1 in 8700: Angie Wade

Angie Wade has come a full circle. Upon finishing high school, she started work at Lazarus Department Store. Owned and managed by Stan Lazarus, the building sat at 20 Main St.; if you lived in Middlebury and you wore shoes, you most definitely bought them there. Wade worked there for two years, during which time she learned from Lazarus the finer points of properly fitting a pair of shoes.

“Stan was a great guy, very giving,” said Wade. “He always had doughnut holes and vanilla wafers for the kids.”

Though Lazarus wanted her to stay on at the store, Wade stopped work there to raise a family.

During this time, Lazarus was forced to defend the store against a TV ad suggesting that both the business and the town would benefit if the building, which sits at the entrance to the MarbleWorks district, was razed. Lazarus “dug his heels in” and placed the building in a trust. But the store eventually closed, and a series of tenants cycled through the building.

By this time, Wade had returned to the shoe business. In 1997, she opened her own store, The Shoe Center, next to the movie theater in Middlebury. Five years later, the Preservation Trust of Vermont approached her about the possibility of moving into the original building.

“They wanted me to sell clothing, which I’d never been as interested in,” Wade said. “But Ames [department store] had just left and there wasn’t even really a place to buy underwear. So I took the leap and came over.”

Looking around her store, Green Mountain Shoe and Apparel, she pauses: “I think Stan would be proud of me.”

There are still people who remember the store as Lazarus’s, and Wade is happy to carry on his tradition. Running the store is a lot of work, she said, but it is work she enjoys.

As with all jobs, however, there are a few aspects that Wade does not like. For example, shoplifting is increasingly an issue.

“I don’t like standing over people, but I’ve caught a lot of people in the last year, so if it’s someone I don’t recognize, unfortunately, I feel like I have to keep an eye on them,” said Wade.

Despite this challenge, her customers are her favorite aspect of the job.

“I’ve gotten to know quite a few,” said Wade.

Sometimes people simply come in to chat. One woman stopped by to tell Wade that she had retired and planned on taking a trip to Tanzania with her husband. In the last three years Wade has noticed more college students in the store.

“It’s nice to see where they’re from,” she said.

For Wade, perhaps the best aspect of a loyal customer base is the opportunity to watch people grow up.

“There was a little boy and his mom would bring him in, but he hated to try on shoes,” said Wade. “He’d scream and cry, so his mom stopped bringing him and would just pick up shoes and bring them home. Well he’s grown up now, and he comes in happy to see me and get his feet measured and get a pair of shoes.”