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The Niemuth Family - Newspaper Articles

-- George Franz Niemoth --


Time To Put On Shoes
Hall County Farmer Barefoot Much of the Year
GRAND ISLAND. (UP). George Niemoth, 46, farmer, decided Friday it was just about cold enough for
him to start wearing shoes again.
Niemoth began going barefoot five years ago when he discovered that it was a remedy for a corn. In the
early spring he takes his footwear off, and leaves it off until late in the fall, when the "usual fierce winters" are too much for him.
"White frost doesn't bother me, but I can't take it in the heavy snow," he said. "I got rid of my corns
entirely and it really feels good in the summer. The only time it hurts my feet is when I walk in deep dust. That comes up between my toes and hurts them, but the bottom of my feet are tough and hardened. I can strike a match on my foot with no trouble at all. When I throw a cigaret [sic] away I merely step on it to put it out."
Niemoth goes thrashing and shucks his corn without shoes. Last December during a light snow he sawed
wood, standing on a small pile of sawdust.
"But when I have my fun is the summer, when I go to town without my shoes. A lot of people there kid
me about it and wonder how I can stand the hot pavement and melted tar streets. I guess I just got used to it."
 
[Source: Nebraska State Journal, Saturday, December 23, 1939, p. 2, col. 6]

Hot Weather Story.
GRAND ISLAND. (AP). -- Friends of Gene Niemoth, operator of a farm oil truck route, are used to his
shoeless appearance. He goes barefoot summer and winter. But they still wince when he drops a cigaret [sic] and stomps out the hot ashes.
 
[Note that the Associated Press (AP) picked up the story originally from the Nebraska State Journal. But, when the Nebraska State Journal ran the AP's version of the story, they didn't notice it was originally their article and mistakenly changed George's name to Gene (or perhaps they knew it was their story, and that his name was George, and changed it to make it seem "new" ... who knows...)]
 
[Source: Nebraska State Journal, Friday, June 28, 1940, p. 6, cols. 6-7]

Hot Foot.
Grand Island, Neb. (AP) -- Friends of George Niemoth are used to his shoeless appearance. He goes
barefooted summer and winter.
But they still wince when he drops a cigaret [sic] and stomps out the hot ashes.
 
[Source: The Daily Times-News, Thursday, July 11, 1940, p. ?, col. 6]
[Source: The Kingsport (Tennessee) Times, Monday, July 1, 1940, p. 2, col. 4]
[Source: The Kingston (New York) Daily Freeman, Monday, July 1, 1940, p. 14, col. 1]

George Niemoth of Grand Island, Nebr., who goes barefooted summer and winter, causes spectators to
wince when they see him drop a cigarette and stomp out the ashes.
 
[Source: The Nashua (Iowa) Reporter, Wednesday, January 1, 1941, p. 5, col. 4]

©2003-2007 Lori Niemuth

Last updated: July 19, 2007

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