Colorful Characters — Billy Barber

While bare feet were undoubtedly more popular in the past (at least here in the U.S.), they were still a rarity. In fact, they were enough of a rarity that adults who regularly went barefoot out and about had some degree of notoriety. And that meant the media wrote about them. Hence my series: Colorful Characters.

Today’s colorful character is Billy Barber.

This story comes from February of 1891, and appeared in quite a few newspapers. (Once one paper runs it, other papers will find it interesting and use such stories to fill up space.)

     Fins on his Feet

Billy Barber, sole owner of Barber’s Raft, on Wolf’s Pond, Sullivan county, N. Y., has a peculiar habit of going bare-footed the year around, and it is said that he never had on a pair of boots, shoes or socks.

It is claimed that Barber was found on a raft in “Old Sullivan” on a cold November day thirty-eight years ago, when he was about then days old. Billy had not a particle of clothing on at that time, and how he came to be on the raft no one could ever find out. It has been suggested that, Jonah-like, he was cast out upon the raft by a big pickerel. This looks almost plausible, for exposure has caused fin-like appendages to grow out of the sides of his pedal extremities just like the fins on a pickerel, and between the toes he is webbed somewhat like a duck.

When he was found young Barber was taken in, cared for and reared to manhood by a poor but kind-hearted Sullivan county fisherman. He has never been away from home in his life, and has never seen a locomotive or steamboat or heard the tinkle of a telephone bell. He cares for nothing but fishing, and summer and winter you can find him on the pond either on his raft or the ice.

During the present winter this peculiar character can be seen daily standing on the ice bare-footed watching his tip-ups.—New York Herald.

Despite what the article says, you’re not going to develop “fins” or “webs” due to environmental exposure; it has a genetic cause and tends to run in families. In Billy’s case I wouldn’t be too surprised if he was abandoned by a family that feared witchcraft or something.

But I also suspect that, particularly if he really had fin-like protrusions, that shoes would have been out of the question anyways.

Interestingly, that particular article had another popular run 9 years later, in the summer of 1900. Some newspaper re-used it as filler, and again it was picked up by others.

However, this time, one extra phrase was added to the last sentence (highlighted below):

During the present winter this peculiar character can be seen daily standing on the ice bare-footed watching his tip-ups, and he is having a fine run of luck since the new year opened.

They also didn’t bother to update his age.

I guess that’s what happens when you operate under a deadline.