DIY Staple Mr. Handy's Throws in the Hammer

A staple of the Springfield community is closing its doors for the last time. The Mr. Handy Appliance Parts Center, located at 195 East John Street in Springfield, will say goodbye to its loyal customers on Saturday, Feb. 22.

For around 45 years Mr. Handy has worked with residents from near and far to assist in the maintenance of everything from stoves to HVAC units. Nonetheless the true star of the show is attributed to the woman behind the carburetor, Bonnie Proper.

Originally joining the Mr. Handy team on a whim in 1982, Proper assumed ownership of the appliance parts center from its original purchaser, Ted Kerchansky, in 1995. She attributes much of her knowledge on hardware and appliance maintenance to Kerchansky, and a coworker at the time, the late James Hall.

Proper had previously worked in mechanics for a brief time, however none of these skill sets ran in her family. She attributes the expansion of component expertise on machinery to the patience of her employer and his wisdom on the subject, which he imparted to his employees over the 12 years they worked for him.

“When I was first hired, I didn’t know anything. I thought you needed a model number for a fill-hose on a washer! The guys would laugh at me! They were patient though, and willing to answer any question I possibly had, and we would just talk it through. After a while, when customers started to look at me when they had questions, I enjoyed it! I started to know how to answer them, and I think they took a liking to me. When you enjoy something, you learn about it. You put in the effort to do it the best you can.” These family values are the backbone of Bonnie Proper’s operation.

Today, if you ask any local about where to go for assistance on odd-jobs or hardware, Mr. Handy Appliance Parts Center was likely to be your solution. It seems that the keys to the company weren't the only batons passed on to Proper by her proprietor.

“My husband says, ‘You can tell anyone how to do anything!’ But if we’re working on something around the house, he’ll just show me away” Proper illustrates. She humbly confesses “I’m not that great hands-on! When I look back, I realize it just takes me twice as long.”

Though she may be modest about her handyman abilities, the true magic lies in her ability to relay the precise instructions of a fix to customers.

As Proper explains, “It’s like I can see it in my head. For example, when someone calls saying their dryer is squeaking, I first want to know what kind of dryer we are working on. So they’ll put their phone up to the machine and I can hear that it's a drum roller, or diagnose what needs adjusted. Basically you do the work, and I’ll tell you how to do it. I love to celebrate with people over the phone when they tackle a project they didn’t think they could.”

Bonnie Proper has effectively provided hundreds of individuals with the ability to maintain their own appliances, via clever communication and composure that keeps people coming back.

Proper explains the thing she will miss the most is the people. “I first feel overwhelmed by the response to the announcement of our closure, but before that I am grateful for the Springfield Small Business Association (SSBA), and for the community that has supported us over the years. We have a lot of regulars, but I started to get excited to see the young folks come in.”

As appliances have changed over the years, she has noticed it is more-or-less difficult to keep her services up to speed. “My generation is more bent on fixing things…but things were also just made a lot easier to repair back then, too. Nowadays machines are a lot more technical to repair, a lot more difficult to diagnose, and even then, you might need a special tool to be able to check it out. Back in the day things were mechanical, you could monitor stuff and diagnose it simpler. Things were made solid, they were harder to take apart but they were also built to last 30-plus years. I’m seeing that now machines are lasting, maybe, five or six years. It’s sad, really” Proper laments.

Though this has been a challenge facing the brick and mortar as time goes on into a digital age, it is not the reason for Mr. Handy’s closing. With the news of a recent health diagnosis Proper plans to do more traveling with her family and focusing on her health. She attributes her success and skills to God, and a seamless closing process to the SSBA. Mr. Handy Appliance Parts Center will surely be missed, but Bonnie Proper has left an impression that won’t soon be forgotten.