Previously on Lake Effect, we took you to a shop in Whitefish Bay that restores Persian rugs, some centuries old. At the same time, behind an unassuming store front in West Allis, a father and son are doing their part to keep some old items tapping away, 50 years and counting.
Edward Skibba founded Ace Business Machines in 1964 and it remains one of the last remaining places in Wisconsin where you can get your typewriter fixed. Lake Effect's Mitch Teich visited their shop to speak with the father/son team to talk about the challenges of operating a business that services machines that have become less popular. Their repair shop is filled with shelves of extra parts, old typewrites, fax machines and printers in disrepair, and among them Edward sits at a table fixing a typewriter.
"Years ago I used to dream of [repairs], but now I don't dream of them. I just come down, sit down, find them, and do it," Edward Skibba says.
"It kind of gets into your blood after you do it a while," current owner Rick Skibba says. "I do enjoy fixing things, I enjoy the people, going out and meeting people, so to me that's the biggest thing. It's different everyday...and not many people can work with their dad for 32 years. That's been the best part by far."
