Henry Sienko - Sienko shoe Repair apx 1968

7/17/2019

-Wow! I remember this gentlemen, we are going way back and I think he sharpen skates to.
-Great talent. He used to give me a bit of a lecture though. “Bring the shoes in before they get like this. Don’t walk on them that way.”
He also lived on George St as a neighbour.
Good old days.
-Mr. Sienko was the only one that I would ever let sharpen my skates. He was the best...
-me too. So how come your skates worked better than mine did?
-took the Raider's Skates there after practice to be picked up for game day, he knew every player likes and dislikes on their sharping. He knew them by their skates I did not even need to tell him :) He was awesome, great shoe repairs also :)
-Yes, I remember him! He put new heels on our shoes, and "clickers" on the heels so they didn't wear down. I can remember the leather smell of his shop, and that he was a nice man.
-I remember him . Sharpened our skates many times !
- Great guy.
-Thanks for all the kind memories of my Grandad. He was such a great man. So gentle kind, a wonderful gardener as well.
- I grew up in town and my parents always took our shoes to him
I always went with my dad cause yr grandad was so nice and when I grew up I often stopped in to just say hi. He was loved and respected by many. Yr grandmother as well. They told us wonderful stories and even taught us a lot.😍
-thank you. They were very special. I never realized how much he impacted the community.
-used him all the time to sharpen his skates as well Dave.Remember him fondly.
-I remember him!!
- I still remember the smell of the shop. Spent many hours watching Grandad work. Sometimes he would give me a coin or two to spend on Penny Candy at Joe's Tuck Shop next door.
-and remember spotting the coins that fell into the air vent on the floor. 😊
Plus, we always had good skates.
- oh yeah!! I was always good at finding money lol especially around the parking meters at Spring thaw.
- Nice man...
-I would love to see a picture of the the big shoe that was in the front window.
- I remember him well and the smell of his store.A very sweet man.
-Such a great memory taking my brothers skates there or shoes to get fixed and then taking them to Mr Taggart to get their hair cut. Great memories.
- did you get your Bauer Supremes hand fitted by Mr. Sienko? He sold them at cost because we played for the Raiders,
-I switched from CCM Tacks first year Midget to Bauer Supremes and never wore anything but Bauer’s
- i forgot my skates once and i knew where Mr Sienko lived and he went with me to his shop and opened his store on a Sunday morn. so i could play that afternoon, he was a super supporter of the Raiders!
-he was such a fantastic person. Loved going into the store and talking with him.
-Went to school with his son Richard
-Where was he born?
-Poland
- In the shop many times. Nice man.
It's a dying art in our throw away society. Don't have a shoe repair in Simcoe.
-Great memory
-Remember him so well, and that leather smell. Great Memories. Yes!
-Great skate sharpener
-Used his services to fix many pairs of shoes
-Loved him. He was such a character snd good man.
-Sharpen my skates.
-Wow..I can vividly recall seeing him look just like that when you'd walk in the door. Very pleasant man, he took great pride in his workmanship..something hard to find these days..👞👟👠👡👢👍
- I remember him!!!!Lovely man!!
-I had nothing but respect for Mr. Sienko. We took our shoes and skates to him, always. I remember him and his wife from church...Maple Avenue. And one night at his house I had my first taste of dandelion wine.....which I think he made.
- I will have to ask my Mom about that!! I don't ever remember alcohol at their house but I was just a kid. Interesting 😃
-my mom has just clarified this story. It was made by a polish lady who lived on Windsor Road. She would visit grandad in the store to speak in polish.
-Never missed looking for that big shoe...:)
- The guy in georgetown market place is very skilled and super good guy. Just saying if you need a place to go now 😉
-Great craftsman!
-He fixed many a shoe for me 😊
-Mr Sienko's shop was the only place to get your skates sharpened properly. There was a rumour that the Leafs wanted him to work for them. He would scrape the blade across his finger nail to show you how sharp they were. Nice man!
-Wow! That goes back a ways. Yes to the skate sharpening and the shoes, he also did additional holes in your belts.... often had a little story to tell and was a great man!
-What a legacy -- there are probably thousands of us out there who have warm memories of this incredibly decent man !
-Janet's grandpa let us play shoe shop and skate shop in his shop -while he fixed the shoes we would try them on -hence all the shoes in my closet now -right Janet?
- anything is possible. We sure had fun in the back of the store.😊
-Awsome man, sharpened my skates too!! Great leather repair too!!
-I also remember him
-Always friendly and the only place to get custom leather work done well and priced reasonably
- I took this photo of "POP" Sienko, and many others in His store. He let me work on shoes sometimes. Always remember Him fondly.
-do you still have those pic Robert Ollivier? just wondering if you have one of the store front and maybe the shoe
-I have all my Dad's slides. I need to go through them to see what there is. I organized them so far by the year. Many treasured pictures of Georgetown through the years.
-Awesome <3
- he did my skates
-HIS daughter and my brother went out to geather for a while //
-That would be my Mom. She mentioned dating a hayes . LOL
-Our family went there all the time for new heels or soles on our good shoes. Loved that distinctive leathery smell in the shop. Wonderful hard working people.

