Keeping Maine Shoemaking Alive: The Rancourt & Co. Story

At one point, it was tough to find someone in Lewiston-Auburn, Maine that wasn't personally connected to the handsewn moccasin shoe industry. Today, few Maine shoemaking operations remain—but those twin cities on the Androscoggin River continue to house legitimately remarkable footwear manufacturing. 

For 59 years, the Rancourt family has been a stalwart, crafting handsewn shoes in Lewiston—moccasins, camp mocs, beefroll penny loafers, and other iconic styles. 

Mike Rancourt came on the Shoecast to dig deep into Maine's shoemaking genesis and lineage, the process and beauty of handsewn shoes, leather selection and cutting, sizing, and the ups and downs of a business and true community that was nearly decimated by offshore manufacturing and corporate takeovers—but thanks to operations like Rancourt, persists to this day. 

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