When Darrel Ratliff opened Kounty Kobbler 29 years ago, his mother asked him if he could be a shoe cobbler since he had no experience in the trade. He responded: "Sure, it's all common sense. Anything you lay your hands on, you can do. You just have to make your mind up that you can do it."Brad Johnson, West Broadway Elementary School principal, picks up a pair of high heels for his daughter and spends a moment to chatting with cobbler Darrel Ratliff. Clutter surrounds cobbler Darrel Ratliff while he works. "I hate to throw away things that may still have a use to them," he said.Sitting under portraits of himself and his sister and his parents, Darrel Ratliff visits with his mother and father on Saturday. "It surprised me he got into (shoe repair). I never knew he could do anything like that," said his mother, Nora. "I've always wanted my kids to do what they wanted to do."James, center, 81, and Nora, 78, Ratliff visit with their son on a Saturday afternoon. "When he first started, he was worked to death," said his mother. "But then we had all the coal mines with the miners and all their boots. That kept him busy."Darrel Ratliff gets into the 1985 Chevy pickup that has been in his family since it was new and has only 70,000 miles on it. "I really only drive on the weekend," he says. "There's no need during the week. I have 10 steps down to work and 10 steps up to home."After getting up at 3 a.m., cobbler Darrel Ratliff relaxes by watching PBS before sunrise. "I'll probably take a quick nap before opening the shop," he said.A sunrise over Madisonville chases away the morning chill in mid-October."I got a strike! I can't believe it!" squeals Kaci Sanchez, 13, as she is swung up in a hug from friend and birthday girl Crysta Coble, 14, at Melody Lanes on a typical Friday night in Madisonville. "It's my first time!"
