The Last Typewriter Repairman

The Last

Typewriter

Repairman

A Story of Everyman

and Obsolescence

The last

typewriter

repairman

owns a

business

downtown.

He‟s been

repairing

typewriters

longer than

Almost

Anyone

Anywhere.

When he started working at his father‟s

shop, the Great Depression was coming

to an end and World War II was gearing

up.

Today he spends his days making house calls

around the city.

Guess I

am a bit

like a

doctor. I

fix what’s broken.

His shop is stuffed with tools and

memories in every possible place.

And then there are the

typewriters of all

shapes, colors and sizes.

Tough-as-old-

boots

Underwood.

Corona, in its

bright colors.

That Oliver No.

9. Smith

Premier. Royal.

Remington. I‟ve

worked on „em

all.

People said the

typewriter would never

replace the pen. But in

offices it soon did.

A little bit of

maintenance, you

can keep a

typewriter

running a long

time.

Computers?

They have a soul

hooked into a

wall.

There‟s not enough business to

keep the typewriter repair

business open anymore.

When asked “What‟s next?,” the Last

Typewriter Repairman says:

I always loved

tools and fixin’

things. You

know, I’ve heard

that typewriters

are still used in

Indonesia.

Original story by Cindy Higgins

• Images from Microsoft

clipart, Photoshop

manipulation, and personal

collection

• Sound effects in public domain.

– This story is based on a research

project I did for a museum exhibit

where I kept running into articles

where one man was the last one around

still trying to do what he knew how to

do but hardly anybody needed his

services.