and accessories, perfume, cologne, wallets, and much more.
by Emily Armentrout
emily@thepaperofwabash.com
When everything that could go wrong does go wrong, some people in this world would shut down, give up and let the bad things take their will to live, but the Parson family are not just some people.
Audrey Hepburn once said, “I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it's the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It's probably the most important thing in a person.”
This seems to be the mantra the Parson family lives by, loving to laugh and loving each other.
Gary, father and husband, drives truck for a living, while his wife, Sally, works at The Nail Emporium, located at their home in LaFontaine, and their son, Evan, is a senior at Southwood Jr./Sr. High School. From the outside the Parsons look like any other family, but it’s the insides that have caused this family struggle for the past 15 years.
Gary was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease in 2001. Polycystic kidney disease causes cysts to grow continually inside the kidneys causing five-ounce kidneys to grow, in Gary’s case, to 12 pounds apiece. After being diagnosed in 2001, Gary went into end-stage renal failure a year later, and was put on dialysis.
by Eric Stearley
eric@thepaperofwabash.com
For those who have been involved in 4-H or veterans’ affairs in Wabash County, Duane Truss is a household name. After receiving the Sagamore of the Wabash award on April 9, Truss will now be known by people across the state.
Family and friends surprised Truss at the courthouse Wednesday, but when he walked through the door of the Commissioners Meeting Room and saw representatives from the local VFW and Wabash County 4-H standing with Senator Jim Banks, he had an idea why he had been asked to come.
“You have a lot of friends,” Senator Banks said to Truss as he began to present the award. “What I like to emphasize…in a ceremony like this is to talk about how rare this award truly is, given to only a handful of great Hoosiers across our state.”
Sagamore of the Wabash is an honorary award given by the governor to Hoosiers who have demonstrated great leadership, service and dedication to making the Indiana a better place to live. It is the second-highest honor the governor can award a citizen. Its name comes from an Algonquian word used by Native Americans tribes to describe an individual within the tribe that the chief looks to for guidance. Senator Banks read from Truss’ award, where it states that he is “distinguished by his humanity in living, his loyalty in friendship, his wisdom in counsel, and his inspiration in leadership.”
The Easter Bunny makes his annual visit to Manchester University on Saturday, April 26 and all area children are invited. In addition to hugs from the big bunny, children age 1 to 12 will find lots to do on the North Manchester campus, beginning at 11:30 a.m.
Student residents of East Hall host the free event. On the schedule is: face painting, chalk drawing, sack races and other field games, photos with the Easter Bunny and the Egg Hunt. To give the wee ones equal opportunity, the activities are split into age categories: 1-6 and 7-12.
The Egg Hunt is between East and Garver residence halls, off East Street. A parent or guardian must accompany all children at all times and all children must register beforehand. The Egg Hunt begins at noon.
East Hall is home to about 200 MU students.
“One of the best parts about living in East Hall is that we get to host great events for the younger children of the community,” said Letha L. Parrott, East Hall director.
East Hall residents will fill 1,000 plastic eggs with treats for the Egg Hunt, she added.
“We want to form and uphold traditions that will allow the children to be comfortable on the Manchester University campus and have great memories here,” Parrott said. “Our hope is that one day they will become MU Spartans who also care about providing good, clean, fun to their communities.”
