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For $2, a spiffy shoeshine with a smile

This teen entrepreneur awaits oxfords, wingtips and boots, his polish and brushes at the ready.

By By ASJYLYN LODER
Published June 10, 2006

"He doesn't do toenails," said Kathleen MacGregor, proud mom of 14-year-old shiner Joe MacGregor.

The young MacGregor, second of four MacGregor boys, camps outside the Hernando County Government Center a couple of days a week in the summer, setting out a small sign that reads: "Joe's Shoe Shine. $2. Best job for the best price."

Three years ago, MacGregor's uncle gave him a wooden box with a brass hasp. Inside, he keeps his horsehair shine brushes, polish applicators and shine cloths. Nailed to the top is an angled, wooden foot rest that used to belong to his dad, the Rev. Slayden MacGregor.

MacGregor's mom or his older brother usually drops him off about 11 a.m., once or twice a week, then picks him up after lunch.

This is the third year he's shined shoes here.

"I feel safe dropping him off there, and he's a good boy, so I know he won't get in any trouble," his mom said.

When he started out, she asked somebody if it was all right if he set up shop outside the main entrance. No one has bothered him there.

He lines up the flat jars of polish next to him on a bench outside the sliding doors: black, dark brown, cognac, oxblood boot polish and cordovan, a pungent polish that looks almost purple.

"He's cordovan," he said, pointing to a pair of passing ruddy brown loafers.

MacGregor said he polishes about 10 pairs a day, usually during the lunch hour. Lawyers and county staffers, mostly men, make up his regulars. Those with just a day's business at the government center - say, a court appearance - favor casual footwear, MacGregor said.

"Everyone who comes in usually wears sneakers or sandals," he said. But the government professionals venturing out for lunch don shine-able oxfords and wingtips, and he does a fair amount of business among local police officers.

Lawyer Scott Smith stops to have his shoes shined. It's probably the first time since he saw MacGregor last summer, Smith said.

This year, MacGregor is saving for a three-week trip to Ireland with his family. Last year, he paid his football dues out of his take.

He's also got six lawns in Bayport and two in Brooksville that he tends to twice a month.

The life of a shoeshine boy is not without its trials.

"The hardest is cowboy boots," he said. The polish gums up in the decorative stitching.

Also, business has dropped off among police officers because a lot of them now have shoes that stay shiny on their own.

"Last year I got a lot of them," MacGregor said. But not this year.

Then there are family weddings.

"When there's a wedding," MacGregor said, "I have to shine everyone's shoes."

Asjylyn Loder can be reached at aloder@sptimes.com or 352 754-6127.

[Last modified June 10, 2006, 08:30:38]