Dacks and other Canadian shoe brands

[goatamous II]

They had them listed at $207 before tax…

$207??!?

LOL oh Talize, never change.
yeah, those will sit there for a lonnnng time
When you said they were expensive, i was expecting you to say $60ish

 

[Jiqea]

Here is another Moose Jaw find. Cool Hartt loafers Moccasin loafers from the mid 60's. Size 10D.

I have seen these advertized using water bison, but I think this pair is a printed calf.

 

[SecondHandStyle]

Something I spotted but left behind. I believe I’ve seen a similar instance but with hartt and not Dacks. I imagine this is as low quality as Dack’s get which is still superb in retrospect

Also another shoe I found but forgot to take a photo of was another pair of Dack’s with an “adventure series” sock liner. Shoe had a rubber Vibram sole. That was another first for me seeing

 

[Jiqea]

Todays shoes, nylon mesh specs from the 50's by Montreal maker Tetrault. These are the first Tetrault shoes that I have seen in the round. I think they went out of business in the late 60's or early 70's. They were quite a prominent maker in the 30's to early 60's.

 

[goatamous II]

Those definitely take a certain style to pull those off (one that I do not have)
They're great shoes though!

 

[Jiqea]

Those definitely take a certain style to pull those off (one that I do not have)
They're great shoes though!

Summertime. Cream pants, black belt, Hawaiian shirt, hot date. You're all set.

 

[Jiqea]

Here are a couple of pairs of early to mid 60's "McHale Shoes". Apron-toes were quite popular in the 60's. These are heavy, well-built Goodyear welted shoes.

 

[Jiqea]

And here is a pair of MacFarlane and LeFaivre ventilated Oxford from the late 50's. So cool.. I love this pair.

 

[SumGuy]

Here are a couple of pairs of early to mid 60's "McHale Shoes". Apron-toes were quite popular in the 60's. These are heavy, well-built Goodyear welted shoes.

View attachment 2293123 View attachment 2293125 View attachment 2293127 View attachment 2293129

I really like the dark brown ones; the black ones are very nice, too, but I tend to not like shoes with squared off toes as much. Some of the modern "chisel toe" shoes do look good, but the squared off toe is minimal in width. That being said, these are not too bad, either.

 

[Jiqea]

I just wanted to document this MacFarlane and Lefaivre box from the late 1950's. Prior to the Moose Jaw hoard I had never seen a box for MacFarlane & Lefaivre. The Latin phrase sola nobilitas virtus translates to "virtues ennoble" or "only virtues may make one noble". It is the motto of the Monarch Business School in Switzerland, and now we know, of MacFarlane and LeFaivre as well!

 

[goatamous II]

Are these the Florsheim I want?

 

[Jiqea]

Here is another Moose Jaw find. Scott-McHale short-wing Oxfords from the 1950's. They are really lovely. Made with the "Airfilm" under sole padding.

 

[Jiqea]

And here are two pairs of 1960's ventilated "McHale Shoes", a Derby and a split-toe loafer. The derby was called the "Lucerne".

 

[Jiqea]

I picked up this pair of Edwardian half boots a few months ago. They were made by Ames, Holden and McCready (AHM) of Montreal. AHM was formed in 1906 when the James McCready Co. of Montreal merged with Ames Holden of Winnipeg and Montreal. They were Canada's largest maker, producing between 12,000-15000 pairs of men's, women's and children's shoes each week. They had production centres in Montreal, Winnipeg and Moncton NB., along with large warehouse facilities in Edmonton and Vancouver. They also produced felt and rubber footwear in Cambridge Ontario. Following WW1, they expanded into producing rubber auto tires at a facility in Waterloo, Ontario., however by 1923 they had sold the factory to Goodrich, and by 1924 other parts of their empire were in receivership.


The boots were part of a small hoard of five pairs, the other four pairs of which clearly predate the first world war. I think it is likely this pair does as well, although they can date no later than 1923. The letter opener pictured below must date between 1920-1923 when AHM was in the auto rubber industry.

 

[Jiqea]

I found a couple of old photos and a fire insurance plan of the Scott-McHale factory, which was located at the southeast corner of Bathurst and Richmond Streets in London Ont. The first photo likely dates to the 1920's. The company was called Scott-Chamberlin between 1916 and 1922, after which it was called Scott-McHale. It likely took a few years before the painting on the building was changed to reflect the new name.The electric trams stopped running in London by 1931.

The second photo is likely from the 1950's, post dating the construction of the subway under the CN train lines which ran just north of the factory. I have clear recollections of this particular view, as I passed the building many times as a youth. The factory was built in 1904 and abandoned circa 1969-70. To the best of my recollection it was still there, looming over Richmond Street until at least 1980. I am uncertain when it was torn down. The building site is now the parking lot for the Boys and Girls Club.