3 Comments

John Carston link

1/25/2022 09:26:05 pm

I like that you said that location is important for your repair. My brother mentioned to me last night that he is looking for a reliable shoe repair service as two of his shoes need to be repaired asked if I have any idea what is the best option to do. Thanks to this informative article, I'll be sure to tell him that he can consult a trusted shoe repair service as they can answer all his inquiries and will provide good quality service.

Richard Sienko

7/24/2023 01:45:42 pm

I was doing some research on Georgetown and came across this picture and notes about my father. I enjoyed the memories shown and I do appreciate all who took time to post their memories.
I thought I would take a few minutes to introduce you to my father.
Jan Henryk Sienko who was born in a small village - Siedlanka in Poland on December 26 or 27, 21900. He couldn't decide what date he was born, I think it had to do whether he would get more gifts at Christmas or if he used the 27th and get more birthday gifts
If you know much about Eastern European history, The Polish/Lithuanian Commonwealth ruled most of Eastern Europe in the 1700's. In the 1800's the big 3 and now more powerful neighbours defeated Poland in wars and divided Poland between them. So Poland was part of the Germany, Austria and Russian Empires. Siedlanka was in the Austrian Empire. In 1914 when WW 1 broke out, my father at 14 was conscripted into the Austrian Army in a Calvary unit. During the war, this group was transferred to a Polish group under the leadership of General Pilsidski who became President of Poland in 1918. He was unhappy with the boundaries the allies gave Poland, so he went to war with Germany, Austria and Russia to reclaim what was felt by most Polish people as the true Poland. My father continued to be part of these wars fighting for Poland. These wars ended in 1921.
My Dad's older sister, had immigrated to New York in 1914 before the war and finally was able to convince my father to immigrate to the US. Fortunately or unfortunately the Polish quota was filled so she paid for his passage to Canada, arriving in fall 1925. In those days immigrants with no family were to work on a farm for 2 years so he was put on a train for Saskatchewan. He never made it. In Winnipeg he was taken off the train, and returned to Toronto. He arrived with a quarter in his pocket and spoke no English. He did survive, finding the Polish Community including people from his home town. He worked in Toronto in the leather business.
In 1934 he married Monica Bochenik another Polish immigrant. I was born a year later and we lived with my Mother's parents, her sister and brother and their families. Only Polish was spoken as the area was very Polish.
In fall 1938 he decided to come to Georgetown and open a Shoe repair store. My mother and I joined him in early 1939. We lived in several apartments and in 1943, he purchased the house at 14 George Street, where he lived till he died.
My mother Monica suffered from Leukemia and passed away on January 29, 1946. Henry as he now went by was a single parent with a 11 year old. '
In August 1947 he married a widow Jennie Fogg and she and her daughter Irene came to live with us in Georgetown.
Many of you remember my father sharpening skates. I do not remember when he started but I do remember sitting in the store while he sharpened skates. Yes he did know what pair was whose and how they liked their skates sharpened. It was mentioned that he was approached to return to Toronto and work with the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club, sharpening skates. This was due to Bob Goldham, whose father owned Goldham's Meat Ship on Main street and played for Toronto prior to being traded to Detroit. My Dad considered the offer but preferred to stay in Georgetown rather than return to Toronto. Dad sharpened Bob's skates prior to his leaving for camp while he played in the NHL.
An interesting sidelight was that after WW2, many young men from Eastern Europe immigrated to Canada and worked on farms around Georgetown. Saturday night was open night in Georgetown and stores were open till 9:00 PM. Most Saturday evenings between 3-10 young men from Eastern Europe would gather in my Dad's store. talk, smoke and laugh. My father not only spoke Polish but also Ukrainian, Russian and German. The area and countries that surrounded his home land. Several of these men became life long friends of my Dad.
My father was a very religious person and joined the Baptist Church and we attended First Baptist Church in Georgetown. He then attended the Fellowship Baptist Church in Brampton and was one of the founding members of Maple Ave Baptist Church in Georgetown. He also was a member of the Gedeon Society and would pass out bibles to students in public schools in Halton and Peel Counties.
He was an avid gardener and grew great crops of vegetable especially potatoes a stable of Polish meals. He grew Iris and Gladiolus and would enter them on occasion in the Fall Fair and won some ribbons. It was my job to dig the garden in Spring and fall.
He enjoyed lawn bowling and was a member of the Club in Georgetown.
Several mentioned the shoe in the window, I do not remember what happened to it. If you remember the clock on the wall over the bench, that clock still ticks today, 50 years after we closed the store.
Around 1960 he suffered from a small heart attack but recovered. In late January 1973, he suffered a major hear

Richard A, Sienko

7/29/2023 11:45:13 am

I note that my full article was not printed. Finishing is as follows

Henry suffered a major heart attack in January 1973 and was taken to Georgetown Hospital. When I visited him, he only spoke to me in Polish, a language I had not spoken since I left Georgetown in 1955. He is buried along with his 2 wives (Monica and Jennie) in Greenwood Cemetery, Georgetown.. Sincerely
Richard Augustine Sienko

Henry Sienko - Sienko shoe Repair apx 1968

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