Colorful Characters — Robert Allison Loar

In 1925, Robert A. Loar walked barefoot from Fairmont, WV to Philadelphia. I’d like to say it was because he was a dedicated barefooter, but I cannot.

He did the walk because he lost a bet.

The presidential election of 1924 pitted Republican Calvin Coolidge against Democrate John W. Davis. Robert Loar, a lawyer in Morgantown, bet a friend that Davis would win. The loser would have to walk barefooted from West Virginia to New York (the actual bet was for 400 miles). Either that, or vote for the other party in the 1928 election.

As we all know, Coolidge won (by a huge margin). Loar went for the barefoot walk.

Here’s a description from a December 1924 newspaper:

R. A. Loar, lawyer of Georgetown and Morgantown, will walk barefoot from here to the Atlantic ocean during the month of May, 1925, in payment of an election bet with Gene Arnett of this city. Loar bet on John W. Davis and Arnett stuck by Coolidge.

“I expect to leave here early in May,” Loar said today. “It won’t take many days for the hike and it does a man good to go barefoot in the summer.” Loar will be “paced” by an automobile, so that he will have shelter handy at all times in case of a storm.

Loar didn’t quite do it in May. He started his trip on August 25, from Fairmont. Here’s is what was said a few days before he left.

Mr. Loar had planned to make the trip earlier in the summer but was compelled to give up the undertaking at this time on account of an automobile accident in which he suffered a broken leg. This fracture was near the knee. It gave him a great deal of trouble for a long time but he is entirely well from the injury. He has taken much of the summer to toughen his feet. He has traveled many miles with the result that this pedal extremities have almost developed macropedia.

One thing I really like in there is that he did it intelligently. He actually strengthened his feet first. I’m sure that made it much more comfortable, and it also meant we didn’t have to read stories about bloodied and blistered feet.

The broken leg is an interesting story in its right. It seems Loar owned a Model-T Ford. One day while cranking the started, the crank got away from him and whacked his wrist, breaking two bones. So later, when he needed to start it, he used his foot to start it . . . and succeeded. It ran over him and broke his leg.

So he had to delay his barefoot hike until he was healed.

Part of the bet was also that the loser could not start out with money. So Loar lectured his way along, talking at Democratic Party rallies.

Of course, the newspapers had a field day with the story, and they couldn’t resist worrying about his bare feet. Even back then adults really didn’t know how strong bare feet were (at least if they weren’t on kids). After all, these writers were all shod city slickers. From one story:

Now Mr. Loar evidently keeps those feet of his in good condition, but for the sake of argument, what does he do when he “strikes oil” along the road?

Um, maybe he toughened his feet up so that they are quite unlikely to “strike oil” (or blood, for that matter)?

Robert A. Loar

He finished the hike on September 14, in New York City, where he was met by the Democratic governor of New York. The bet was actually originally to go to New York City, or 400 miles, whichever came first. He hit 410 in Philly, and took the train the rest of the way.

The newspapers couldn’t resist making stuff up, though. Here is what one story included:

Mr. Loar entered Tammany Hall Monday afternoon, footsore and weary, although he had come by train from Philadelphia to New York, having more than completed the 400 miles of hiking demanded by the terms of the bet. Governor Alfred E. Smith was one ot those who welcomed the traveler at his destination, which he reached three days ahead of his schedule.

Footsore? Then why did they also include the following quote:

“I can jump on glass and tacks now,” he said. “Everyone ought to try going without shoes for a while and see how much better he feels.”

I suspect the writer would have been footsore and just could not imagine that somebody else, somebody who had trained, would not be footsore.

But once again, we see that bare feet are perfectly capable of this sort of use. It’s just that nobody remembers it any more.