By Ken Robinson

Huberd's Shoe Grease.

I remember it well. It was a mysterious  substance to an 8 year old. It’s curious viscosity, burnt amber color and slightly acrid aroma  gave it a timeless quality. Once in a while , we would pop the lid and look at it smell it.

When i was older and had my own leather books, the dark green “Ted Williams’ model Dad got me for my fourteenth birthday, I oiled them with Huberds. The new leather absorbed the oil, protecting

Them from moisture. We were going hunting for pheasants in White Swan, near Yakima. The cornfields there had been been cut low and after sunup, would still be a little damp until the sun dried them later.

My boots were protected.

 A. E. Huberd founded his shoe grease company in McMinnville Oregon in 1921.  In his workshop, A. E. concocted a beeswax and pine-tar formula that he introduced to logging camps and sold to lumberjacks.  The lumbermen throughout the region helped Mr. Huberd improve his formula, build his customer base, and establish a thriving manufacturing company.  

Huberd's products are made much the same way today.