We’re in Snyder’s Shoes in Manistee along the shore of Lake Michigan, where we vacationed with the family for many years when the kids were young and spent a week with Harriet’s sister.
The two photos (taken 15 years apart) were an annual tradition. We posed with a statue of the tallest man who ever lived. Robert Wadlow stood 8 ft. 11 inches and survived until only age 22, dying in 1940. He required leg braces when walking and had little feeling in his legs and feet. Robert’s path through life was similar to others who had physical differences—excessive hair growth, missing body parts, extra limbs, tattoos, and conjoined twins. He joined the circus in 1936 and became a celebrity. At least he was featured in the Ringling Brothers center ring and not relegated to one of the sideshows reserved for freaks. In 1938 he began a promotional tour with the International Shoe Company. He considered himself working in advertising instead of exhibiting as a freak.
During a professional appearance at the Manistee National Forest Festival, a faulty leg brace irritated his ankle, leading to infection, and soon after, his death. Snyder’s Shoes in Manistee now features Robert’s life-sized statue and one of his shoes.
Robert Wadlow was known as the Gentle Giant. He must have led an interesting and challenging life. I appreciate the fun ritual he brought to my family of posing with him. May he rest in peace in his ten-foot-long coffin.
