Shop owner repairs the only machines left to fix

HOPKINSVILLE, Ky. -- When Bobby Huddleston answers the phone at his store, Barry's Sewing Machine and Vacuum Co., callers frequently ask, "Is this Barry?"

"No, Barry's not here," Huddleston says.

He never tells them that Barry Nosbusch, the store's original owner, died four years ago.

He bought the business from Nosbusch in 1998 but realized changing the name would only confuse loyal customers.

Huddleston, 41, spends most of his time fixing vacuum cleaners and sewing machines, but he also sells new vacuums and sewing machines.

Customers have been known to travel for his services, he said, adding the next closest vacuum and sewing machine repair shop is in Paducah, about 66 miles away.

Huddleston grew up in Hopkinsville and joined the Army after high school, but he was discharged after fracturing one of his legs. After a stint as a truck driver, Huddleston fractured his other leg while working construction.

He needed a job to support his wife and daughter when Nosbusch, a family friend, who opened the store in 1971, offered Huddleston a job fixing vacuums.

But sewing machine repair was a different animal.

"Fixing sewing machines is kind of an art form," Huddleston said.

Nosbusch wouldn't let Huddleston touch a sewing machine until he committed to buying the store.

He did. Still, Nosbusch stuck around and helped for the next seven years whenever Huddleston had more jobs than he could handle.

"I miss him when I get behind like this," Huddleston said, gesturing at the sewing machines covering his floor.

Huddleston has certifications in locksmithing and gunsmithing and some training in computer repair, but he keeps too busy to expand his business into other services. He can't leave the store to go unlock someone's car door, for instance.

"If I'm closed, money (doesn't) come in," he said. "I don't get vacations."

As for sales, Huddleston said he only stocks higher-end machines. He can't compete with chain stores' prices, but since the cheaper machines tend to break more often, Huddleston's repair service keeps him in business, he said.

"If I was just making sales, I would've been out a long time ago," he said. "If Wal-Mart started doing repairs, I'd be in trouble."

Other than changing a few of the brands he stocks, Huddleston said he has hardly changed anything from the way Nosbusch ran the store. The machines haven't changed much either, though they have new features.

"A vacuum sucks. A sewing machine sews. They're still the same basic principle and probably always will be."

Keith English, owner of English's Sew & Vac in Paducah, said stores like his and Huddleston's are in a unique position, now that so many appliances are cheaper to replace than repair.

"(Vacuums are) one of the few things left that you can still repair," English said.

Huddleston said he doesn't expect technology to render his business obsolete anytime soon, and he has no plans to change his line of work.

"This isn't something I get rich at. But it does pay the bills," he said. "I just figure I'll probably be here until I can't work anymore."