RandomRochesterite

One resident, numerous anecdotes

By JENNIFER KOSKI Photo by JOE AHLQUIST

Name: Harry Schiller

Age: 18

Occupation: Student, footwear specialist at TerraLoco, and leatherworker

Where we found him: TerraLoco

Are you originally from Rochester? Oh, yes. I was born at Rochester Methodist Hospital and I’ve lived here all my life. I graduated from Rochester Mayo this year.

Are you ready for the next step? I like to think so. But you don’t know what you don’t know. I will be attending St. Olaf College in Northfield in the fall.

Do you have a major yet? Not yet. Not for a lack of ideas, but for a gross surplus of them.

How did you land the job at TerraLoco?

I was recruited. I was a track and cross country athlete and seemed fairly personable to the employee who was helping me. She later became my co-worker and friend Tammy. She thought that I seemed like a good fit and they were hiring, so I interviewed.

What were you buying when you came in that day? I came in to get track spikes for racing. This is kind of embarrassing: I didn’t actually know that you had to get fitted for running shoes until I worked there. I was wearing 20-year-old Asics that I found at the bottom of my dad’s closet. I don’t know how I made varsity track and cross country wearing them.

Favorite music genre? I’ve been really into rock music or, right now, into some folk like John Denver and especially Jim Croce. I’ve been listening to Croce’s music constantly, and I can sing almost any song he has—and I do constantly in the car. I really identify with a lot of his music. I feel like the world was robbed when he passed away. He was only 30. I don’t understand how someone who was so young could express in music what most people can’t even put words to.

Last book you read? I just finished Paper Towns by John Green. I’m not a very regular John Green reader, but I picked it up at a café and it piqued my interest.

I’m also reading Fourth of July Creek by

Smith Henderson. And I’m reading Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose about the 101st Airborne in World War II. It was a terribly dark time for the entire world, but it really brought out the best in a lot of individuals and I find it interesting how people, and especially America, kind of rose to the challenge.

Biggest adventure? I went to Iceland with two of my best friends. My friend Johannes was born in America, but his parents are from Iceland and Denmark and he visits family in both countries. I went with him this time. We were there for 10 days. We explored Reykjavik, various landmarks, and so many waterfalls. It was the first time I’d been out of country. I learned how to fly fish on that trip. You’re a leatherworker. What does that mean? I work in leather—strap goods, especially belts, bags, wallets and some archery accessories. Belts are a particular favorite project of mine. It’s so simple to make a basic one. There’s really nothing to it. But then you can make them as complicated as you’d like. I like to make mine overbuilt and embellished while still keeping them comfortable and practical for everyday use.

How did you get into that? I started leather work because I wanted a knife sheath for a camping knife. I was doing a lot of hiking and climbing, and the sheath my knife came with would get hung up on things. So I decided I wanted to get a scout-style knife sheath across the small of my back. But I looked and they were ridiculously expensive. Why not invest that money in leather and make one myself? I also had some tools that my dad had picked up from my friend’s late neighbor, who was a great leather craftsman and outdoorsman. So I already had some basic tools to get started with—though I didn’t understand how to use many until months or years after I started. It was like piecing together a puzzle or solving a mystery.

How old were you when you started this work? 14.

What interested you about it? Number 1, I didn’t buy a whole lot of leather by my standards now, but I got a single shoulder.

A cow’s shoulder is pretty big, so there’s a lot of leather there. When I finished, I still had so much leather left. What’s the logical thing to do? Keep making stuff out of it! If I could make a knife sheath, why not see what else I can make?

Is there a piece that you’re most proud of? We had an all-school art show recently at Mayo. I did a fully tooled skirting leather belt, hand dyed, hand cut, hand tooled. Every single process by hand. It turned out wonderful. I did an oak leaf pattern, a common motif in American leather work, that turned out really well. At the same time, I entered a piece I made a while back which was a quiver for arrows, because I’m also an archer. It’s fully tooled, hand cut, hand dyed, and I see the thing every day, so it’s not as new or striking to me. I entered that into the Big 9 art show. It won Best on Site for crafts, and it went to the all-state art show. I was really impressed with how far that went.

Will you continue this work in the future? Most definitely. With the amount of commissions I’m hired to do, I think that maybe I could make a living out of it. But then again, I don’t know. I know that I want this in my future because it’s so useful for Christmas gifts, birthday gifts. You give someone a handmade belt or wallet that they’ll have for the rest of their life? That’s so special.

by the numbers Rochester’s Mayors

45

Number of people who have served as mayor in Rochester’s 165 years of the office.

1858

1882-1883

Mayoral term of William W. Mayo, father of Mayo Clinic founders Drs. Charles and William Mayo.

“The only Rochester citizen ever to run for the White House.”

Julius J. Reiter, who served as mayor from 1907-09, ran as the vice presidential candidate alongside FarmerLabor presidential candidate Jacob Coxey in 1932. They received 7,431 votes. FDR won with 39.7 million votes.

1

Number of women mayors. Kim Norton took office in 2019.

68

Percent of the vote garnered by Mayor Kim Norton during her first mayoral campaign.

22,000

21 Years

Tenure of Rochester’s longest-serving mayor, Alex Smekta (1958-1969).

Estimated number of events attended by Mayor Ardell Brede during his 16-year tenure (2003-2019).

Year that 30-yearold New York native Moses Fay was elected Rochester’s first mayor. Ten years later, he would die of smallpox. 1 year, then 2 years, then 4 years

Length of mayoral terms from 1858-1903 (one year), from 1903-1996 (two years), and since 1996 (four years).

STUDIO APARTMENT AVAILABLE IN ASSISTED LIVING Experience senior life at Shorewood THIS SURE BEATS PLAYING SOLITAIRE!

“It is like living in a 5-star hotel that offers you… endless opportunities.” ~Pat, Shorewood resident know we want to spend them together.”

-Shorewood Prospective Resident

Solitaire not your game? Try a painting class instead. Enjoy

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