Contact us at: whispernthunder1@gmail.comWisdom from Granddad
~ Fox Northstar
Well, Happy New Year! (It will be by the time
you read this, anyway.) It is a midterm year,
and I am going to watch how things develop
before I hit full tilt tirade mode. Might as well
build up some steam for a real doozy!
Stay tuned…
So, now for something completely different! A wee spot of levity, I hope. At any rate, striking of on a completely different tangents. I am going all out Andy Rooney…about typewriters! Follow my along this winding path.
First, let me make this perfectly clear: I am NOT a collector. The half dozen on hand have come to me in various ways. However, as I do have a B.A. in history, I figure I might as well be a bit snobbish on this, so I have become an “Office Equipment Preservationist.” Are you with me so far? Most of you already know I am a smar**ss, so here we go….hang on!
My great aunt was grade school teacher outside of Boston for years. She had a Smith-Corona so she could make mimeograph stencil for class. She always let me play with it, and after I was older and she had retired, she gifted it to. I have no idea what became of it…
In high school, A friends Dad gave me an old Underwood. I had it for a spell and wore it out. Pretty sure it got trashed (it was the 1960s). Somewhere along the line, I bought an old Remington for $55 (1970!) I used in to write my High School Senior Essay (Class of 1972). More on this one later, and you will see why.
I went to work on railroads, with a diversion in the Navy. I kept my Union Dues paid, partly to find work when I got out, but mostly to hold my seniority. Eventually, I got to retire after 20 years, but deferred my pension, I was only 45!
I used my veterans education perks to go to college, then University. That began my learning curve on computers. I acquired a couple of IBM Selectrics as I did not have a printer, which had the benefit of a last proof-read. I used them for my Masters Thesis. They got left behind during that divorce. No biggy at the time.
Spin on a few years, and I’m back working in our local Post Office. Bennington is not a large town, and over the years, I got to know most of the town. I may not be “native,: but I have become a “local.” Many connections in town now…if you have ever lived in New England…
I retired for the second time, and got to use my degrees as a historical researcher. As most of you know, I also got involved in First Nations affairs. I have been busier retired than I EVER was working. Glad for my pensions as they allow me the means to live. Research does not pay well, but, for me, its fun and I am making a little doing something I probably would be doing anyway.
I know, I am getting there. I have often been told I write the same as I talk. If you have spent time with…you know it. If you have not, hang on.
I was asked to do a project for SMU in Texas. No time constraint. For a number of reasons, I prefer typewriters. It is a homage to the periods I work in. To me, it seems appropriate…takes me to eras involved in a way.
As I laid out my base plan, I realized early on the tables would need to be broadsheets (horizontal, long side feed). That takes a specific machine with a much longer carriage. I had not had much luck, and it slid to the back of my mind.
Then wouldn’t you know it, something happened to wake the dragon. We hitting the landfill up at the Lake in Ontario, and there was a little 1960s vintage Smith-Corona in a gold case, called it “Goldie.” Eventually, I took it just to get refreshed. My granddaughter has it now. She said she wanted one, and I have more than I need. I had it here for a decade or so. But it wouldn’t fit the bill, so I was taken to visit a thrift shop in Pembroke and found an electric Smith-Corona, with its original box and paperwork. I still have it, but do not use it much. It is fun with daisy wheels (I have quite a few), but it has two problems. The minor on is its ribbon are one pass and done, but worse is ever time you shut it down, you have to reset your tabs every time you turn it on.
So the search continued…but ended in a most unexpected way. On our trip back from the Arctic and Yukon, we stopped a the Northern Alberta Railway Museum not far from Slave Lake. When wandering through their storage coach, I spotted what I was looking for on the floor, an early 1960s Smith-Corona Secretarial. I worked it a bit and even draw strap was intact. All I needed then was a ribbon…easy, peezy once we got home. I went back to the desk, explained my “need,: and enquired if I could buy the machine. Within minutes, the necessary phone calls had been made, permission granted for a donation of $40 CDN ($35 US) and out in the camper it went. For the next 30 days, it traveled in the camper all day, and bunked out in the SUV at night. That’s a lot of lugging back and forth! Once I got it back here to the cabin, I cleaned and oiled it, and worked just fine…until the draw strap broke! I had not found my current guy at this point, but friends pointed to possible help. The next best possibility was in Dunkirk, NY. So I paid the price and sent it out. After two years, that outfit lost their parts supply, and I had them ship it to Baltimore.
