Mr. Fixit: What it Used to Be Like in Small Towns

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photo credit: HVargas

Des Moines Register:

A typical morning for Larry Lyon includes a lot of phone calls. The owner of Mr. Fix It always has repairs to make, new jobs to examine, contractors to direct.

The first calls on Thursday came to Lyon’s office, conveniently attached to his Waukee home. Lyon, a member of the Waukee school board, has lived in Waukee since Boone Drive was a gravel road in front of his house, and has previously served as a member of the Waukee City Council.

More calls came during his drive to the first job of the day, at the home of Susan Shisler, where Lyon inspected the laundry room to figure out if her washer and dryer could be stacked.

“The answer is yeah, very doable,” Lyon said after checking out the gas and water lines behind the appliances at her Waukee home.

Lyon has been to the house enough times that Shisler’s three sons all know him, and cheerfully greet him as Mr. Fix It. He has replaced a water heater, fixed holes in the walls, and even come in the middle of the night to address a leak in the roof.

“He’s a lifesaver for us,” Shisler said. “And all the guys who work for him are just as great.”

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