Ryersbach, who will turn 85 in November, has owned and operated Levinson’s Tuxedos at the corner of Clayton Avenue and Sheridan Street for the last 15 years and has been in the business at various locations for the remainder of the 45 years total that he has provided formal wear and clothing alterations for people in the community.

“We sell and rent tuxedos and we do alterations for anybody on almost anything, you know, clothing and dresses and sometimes handbags, wallets,” he explained.

Until last year, when she passed away, Ryersbach worked with his wife, Jeane, in the business, and her fiber art pieces are still displayed in the shop. His artwork also adorns the walls, a testament to the creativity that is an important part of who he is and what drives him.

Ryersbach began his journey to this area in Hammondsport and Bath, New York, where he was born and raised. He earned his BA in Philosophy and went on for his Master’s Degree and began teaching at Cornell Community College. That was during the Vietnam War era and teaching jobs were highly sought after as a means of getting out of the draft.

KAREN VIBERT-KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette Tom Rydersbach works on hemming a pair of pants for a customer in his shop in Loyalsock Township.

“Philosophy professors who had their PhD’s in order to stay out of the draft were applying for jobs in small community colleges. Me, with my Masters, I couldn’t compete with that because they were willing to work for the same salary just to stay out of Vietnam. So, I lost that job,” Ryersbach said.

From there, he worked for the W.T. Grant store chain, which eventually moved him to Williamsport. Grants then went bankrupt, so he tried selling insurance for a while.

“I don’t have the personality for that,” he admitted, so he then went to work for California Cobblers shoe manufacturer, and when that also went bankrupt, he and some of the other employees bought shoes from the company and started a factory outlet type store adjacent to what is now the Pajama Factory. When that venture ended he began at Levinson’s in Williamsport where worked side-by-side with the owner, Ben Levinson, until he retired. That’s when Ryersbach, along with his wife became the sole proprietors of Levinson’s Tuxedos and Tailoring.

Even though he shared that he’s probably supplied hundreds of people with tuxedos for proms and weddings, Ryersbach admitted the popularity of tuxedos for formal wear has waned over the years.

“First of all, the tuxedo business rental or sales dropped tremendously, and the prices have gone sky high,” he said.

KAREN VIBERT-KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette Tom Rydersbach.

“A lot of people are saying, “Why would I rent a tuxedo for $190 when I can buy a suit for $250, $300 and a lot of people are getting married in jeans,” he added.

Judging by the rack of clothing waiting to be altered or repaired, the alterations part of Levinson’s is keeping Ryersbach busy. His late wife helped with the sewing and he noted since her passing it’s more difficult to keep up.

Unlike some people past what is traditionally considered the age of retirement, Ryersbach keeps working because, basically, he has to. As anyone who is self-employed understands, the freedom of not working for someone else means no insurance and no retirement benefits through an employer.

“Don’t use me as a model. I’m still working because I’m financially stupid,” he said.

“I have no life insurance, I have no retirement plan. I have social security and the income from here, that’s it. That’s all I’ve got. And I still have bills to pay. I couldn’t do it on Social Security alone,” he said.

For Ryersbach, the secret to staying vigorous for so long comes from the Actor’s Group which has been in existence since the late 1990’s.

“I used to be on the board at the Community Theater League, and after 20-25 years or so, decided to go out on my own, my wife and I, so we started the Actors Group,” he said.

“We did that up until the pandemic, and then we went, obviously, the way everybody else did. And then just last year, this lovely person, Lisa Johnson, who had done stuff with us in the Actors Group, said, let’s revive it. So that’s what we’ve done,” he said.

The group recently put together what Ryersbach referred to as “a pastiche of various bits and pieces of different plays,” for a performance at Sweet Spire Coffee. Then they performed again at the Community Zone in Lewisburg.

“So we did those two shows, and now we’re getting together and deciding what’s our path forward. We’re looking for more people to join the ensemble. I mean, right now, the ensemble exists with six talented women and me,” he said, admitting that kind of limits their repertoire.

“So we’re looking for more people to join,” he said.

There are plans to hold auditions and to offer acting classes, which could either be held at his home or at Milton where one of the members of the group lives.

The types of plays the group focuses on are the more esoteric offerings such as “Waiting for Godot” by Samuel Beckett and “No Exit” by Jean Paul Sartre.

Although in the past he has worked on costuming for plays at Lycoming College. Ryersbach said that the plays the Actors Group present are different in their scope.

“The plays that we pick focus on the content of the play and the ability of the actors. Sets, props and costumes are way down the list on what we want to do,” he said.

“We’re focusing on the ability of the actors and the director to pull something together…rather than razzle dazzle with lights and sound and costumes and sets,” he added.

After May, Ryersbach plans to cut back his hours to three days a week and by appointment in order to allow more time to travel, something that he hasn’t been able to do that often because of work.

His advice to people who want to continue living a vigorous life: “Keep busy, get out there. Meet new people, make new friends,” he said.

“There’s several coffee shops and small restaurants that I frequent. I often go to State College with some frequency, not as much as Jeane was alive. They have a beautiful arboretum there. The Palmer Museum is fantastic. And they have a Trader Joe’s,” he added.