A Shoe Story | An Interview with Buck and Bruce Burkhartzmeyer

If you sit down for a chat with Donald "Buck" Burkhartzmeyer, there's a good chance you'll be walking away holding a new pair of shoes or a collection of custom-made inserts. When we met him, at age 93, his eyes still lit up when he talked about how shoes are made, and as he excitedly examined our insoles to figure out what kind of orthotic adjustments would make walking more comfortable, he seemed almost like a kid in a candy store.

We interviewed Buck together with his nephew, Bruce Burkhartzmeyer, in 2017, for an episode of our documentary series. Burkhartzmeyer Shoes has been a staple of downtown Faribault, Minnesota since it was founded, when three brothers, all veterans of the Second World War, took on the family business from their father, a Russian immigrant. Through three generations of family stewardship, that business has kept thousands of feet warm and comfortable--a rare example of family retail continuing to thrive even today. We're incredibly happy to publish this interview in full today, so you can get to know the Burkhartzmeyer family for yourself.

We are Logan Ledman and Sam Temple. Over our six years of teaching classes, putting on plays, and creating documentaries, we have come to appreciate history for all of its incredible stories. On this podcast, we share our interview with Donald "Buck" Burkhartzmeyer and Bruce Burkhartzmeyer.

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Watch our full episode on the Burkhartzmeyers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K2H8b1P7UY...

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