\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t“Lil has helped me through all these years,” said Kozussek, who was speaking to The Lance<\/em> recently and reflecting on his past, present and future.<\/p>\n “I believe we are the oldest continuing business in St. Vital in its traditional form,” he said.<\/p>\n He bought the business, which includes a house, from veteran Maurice (Nick) Nowosad — whom he credits as his mentor — and his wife, Joan, in the mid-1980s. The couple had settled in St. Vital after Nowosad returned from the Second World War when he continued his family’s tradition of shoemaking and repair by establishing the current business. Before that, Kozussek said the first shoe business at 946 St. Mary’s Road was John’s Shoe Repair, which opened circa 1918. Kozussek said the building was rebuilt after it was effectively gutted in the flood of 1950.<\/p>\n “It’s the same address, but a different building. After the flood, it was like a lake in here and the building was washed out. Everything was gone and it was rebuilt in three sections,” he said.<\/p>\n While the Nowosads lived in the house adjoining the business, he offered Kozussek some sage advice when he bought the properties.<\/p>\n “Nick said, “Whatever you do, don’t move in behind your shop. It can be tough, because customers will come and knock on your door while you’re having supper,’” Kozussek said with a laugh.<\/p>\n Though Kozussek has never had any regular staff members, he had a young man called Tim Engbrecht on the books who worked for him for several years through university before he became a teacher. <\/p>\n “He was like a son to me. He was very close to us. He was so skilled and was an excellent craftsman,” Kozussek said.<\/p>\n In terms of the future of Norberry Shoe Repair, Kozussek said the long-term future remains unclear. Health permitting, he would like to work until he is 65. His daughter, Heidi, is beginning her own career in the health care system, and he says training someone to take over from him from scratch has its drawbacks.<\/p>\n “For me, a lot of the time it’s about visually seeing things. If you grow up around shoe repair, you get the idea of how things work. If I can teach someone to carry, that’s one thing. But traditional show repair is a dying art. There were three shoe repair stores on Pembina Highway, and they all had the same dream as me, but now they’ve all closed,” Kozussek said.<\/p>\n Due to his popularity and the continuous high volume of work, as well as the long-term wear-and-tear on his hands, Kozussek has now streamlined his business to focusing on solely repairing footwear. He still works on lots of orthopedic items, but he has eliminated sporting goods, luggage, jackets and anything else including tents and tarps.<\/p>\n The North Kildonan resident attributes numerous changing markets factors to the longevity of the business. Nowadays, more items require stitching and gluing as many are made overseas and are of a poorer quality, Kozussek said.<\/p>\n “Also, there were no hip and knee replacements before, but now there can be discrepancies in leg lengths such as half an inch, which can make all the difference,” he added.<\/p>\n Kozussek said one of his major motivators to still keep coming to work is the continued support of his loyal customers.<\/p>\n “We’re proud that we’re doing something right. I’m so thankful to our customers for the many years they’ve supported us. I get choked up and shed a tear sometimes because I’m so blessed that we have a customer base that has supported Lil and I and our family all these years,” he said.<\/p>\n To help keep his fitness and energy levels up, Kozussek does karate twice a week at the West St. Paul Karate Club.<\/p>\n “Keeping in shape gives energy, as well as loving what I do and working with my hands. I take pride when I’ve finished a job. I’m not perfect, though, but who is?”<\/p>\n Lillian praised her husband’s resilience and said he has gone to great lengths down the years to keep the business going, both in sickness and in health.<\/p>\n “It’s just us. We’re a mom-and-pop shop. One time, he broke his arm and was in a cast for six to eight weeks, but he was in the shop every day. It was a real struggle and we shed many tears, but we got through it,” Lillian said.<\/p>\n She added that one of the great pleasures of running a business for so long is that many customers eventually return with their own kids.<\/p>\n “So many customers come in as adults that came in to have their skates sharpened as children. Those kids are now bringing their own kids and grandkids into the shop,” Lillian said.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t