Free Thoughts, Spring 2025

I was joined by recent Xavier grad Sayo for a session of "free thoughts." Students, faculty, and others gave us a great range of topics and appreciated what we were able to type for them over an hour and a half.

A couple of roommates await their Free Thoughts:

A Xavier colleague joined us with some trepidation. Her topic: daring to create!

Sayo has been borrowing this red Underwood Champion for a few months, and says he's posted all sorts of typewritten notes and reflections around his house. Between that and his great performance in Free Thoughts, I decided that the typewriter should belong to him.

Here are some of our creations.

The next two were tough—they were written for a young woman who had just lost her grandfather. She said he was a woodworker who made doll beds for her.

*OK, a voicebox is an organ of the body.

A return visit to TB Writers Plus

Almost a year ago I gave you a tour of TB Writers Plus, located in an 1889 factory building in Dayton, Ohio. I went up there yesterday and saw firsthand how the business has grown thanks to the hard work and intelligence of Trevor Brumfield, his wife Becca, and their employees. There's a new showroom/kitchen and lots of additional typewriters, tools, and equipment, much of it purchased from typewriter shops that have closed down. The shop has customers around the world and is in this business for the long haul.

A major piece of equipment is this ultrasonic cleaner that can handle machines as large as a Selectric III.

Vintage key legends:

This circa-1970 Varityper is one of the more unusual machines on the premises. Trevor mostly works on common models, which are still in regular use more often than you'd imagine. (He told me about a local insurance company that still does all its correspondence by postal letter.)

Another unusual item:

Trevor's office:

In the new showroom you'll find an understroke Remington ...

... and a lovely Rex. Yes, it's for sale!

Here's an Underwood Electric. Nearby was a tricky Burroughs Electric (Trevor said it reflects the complexity and precision of Burroughs adding machines.)

An ancient duplicator:

Trevor helped me with a stubborn problem on this Royal HH.

Customer machines awaiting service:

Although you don't see people in my photos, TB Writers Plus is a people-friendly, family-run place. If you're anywhere near Dayton, make an appointment to stop by!

Hours:
Sunday Closed
Monday 7PM - 10PM
Tuesday 10AM - 10PM
Wednesday 7PM - 10PM
Thursday 7PM - 10PM
Friday 7PM - 10PM
Saturday 4:30PM - 10PM

The deplorables—and ....

I attended a conference in Bloomington, Indiana this weekend. On the way there, I stopped at two midsized antique malls, which had zero typewriters. On the way back, I stopped at the creatively named Exit 76 Antique Mall in Edinburgh, Indiana—but everything there was stuff I would put in the basket of deplorables because of its commonness, condition, or price, such as ...

Unnamed toy typewriter, $35:

Repainted Underwood no. 3, "$199.95 firm":

Royal KMG, $150:

Remington Noiseless no. 6, $239:

Smith Corona Classic 12, $110:

And the pièce de resistance, another Underwood no. 3, for "$1000.00, Good luck!" The vendor will indeed be lucky if they get a grand for this thing.

I left disappointed. But just down the road was Vic's Antiques & Uniques, which is considerably more interesting. There are oddball cars inside and outside the building ...

... and even a military plane and what looks like an armored boat (the rusty thing behind the red pickup).

Vic's is not a multi-vendor mall, I think, but one man's obsessive collection of intriguing junk.

Cute Fiat ... 

... and a 1902 Rambler!

Seems like the kind of place where you could find typewriters ... and here is an office-themed nook!

A cool, bulbous Remington calculator:

A Brother electric missing its top shell, $55:

Elsewhere I found this yellowed Royal Sprite for $45:

Still pretty deplorable ... but here's another batch of typewriters!

Another Royal KMG, for $145:

Smith-Corona Super-Speed, $165:

'50s Underwood with blank keys (for learning to touch type), $175:

Now what's this? Another Super-Speed, but in a very unusual tan paint. I don't think I've ever seen one before, at least not in person. Nearly all Super-Speeds are black or gray. This machine looks clean, and the carriage purrs nicely.

There was no price tag on this one. I offered $150, and it was mine!

I sang all the way to Greensburg, where I enjoyed a fish sandwich and peach pie at Stories Restaurant—small storefront, long premises:

At home, I cleaned the Super-Speed, gave it a fresh ribbon, and fixed a few mechanical issues.

This elite machine was made in 1948.

I can't wait to do some writing on this beauty!