Ted:
Could you provide a link on the cvilleok website to our class website?
www.chsreunion76.com.
Also, thought you'd be interested in the following. Some background: the
linked article appeared in World Magazine, July 23, 2005 and sparked some
very fond memories. My note to the columnist and his response follows.
Article: http://worldmag.com/joelbelz/belz.cfm?id=18094
Email to Joel Belz from Keith Whitfield
Please let let Mr. Belz know how much I enjoyed his article "My Linotype"
(July 23, 2005). My interest in type/font design began with a friendship
long ago with the local newspaper publisher. The Wright family had been
publishing the The Collinsville News (Collinsville, OK) since 1899 and
Mr. John Wright was the owner/editor of paper when I met him in the early
1970's.
I was an aspiring cartoonist and wandered into the newspaper office one
day to see if they were hiring in their "art department." I
quickly learned that there was no art department and that the majority
of the employees were family members, expect for the photographer/classified
ads lady. Although he couldn't give me a job, Mr. Wright invited me to
return anytime to visit, which I did on a regular basis. Mr. Wright took
an interest in me and ended up teaching me how to operate the linotype
machine and line camera. Some time later, he even ran a story about me
that included some of my cartoons.
Some of my fondest childhood memories include the image of Mr. Wright
sitting at the linotype, wearing his soiled printer's apron, as he set
type for that week's edition. The newspaper building was an old structure
that was built around 1910 with high ceilings, wood floors, etc. Wednesday
was publishing day and the noise of the old offset presses, and the smell
of the ink permeated the whole building. I loved that place!
Thanx for stirring some cherished memories...and I hope you're able to
find a new home for the linotype. Windshields may be bigger for a reason,
but looking in the rearview mirror is not such a bad thing.
Mr. Belz's Response
Thanks for a warm and nostalgic note. I guess that every vocation indulges
itself to a certain extent in such a manner, but old printers do it most
literately!
JOEL BELZ
===
Thanx,
Keith Whitfield
CHS Class of 76
Now residing in Owasso, OK
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