A SHOE SUCCESS STORY
There is a lot of history to be told about the current location of French's
Shoes and Boots, located on Main Street in Crossville.  The building, located
in the same block as Mitchells Drug Store and originally housed Walker's
Shoe Store.  Mr.Cliff Walker started Walker's Shoe Store in the early 1900's.  
The store sold footwear and also had a repair service which would have
been important to a business at that time.  In those days, prosperity had not
made it's way to Crossville and many people had to repair their shoes and
boots instead of replacing them with new ones.
Esby French, as a young man, came to work for Cliff Walker in 1935. He worked as a footwear
repairman and, as time passed, all of his sons eventually followed in his footsteps. Pascal,
Kenneth, Jimmy and Esby Jr. all worked in Walker's establishment in the footwear repair shop.
Tommy French, at the age of twelve, began shining shoes for Mr. Walker. He worked after
school and during the summer. Even though young Tommy was only in the seventh grade, he
showed great promise with his sincere work ethic and easy ability to talk to people.. Tommy
was likable and a hard worker. By the time Tommy was was twenty years old he was managing
the store for Mr. Walker. The Repair Shop and Shoe Shine Stand had grown into a retail business
where Mr. Walker bought factory-reconditioned footwear in bulk. The defective shoes were
repaired and shined and then sold by the salesman.
As a salesman Tommy grew very popular with the regular customers because of his remarkable
memory of what style each customer preferred—he even knew his customer's sizes. Rumor had it
"Tommy knew the footwear size of every person in town and of anyone he had ever sold a pair
of shoes to." Tommy's memory together with his honesty, integrity and friendship were the
trademark of Walker's Shoes.
In 1972 Mr. Walker offered to sell the establishment to Tommy, who was now thirty years old.
Tommy purchased the business and changed the name to French's Shoe Shop. Tommy and his
wife Diane worked side by side to build the business to the success it achieved.
Jimmy French, Tommy's brother, worked as a salesman in the business and was also a favorite
with the regular customers. Another familiar and longtime employee was Emmitt Fields who
worked as the main shoe repairman for twenty years. Everyone was familiar with Emmitt's
dedication to his work, as well as his friendliness to all the customers.
This dedication and craftsmanship is carried on now through Charlie Threet our current master
repairman. We're proud to state that Charlie has been with us for thirty years. Working in the
repair shop of French's since he was thirteen, Charlie learned the "art of the trade" from Emmitt,
Tommy and Jimmy. Customers will still find Charlie's friendly face in the repair shop at French's
today—working with that same dedication to his work that was handed down through the
history of the business.
Tommy and Dianne's son Rodney also grew up working at French's Shoe Shop, learning many of
the same jobs his father had grandfather had mastered. Rodney purchased the business from his
parents in 1992 and he and his wife Kelly have managed the store since. Their children, Bradley
and Julie, are growing up in the business much like their father did.  French's has grown to seven
locations from that little store at the corner of Main Street in Crossville, Tennessee.