One Pennsylvania family's still fixing shoes

LEBANON, Pa. - Not too many businesses, no matter the type or area they serve, can say they've lasted for a century. And shoe repair shops have been seen as a "dying breed" for years.

But one Lebanon business has overcome those obstacles and will celebrate a milestone Wednesday. DiNunzio's Shoe Repairs is celebrating 100 years of serving Lebanon and its surrounding area, and is now a four-generation family business.

"I think being a four-generation business helps. But because it's down to us after there used to be eight shops in Lebanon, what's happened is the shoe industry's changed in different qualities, but we've changed with it," said owner Dave DiNunzio. "That's the main thing. Most of the time, this industry is passed on from generation to generation."

DiNunzio's was started by DiNunzio's grandfather, John, when he was 16 and had learned about shoe repair from DiNunzio's great-grandfather, Nicola. The business was then passed to DiNunzio's father before DiNunzio took over.

The store fixes anything from high-end shoes to boots, even character shoes. It also offers canvas repairs, as well as zipper and coat repairs.

And because of other shoe repair shops' closing, it is bringing in customers from Reading - three to five new ones a week - as well as Harrisburg and Lancaster County.

DiNunzio started working in the industry with his dad at a young age as well, when he was 10.

"We had shoe shine stands back then. A lot of guys used to come from the VA [Lebanon VA Medical Center], and Fridays and Saturdays were hopping back when Lebanon was a hopping town," he said. "The veterans used to come in off the bus when we were located on Eighth Street to get a shoe shine. So we'd always earn money that way."

But before continuing in the business after college and then eventually buying the business in 1980, DiNunzio almost didn't follow in his ancestor's footsteps.

"When I got out of high school, I went to college for business administration and accounting. My uncle told me people weren't learning the trade and to stick with it," DiNunzio said.

"Sure enough, when I got out of college, they weren't paying enough for accountants, so I just stuck with it."

And from the moment he took over, DiNunzio never once thought his family business would ever go out of business.

"I never thought of the closing part. It's never been part of my thinking," he said. "You see ups and downs, but it all comes around."

DiNunzio also credits his wife, Karen, for the continued success. And her birthday also happens to be Wednesday.

"She basically runs the front counter. She's here a lot and I couldn't have done it without her. She's always by my side," he said.

With his children - son Michael and daughter Natalie - deciding to work in other industries, DiNunzio, 62, in an effort to keep the century-old business alive, has brought in an apprentice, Charles Kuleda, who came from the corporate world.

"I had gotten to know Charles four years ago, doing a special buildup on his shoe. When he came in, he couldn't even walk. So I had been working with him and doing his shoes for several years, and he just came to me this year and asked if I would consider taking an apprentice. After some hard thinking, it would be terrible to close the business when I'm 70 or 72."

Working full-time for another 10 years or so is the goal for DiNunzio, but even after that, it'll be hard to keep him away.

"I can't sit still," he said.