Penny Power

Today’s Sunday Drive is all about Wilton, Maine, and fancy fifties footwear! In 1936, Wilton's George Henry Bass released a new take on an older sole which he called the Weejun, but we know now as the penny loafer. Odd name for a slip-on, but it comes from a play on the word "Norwegian." Bass wanted to capitalize on the fame of the Aurland Moccasin. A few years earlier, Nils Gregoriusson Tveranger had patented and released the Aurland in Norway to great success there. Tveranger had blended ideas from the footwear of native Americans and Norse fishermen to make the Aurland.

So what does all of this have to do with phones? Well, legend has it that G.H. Bass' contribution of the diamond-shaped slit gave some prep school kids in the U.S. the idea of keeping a penny there for those “emergency call” moments. And this is where we get the "penny" in penny loafer!

The Sunday Drive is a series of Anvil Falls comics that highlights a Maine community every Sunday. An excerpt from the community's history - or an anecdote about what makes the town unique - is related with a limerick and illustration. Our goal is to highlight every single town and city in the entire state. The first volume will cover all of Androscoggin, Oxford and Franklin counties, and is set to release in area stores later this year.