His workbench prominently features a vintage pot encrusted with hundreds of strands of honey-like adhesive he used to mend shoes.īilly sewed patches on high school letterman jackets, repaired women’s handbags, fixed ballet shoes, shaped special soles for disabled people and crafted leather knife holsters and dog collars. (Family photo)īilly did much of his work in a walk-in closet-sized room jam-packed with sanders, smoothers and stacks of rubber soles.
His father was a dairy cattle farmer and his mother was a homemaker. Eventually, he took over the family business, moving it several times in Canton until finally settling in the first floor of a former bank building, a block from the courthouse square, where crews are filming the new “Hawkeye” Marvel superhero series for Disney Plus.īilly Moss, seen here hunting as a child with his father Jim, was born in Talking Rock during the Great Depression in 1933. Later, he learned shoe repair from his brother-in-law. When Ruth asked him why he didn’t bill them for more, Billy replied, “Everybody has got to live.”įor a time, Billy worked at a corduroy factory in Canton before it burned in 1955. And he charged his customers far too little for the work he did on their shoes. He gave away the vegetables he grew in his own garden. He had a subtle smile, a strong work ethic and a generous heart.
#LEATHER BAG REPAIR ATLANTA GA FULL#
Red-headed, Billy stood 6′2, a full foot taller than Ruth. Early on, she said, they were “kind of sweet on each other.” The son of a dairy cattle farmer and a homemaker, he attended elementary school in Pickens County with his future wife, Ruth.
#LEATHER BAG REPAIR ATLANTA GA MOVIE#
(J King Images)īilly was born in Talking Rock - a town some believe is named after the sound of water rushing over stones in Talking Rock Creek - during the Great Depression in 1933, the same year Prohibition ended in America and the movie “King Kong” premiered. He moved the shop several times in Canton until finally settling in the first floor of a former bank building a block from the courthouse square. He learned shoe repair from his brother-in-law and eventually took over the business.