Wednesday, April 24, 2024
In his 50 professional years, Tumbleweed has interviewed some true Texas characters and assembled the largest private collection of oral history in the United States. He writes a syndicated weekly newspaper column and teaches broadcasting at the university level.
Miss Kat has an interesting business in Temple.
“It’s A-1 Sewing and Vac Center,” she says. “I repair sewing machines, vacuum cleaners and some associated equipment. I actually do no sewing, no alterations. I just repair the machines.”
She took care of her parents until they passed away and she was looking for a job when one opened up at this place in 2012. She was hired to do the inventory but eventually learned to repair machines and bought the business.
“We’re near downtown in what used to be the old Temple post office. I have my sewing machine repair station up front and I fix vacuums in the back. It is a pretty decent size building. The walls are covered in pegboard where I keep belts and parts. The whole back wall of the showroom is covered in vacuum cleaner bags because they make so many different kinds. Years ago there were only half a dozen types. Now when you need a vacuum cleaner bag you need to know the manufacturer and the model. I have all kinds of books that list the different kinds.”
She says today, people buy some appliance or piece of equipment, wear it out in a few years and throw it away. She repairs old machines, some dating back to 1918.
“Years ago an appliance was a lifetime investment,” she said. “That thing better last thirty years. I remember our old vacuum cleaner and I remember my dad fixing it. He did something to the motor in the kitchen to test run it.”
Kat works on all brands of machines and her customers are young and old. Many have a sentimental value attached to the things they bring in for repair
“I work on everything from things that are purely mechanical and don’t have too many moving parts all the way to computerized embroidery machines. I don’t get too many of those but I will work on them.”
Kat grew up in Louisiana and runs the business by herself.
“If I charge for my time I probably would not be in business because I’d have to charge too much. It’s the type of business that you have to be interested in and be willing to take the extra time, write things down and figure things out.”
She is mechanically inclined, something she picked up from her dad.
“Because I’ve got little bitty girl hands, Daddy had to teach me how to use tools to make up for it,” she said. “I get to use some of my daddy’s tools every day.”
Her mother didn’t sew: “My mama was not that good with her hands. They thought something was wrong with you if you were left-handed. They forced her to use her right hand and that never worked very well.”
People bring her all types of things to repair including toys, irons, embalming machines, key-making machines, and beekeeping equipment used to extract bees
