Mahlon Nathaniel Haines (March 5, 1875 – October 31, 1962) was a well-known businessman and philanthropist in York, Pennsylvania. Haines arrived in York in 1905 where he became very successful at selling shoes. Referred to as the "Shoe Wizard", Haines shared his wealth with his community and employees. A local residential subdivision and adjacent road are named after him. His most evident legacy is the Haines Shoe House in Hallam, which is readily visible from U.S. Route 30 east of York.
Early life
Haines was born in Old Washington, Ohio on March 5, 1875. His father died a few months later. His widowed mother, Elizabeth Ann Morrison Haines, changed his name to that of his father. The family moved to Washington, D.C. in 1882 and lived above a store she owned on 11th Street SE; it was there that Haines worked for much of his early life. The store's profits helped pay for his education and Haines enrolled at Maryland Agricultural College (now known as the University of Maryland) in 1892. That same year, his mother built a much larger department store in Washington, advertised as "the largest store in the world, built, owned and controlled by a woman".
Haines left college in 1894 to begin his adult life. After his mother denied his request at age 28 to become a business partner, he went to California and was a sales representative for several clothing stores in the West. Becoming engaged, Haines moved to Ohio to get married. When the relationship was broken off, he began a bicycle trip back to Washington to get his old job back. Haines later summarized his status then as "single, penniless and alone".
Business
Arriving in York, Pennsylvania in 1905 – the year he turned 30 – Haines' bicycle broke down. He reportedly sold his engagement ring, bought ten pairs of shoes, and sold them at a farmers market. Haines initially rented a 3rd-floor apartment at 473 W. Market Street. After borrowing money to begin a business, he was bankrupt within two years. He then obtained a consignment of shoes for $127 from the local D.S. Peterman & Co. warehouse. With a combination of hard work and gimmickry, Haines became very successful in the shoe business. A particular gimmick for which he was known was his use of a customized Ford as a mobile retail store, which he would drive to the outer edges of town to show his products. In 1922 he had accumulated 30 stores. By 1931, Haines had the largest shoe store chain in the United States, and there were 50 Haines Shoe Co. stores across Pennsylvania and northern Maryland by 1935.
Six of Haines' stores were within the city of York (117 South George, 231 North George, 101 East Market, 241 West Market, 725 East Market, and 13 West Philadelphia Streets), with three of them in buildings he owned, all designed by John A. Dempwolf. The three-story "Haines Building", opened in 1915 on North George Street, also served as headquarters for his shoe company; it was torn down in the 1960s for off-street parking spaces. He built another four-story Haines Building at 101 East Market Street in 1922 and sold it in 1954 after having donated the shoe store space to organizations such as the Boy Scouts and Bundles for Britain; as of April 2017, the building was being renovated for business use with ten new apartments on the upper floors. Haines had the five-story building on West Philadelphia Street built in 1925 as a 45-room hotel; he converted it to an apartment building in 1940 and it endures as of 2016 with its "Haines" name across the original main entrance threshold.
Philanthropy and legacy
Haines regularly gave back to his customers and community.
Politics
In 1922, Haines ran as the Republican candidate from Pennsylvania's 22nd District to the U.S. House of Representatives, though he lost to Democratic challenger Samuel F. Glatfelter.
Later in life, Haines attended a September 1962 campaign rally in Hershey for Republican gubernatorial candidate William Scranton, at which former President Eisenhower spoke. Amid the event's fervor, Haines reportedly stood on a chair, identified himself as the oldest Republican in the room, and announced a tripling of his admission contribution.