Old Shoe

A large portion of my home inspections are performed on vacant homes. Some of the homes are void of any indication of past residents but often times there are personal items such as pictures, clothes and various items found in homes. There are times when I see something that makes me wonder what the person is or was like that owned that item and lived in this house. I’m especially curious when it’s an older item located in a far corner tucked away like an attic or even a crawlspace.

The shoe in the photo was found in an attic of a vacant home in Detroit. There’s nothing particularly fancy about the shoe but what struck me was the location. It’s not like this attic was a storage area with plywood or boards laid across the structure to hold boxes. This shoe was at the far end of a rather large attic surrounded by debris. Based on the condition I imagine it’s been there for a long time. I wondered who owned it and why it ended up in the attic area.