BACKSTORY: Shoestring Wilson

“I am always going to live in Spokane. It’s the best city I was ever in.”

Purpose: Developing Characters (from real life) for Nellie Stockbridge Mystery
Location: Spokane, Washington 1900

Accessed Nostalgia Magazine article (February 2021)

Born in Illinois in 1861, Alvin L. Wilson worked as an electrician in the cutting edge world of electricity. Electricity and the new technological advances were exciting and new, and Alvin excelled at his profession. When, at the Chicago 1893 fair, he watched President Wilson press a button, and thousands of tube lights and search lights lit up the Chicago sky in a display of which no one had see before. When he gradually lost the use of his legs from locomotor ataxia, he lost his esteemed profession and the use of his legs didn’t result in his good-natured spirit or his enthusiasm for life.

He lived in a 9 x 12 cabin, built to his specifications on Riverside. The landowner gave permission for the cabin to remain as long as the property was not needed for other purposes. Calling himself Shoestring Wilson (aka The Pencil Man and later, Buy Gum), Alvin L. Wilson was a familiar presence on the northwest corner of Stevens and Riverside, parking himself in front of the old Eagle Block, kitty-corner from the the Paulsen Building, which was the Granite building in 1900.

Locals are fond of the street-peddler as he always has a smile and a kind word. He spent his days making a living by peddling pencils, shoestrings, candy and collar buttons from a box mounted to the front of his wheelchair. Accompanied and assisted by his purebred Boston Terrier, “Spokane Belle,” he could be found on Riverside plying his trade except in the most inclement weather. On such winter days, he would run an ad in the newspaper:

“Owing to the weather, I am long on shoelaces and pencils; short on coal and cash. If you need my goods drop me a line, enclose coin or postage stamps. Will send by return mail, prepaid. 1124 Riverside avenue.”

His cabin was a wonder of ingenuity. (Spokane Press, 1910). Lit by electricity, it contained a a bunk and a stove, and shelves for storing his pots, pans, and books. Four ropes and pulleys allowed him to open and close his door, and lock and unlock it from his bunk. From this home he operated his business empire, assisted by his accurate bookkeeping. In addition to street vending, he also tried his hand at breeding Boston Terriers, for which he had hoped to earn a little more than what he could eke out by selling shoelaces and pencils.

(In early 1920) He was a regular attendee of Rev. James Moore Hickson’s faith healing services at All Saints Cathedral, seeking healing for his paralysis.

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But on June 6, 1920, he was found unconscious at his little store. He was taken to Sacred Heart Hospital, where he died that same day, the cause of death being listed as myocardial dilation. He was 59 years old, but his white beard and almost emaciated condition made him look much older. He had no family. At a cost of $54 for the plot and burial, he was interred in the Fraternal section of Riverside Memorial Park. (tho they spelled his name wrong Elvin Wilson, which was corrected 97 years later, with fanfare and a new headstone.)

Quotes

“There is a feeling of satisfaction that can come only to the man who is independent and can, when the day is over, realize that he has earned his right to live.”

“Drink is one of man’s greatest enemies. It steals the mind and without that man is nothing – worse than the beasts.”

“Dogs are the best of man’s friends. A dog knows when it’s master is crippled, and they learn to help an afflicted man with a readiness which is astonishing.”

“No matter what your business, keep books. You cannot be successful unless you keep track of all your take in and spend, so that you will know where to economize when necessary and whether or not you are making what you ought to on the investment.”

“I am better off than lots of men I see on the streets of Spokane. I am able to earn a living.”

“I am always going to live in Spokane. It’s the best city I was ever in.”