I was at my local pub, and gets to discussing typewriters with some friends. I don’t remember how the subject came up, but it has paid off in ways that work best only a small town. It was not long after, a friend bought the old Rutland railroad station in town. Some of us would get together on weekends and work on the place. One day, clearing out the attic, we found an old box that was heavy. We got it open, and lo and behold, there was a typewriter in there. It turned out to be a 1917 Underwood No 3! Well, I played a little, and everything seems to work, but the draw dry rotted away, but the carriage moved just fine. In the meantime, I discovered that not far from here is the only typewriter repair outfit for 100 miles or more. I took it there for an estimate. I think it was $200. It became “The Dinosaur,” and it is the only machine I have worn out…as yet, anyway. And that took about 5 years. I still have it, in case someone needs parts. Those get scarcer every year!
Meanwhile, Back in Baltimore, they finally got the “the Beast” repaired and shipped back. However, it arrived damaged. Now that I had someone close by, I let him take a look. While not insurmountable, I needed parts. Fortunately, I found a compatible model that got it functional, but it now has a few quirks and the parts are not an exact match. No matter, as it is working just fine now. We christened it “Alberta,” after where it came from.
A couple years later, my sister sold the family property once she inherited it. Could not blame here once I learned all the details. When clearing out the overhead in Granddad’s garage, they found a heavy box, with a typewriter inside. Sister said nothing until me next visit when she asked me if it was mine, as she thought. I could not believe it when I saw it! It WAS (and still is) my 1928 Remington No 12 from high school, but the draw strap was broken, but everything else worked. After some puzzling, we decided Granddad must have put it up there when I left for the Navy in 1975.
If he ever told anyone, they forgot. And off it
went to hospital. While in very good shape, it
was dusty and need oiling…after close to fifty
years! This was not as expensive as I had
feared…only $150. I must admit, my Granddad
came back to “life” for a few moments….and
how much he cared. As such, Sis and I
dubbed the machine “Clifford,” and works
quite well. We agreed it is a great connection. Oh yeah, you see where this is going…naming the machines. Trust me it, works in odd ways.
By now, you would think I have enough machines. I know I did. I was not looking for any more. And yet…there have been. One must be careful what one puts out into the universe. I had a thought that I would love to get my hands on a machine aficionados call a “batwing,” due to its unique configuration (see photo). This was late spring.
As has become custom, I have my birthday lunch (early summer) at my local pub. While I am sitting at the bar, as usual, one of the owners sat down and we got chit chatting as oftimes happens. The banter was light until a waitress friend plunked a carton down instead of my lunch. The owner had a big grin, and said if was my gift (a first!). We both have friends who do renovations and clean-outs. Apparently, one had found an old typewriter (as if there are new ones?). Everyone in a small town (remember, this is Vermont) know everyone else’s “stories.” When I opened the box, wouldn’t you know, there was a “batwing” inside. (first photo at the top of this article)
While dusty as all get out, everything seemed to function, but not drawstring. Once I started searching, it did not take long to get that and a ribbon and I had it up and running in an afternoon.
Spin on to the summer. While I was in Ontario, I showed a friend photos of the batwing, and she had an old standard portable, and no idea what to do with it. Offered it to me, so I put it through the paces, and everything functioned, the usual needed replacement parts. It was a cheapie, only made for a few years, but it was still in its original case, which had some mold damage, so some of the fabric on the cover came off, but a coat or two of black paint, and only an expert will be able to tell. When I got home, it did not take me long to get it to the repair shop for a tune-up, oil and lube and the like. The batwing went along as there were adjustments beyond my limited skills. (As of today, they still are not home, but this is my guys hobby, and he never charges me much.)
But I aint over “till the fat lady sings….”
I have a cousin who lives over in the Catskills, a couple hours away. We do not see each other often, but he called and wanted me for a few questions about his place. (I lived there forty years back, before our uncle turned it over to him.) I should have known it was a ruse with an ulterior motive. He saw my posts about the batwing and uncovered one in his travels, and grabbed it for me. Off I went to visit.
It was good to see his and his crew again, and I came home with another fifty pound machine, but this one came with the complete metal and wooden case ANS the hard to find cleaning kit. This one is a bit older than the first, and needs a lot more work, well beyond my scope. It is on the selves with the others (except those out for now) until my guy has time for it.
That’s it, I am done…not much more room in the small cabin…
As always, do you best to walk in balance.