Kids typing letters to Santa

Continuing the theme from my previous post, here's a delightful report from a Georgia typist, reproduced with his permission:


Good evening Richard,

I became a member of the insurgency a few months ago after reading your book and seeing the obligatory “California Typewriter” film. A couple of weeks ago I took the initiative to call a friend who owns a local Mexican restaurant that has a kids' night every Monday and asked her if she would like me to bring a few typewriters for kids to write letters to Santa. She said yes and my wife Michele and I took six nice manual typewriters and a copy of “Click Clack Moo” to the restaurant for them to use this past Monday. To our surprise, there were 32 kids from 4 to 10 years old who used a typewriter for the first time to send Santa a letter that night.

At the end of the night, we also had a drawing among the kids and gave away a nice 1960 Smith Corona Galaxie that I picked up for $20, cleaned it up following your tips and installed a new ribbon.

Thanks for the inspiration!

Jason Upshaw
Tifton Ga.


Thanks to you for spreading the typewriter joy!

What kids love

A couple of years ago, I set up an Olympia SG3 in Xavier's faculty lounge.

People started using it for random bits of poetry, comments, and such. But recently, it's seen little use.

I suggested to a librarian that it might go well in the little makerspace that is located on the ground floor of our library. I checked in recently and saw that, in fact, some people had typed long sheets of stories and nonsense on the machine. And my librarian friend sent me a photo that reinforces a widely recognized truth:

A shiny label for Urban Legend Typewriters

After seeing so many wonderful old dealer labels and decals recently ...

... I decided I really wanted something like this for my own little business, Urban Legend Typewriters. But decals are hard to apply, and I soon found out that aluminum plaques require an initial investment of $300 or so for about 100 plaques. I chose a more affordable alternative: 604 thin "brushed alloy" 1x2-inch labels for $125 from Stickers That Stick.

I think they look great!



Why no contact information? Because we may be moving next year. And of course, these days all you need is the name of a business; you can find out how to contact them online.