Larry Steuber, an appliance repairman for 57, years stands next to a Westinghouse microwave, a brand his first employer Floyd Alwin had in stock. In his career, Steuber worked on washers, dryers and everything in the kitchen. He said the microwave was one of the biggest advancements in his career.

NEW ULM — Larry Steuber is fairly certain he has been in nearly every home in New Ulm at least once. The question is whether he was there to fix a washer or a refrigerator.

Steuber began working for Floyd Alwin of Alwin Electric Contracting and Appliances and remained with the company as it changed names and owners. That is until Dec. 31, 2024, when Steuber officially retired as an appliance repairman. Altogether, he worked for over 57 years as a repairman and nearly made it his 58th anniversary.

Steuber grew up in the countryside just outside of Hanska. His decision to go into appliance repair began in 1967 after he was drafted to join the army at age 20. Shortly after being drafted, he took a proficiency test and it was determined he had an aptitude for electrical work. The army decided to send him to Fort Belvoir, Virginia for training in electrical engineering. For the next six months, he learned the fundamentals of electrical work before shipping out to Vietnam.

Steuber was not certain what part of the test indicated he was proficient in electrical work, but he quickly realized he did enjoy the work. For him, the best part of working with electrical equipment was the challenge of making it work.

While in Vietnam, Steuber worked repairing generators for different companies around the country. He was often flown by helicopter to different company bases to make repairs.

Steuber said the only time he was scared was when he was flown into a base late in the evening. He made the repair work to the generators, but by the time he was done, it was no longer safe for him to move out. Steuber had to stay in a bunker and he could hear gunshots.

“I didn’t sleep that night,” he said.

Steuber served in Vietnam for one year. He received an early out, returning to Minnesota in January 1968. Though his time as an army electrician was over, he still had the desire to work with electrical equipment as a civilian.

Steuber said he got into household appliances because he knew Floyd Alwin of Alwin Electrical Contracting and Appliances and decided to apply for a position.

“I wrote him a letter and resume,” Steuber said. “I don’t know how he did it, but the next day in the mailbox I got I got a return letter.”

Steuber started his job with Alwin Electrical Contracting and Appliance a few weeks after returning home from Vietnam.

The first appliances Steuber worked on were the old-fashioned ringer washers. These were tubs with an agitator on top and a hand crank ringer on top. Steuber said these old-fashioned washers were still prominent in the late 1960s. He said many older customers were reluctant to upgrade to the automatic washers. There were also some areas where the water pressure or drain was not right for an automatic. By the 1980s, the ringer washers were phased, customers had transited to the automatic washers and Steuber learned how to repair those too. Over the years he would learn to repair a lot of appliances.

“I worked on everything in the kitchen, as well as the washing machine and dryer,” Steuber said.

In his 57-year career, Steuber saw many advancements in appliances and he made sure to keep up with the changes.

“I read a lot of service manuals at night,” Steuber said. “I find that very interesting.”

If some new model comes out, he wants to know how it works.

Stueber said one of the biggest advancements in appliances he witnessed was the microwave. He said that microwaves existed before he began working on appliances, but they were not commonly seen in households until the 1970s. He said it took some older people a while to adopt microwaves. He said many thought they were dangerous or unhealthy. By the 1980s most people had come to accept microwave ovens.

Asked what appliances gave him the greatest challenge, he said it was refrigerators. There are a lot of things that can go wrong in a refrigerator.

“There are the electronic controls and also the system that makes it cold,” he said.

He said the refrigerators have gotten more complicated with add-ons. Steuber said the complex nature of these appliances actually gives them a shorter lifespan. The older refrigerators from the 1970s lasted much longer. However, Steuber acknowledges the trade-off is modern refrigerators are more energy efficient.

For 21 years, Steuber worked for Floyd Alwin. After Alwin retired, Ron Gruber bought the business and changed the name to Alwin Appliances. Steuber said despite the name change, the business was the same, though he mostly worked alone in the appliance repair department.

Gruber retired after 20 years and sold the business to Victor and Wayne Klassen. When the Klassens agreed to buy the businesses it was on the condition that Steuben would continue fixing appliances. Steuber said he was eager to continue on with Klassen because he still loved the challenge.

That is not to say that the job was easy. Steuber was often very busy. He estimated that in a single day, he would go out on six to seven appliance repair calls. It was only this high when they were in New Ulm. If he got called out of town, the drive time would limit the number of calls he took.

Steuber said he was often backed up. He would get a call from a client and the quickest he could arrive was two days. Even when Steuber had help, some clients would wait for him to be available.

Asked how he decided to finally retire, Steuber said he realized it was time to slow down.

“When I was younger I wondered why we had railings,” he said. “Now I need it.”

Officially, Steuber retired on the last day of the year, Dec. 31, however, there were some things he needed to wrap up. Some of the service calls he took before retiring still needed parts delivered. He spent the first few years of 2025 finishing his last few repair jobs.

Steuber admits he is not sure what he is going to do in retirement. Friends have told him it will take a year until he fully feels retired. There are also some die-hard clients who still call to ask for his repair expertise.

“I can’t so no,” Steuber said. “When you enjoy your work, it’s not work. That’s what happened to me.”