HAVERHILL — Was she working in one of Haverhill's long-gone shoe factories one day and then asked to dress up for a photograph the next? What was she doing on a bus labeled Allied Shoe Machinery Corp. dressed in a polka-dot dress, long-sleeve blouse and dress shoes? Her pageboy hairstyle seems reminiscent of the 1940s and '50s.
Could she still be alive?
Members of the Soles of Haverhill Shoe-la-Bration Committee are asking the public for help in identifying the mysterious woman whose image appears on a giant shoe titled "Shoetown," the latest addition to a public art display that has captured regional and, even, national attention.
Created by local artist Rob Sardella, "Shoetown" pays homage to the city's shoe manufacturing industry and features black-and-white images. They include images of a downtown factory, a bearded cobbler who could be the eighth dwarf in "Snow White," and the woman whose image has captivated Sardella ever since he found her photograph in the special collections room at the Haverhill Public Library in March.
"She seemed vibrant and happy and I liked her expression," Sardella said. "She had this really glowing look to her."
Sardella has imagined all sorts of scenarios that might have taken place years ago.
"She's obviously not dressed to work in a factory," he said. "She looks like she could be a model, but she could have been someone from a downtown shoe factory who was photogenic. You wonder if they asked her to dress up as they were taking pictures the next day, or if she was doing public relations work for the company."
One of the most tantalizing clues is another image Sardella added to the giant shoe that is sponsored by the Merrimack Valley Credit Union and is on display outside its Haverhill branch office in Central Plaza.
"If you look close she's making shoes. You can see machines around her in a working factory bus. You can see the curved roof of the bus behind her."
He said the company's headquarters were in Haverhill but that other company locations are listed on the bus, including New York, Maine and Canada.
Haverhill was once a leading manufacturer of women's shoes, and was known as the Queen Slipper City. Cheaper foreign imports killed the industry in the 1950s and 1960s.
"We believe we have the name of the cobbler whose image is also on the shoe, but we don't really know what the story is behind the woman," said Shoe-la-Bration Committee member Leota Sarrette. "If we can identify her we will provide that information to the library. We were lucky to get these photos from special collections before it closed."
The Shoe-la-Bration Committee unveiled a dozen giant shoes during the city's July Fourth celebration at the stadium.
Local artists adorned each of the 5-foot-tall fiberglass shoe forms — in the shape of a vintage woman's high-top shoe — with various images. One shoe represents the fire of 1882 that destroyed much of downtown, and which rose from the ashes one year later.
Shoetown is the 13th shoe to be on public display. A 14th giant shoe will be added in a few weeks. In September, the shoes will be on display downtown before moving to the Buttonwoods Museum in October. The shoes will then be auctioned with proceeds going to local nonprofit organizations and public and local art programs.
One of the giant shoes, titled "A Weitzman Family Affair," was designed by celebrity shoe designer Stuart Weitzman and his family. It is on display inside the Hamel Mill Lofts Atrium Leasing office at 40 Locke St.
For more information about helping to solve this mystery, visit online at www.solesofhaverhill.org. Click on the "Contact" link.
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