(Atlantic) This weekend will be the last time a longtime Atlantic business will remain open. After 77 years of serving customers across southwest Iowa and beyond, Barb Jorgensen, owner of the Little Cobbler at 13 East 4th Street, is retiring.
The Shoe repair industry was booming in the 1940s because everyone would fix everything instead of buying new. Barb’s father, Eddie Lehmann, learned the trade in Chicago, moved to the Atlantic in 1946, and opened a shoe repair shop.
As a young girl, Barb worked alongside her father and, at the age of 10, started her own shoe shine business.
Barb returned to help her father when he became ill and kept the business going when her father passed to help support her mother. When her mother passed on, she was invested in the industry and decided to keep it going.
Barb was a big supporter of other downtown businesses. Her customer base spanned from Pella to Winterset and all of southwest Iowa.
What will Barb miss the most?
The Little Cobbler will close; however, Barb is tossing other ideas around. So, stay tuned.
