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Tanner Latham

Around the Nation
5:25 am
Sat August 25, 2012

For A Craftsman, Shining Shoes Offers Ties To Home

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Credit Tanner Latham for NPR
Marsha, who uses a 20-step shining process, promises that all of his customers will leave feeling like they have brand new shoes.
Credit Tanner Latham for NPR
Getnet Marsha, a shoeshiner in Charlotte, N.C., fled Ethiopia on foot when he was 14. He began shining shoes after coming to the U.S. as a political refugee in 1992.
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Originally published on Mon August 27, 2012 12:29 pm

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Tanner spent the first 10 years of his career in print as a travel and features writer for Southern Living magazine in Birmingham, Alabama.

He then transitioned into multimedia reporting, using sound, video, and photography to tell his stories.

A graduate of the University of Alabama, Tanner is a world traveler, folk art collector, foodie, and he always tries the local beer on tap.