`JACK-OF-ALL-TRADES' REPAIR PEOPLE A RARE BREED

If you think finding a vintage 1940s toaster is difficult, try finding someone to repair it.

"Jack-of-all-trades" repair people, once a staple of almost every neighborhood, are rare these days.

With all of the new discardable electronic gismos and sophisticated equipment that usually comes with the manufacturer's service coverage, the independent home repairman is disappearing from the scene.

But, what about the person whose VCR starts eating tapes the day after the warranty expires? Or the family who can't be without a refrigerator or lawn mower during the times it takes for an overbooked technician to make a house call?

There is still a need for the "jack-of-all-trades" repairmen as Richard Jones and James Shrum will attest to this.

Jones, who operates Appliance Parts and Service, 132 S. Sprigg, got into the appliance repair business by necessity.

Jones' toaster went on the blink and he couldn't locate anyone to repair it.

When his mixer quit, he decided to do something about it.

"I found a place where I could buy replacement parts," he said, and he ordered the parts and repaired his two appliances."

That was 50 years ago.

He has been repairing small appliances since.

Jones worked out of the basement of his home for a number of years before opening a small appliance repair shop at 104 S. Sprigg.

Jones, who added a vacuum sales and service business to his line more than 35 years ago, still repairs small appliances.

"I still work on older appliances," he said, "but, the newer ones can be replaced cheaper than they can be repaired."

That wasn't the case when Jones started his small part-time business.

Most of the time, the repairs were simple -- new points for the motor, a new cord or new plug.

"One of the biggest problems in the older toasters was created by bread crumbs," Jones said, adding: "The crumbs would fall down in the toaster and eventually ruin the points."

Some toasters operated via a clock. Jones has an old Toastmaster toaster at his shop.

The Toastmaster, single-slice toaster features a heavy frame, and operates with a clock.

"It still works," he said. "And, if something happens to it I know how to fix it."

"Sometimes, the clock had to be repaired," he said.

Jones moved his operation to 132 S. Sprigg in 1960.

He has been in the same block 35 years.

Shrum was looking to the future when he started taking classes at the Cape Girardeau Vocational-Technical School a few years ago.

"I was looking for something to do in retirement," he said. "Small-engine repair people were few and in big demand, so I decided to learn more about small gasoline engines."

"It's relaxing for me," he said. "After a long day on the road, I can pick up an engine and tinker with it. It helps me unwind."

Schrum, who has worked with Manhattan Distributing 34 years, covering an area from the Meramec River north to the Arkansas state line, is looking toward retirement in a couple of years.

Shrum, who works on engines up to about 20 horsepower -- no outboard motors -- says he keeps as busy as he wants to.

"There are a lot of gasoline engines out there -- conveyors motors, tiller motors, mower engines," he said, but "there are not many people around who make these kinds of repairs and people are always looking for them."

"I've got five acres of ground, a small orchard and I raise a few calves," he said. "But, working with motors helps me unwind. I like to take an old engine and make it run."

Shrum also sharpens chain saws.

Gregg Jones of Cape Girardeau, also repairs small engines and vacuums, working in a small repair space at Sander True Value Hardware store in Town Plaza, Cape Girardeau.

Dennis Hubbard, who works out of his Scott City home, works on larger appliances -- washers, dryers, microwaves, even refrigerators. And, he said, he stays busy.

When Hubbard isn't out on call, he spends times repairing used appliances he has on hand for resale.

Taking the place of many small home-repair operations are companies that offer in-house repairs on products purchased at their stores.