J. Ready "Foot Comfort Specialist"
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John Ready, son of an Irish immigrant from County Mayo was my greatgrandfather. He owned this store and another in Parkhill and employed a shoemaker who worked in the back of the shop. Although I never knew him, his influence was strong in his son Harc's (Harcourt)business ethic.
The store looked just like this all through my childhood visits from 1944 onwards. Even after the fire in about 1954, the store was repaired and looked very much the same. I loved the ladders that ran the length of the store to allow clerks, usually family members, to climb to the ceiling to find just the right pair of shoes. I almost always got a present of a new pair of shoes on many visits. Harc was very meticulous in his fitting of shoes and never let anyone leave unless he was satisfied that they had made a good choice. This didn't always sit well with younger clients like me who wanted style over function.
In later years, Harc and his son Ferde, a talented muscian, ran the store together. It closed sometime in the 1970s. The business supported three generations of Readys in St. Marys.