The "'Mattie' the Workhorse" Story

It was an ordinary day. Working at the Gallery in Neffsville, PA. I have worked at Grebinger Gallery since I retired from teaching in 1999. The owner, Keith, was a student of mine and when he found out I was retiring he asked if I wanted to work for him part-time. My job is to cut mats and frames and put the projects together. Over the years I have had the chance to mat and frame some of the most unusual types of jobs. Military photos with the medals and ornamentation, NFL and MLB Jerseys, golf balls and flags for people who have had a hole-in-one, seashells and sand with photos and the list goes on and on. That's the fun part of the job. During the Christmas season I end up with the grueling part of the job. Cutting mat after mat of the same poster or print for sale at Park City Mall in Lancaster. The first year of so my hands would hurt by December 25. I told Keith I wasn't sure how many years I could do the job. Then he bought "Mattie". "Mattie" is what we call the computerized mat cutter that is housed in unit 12 of the shopping area where the Gallery is located. It does all the cutting for you. All you have to do is program the cutter with the size of the mat, size of the opening and the depth of the mat board. Put the mat on the table, lock in place by hitting the air pressure switch and hit cut. Then you watch "Mattie" do the work. My hands can relax as the cutter does the work. I can now cut word mats with letters on them and add a special design from the book of over 200 ideas. Trees, golfers, stars, anything you can imagine is in the book. During the last 7 years I have found out all the really neat tricks you can do on the cutter to make you job easier. "Mattie" has given me a chance to continue working at the Gallery. And .... I thoroughly enjoy creating the mats and frames for the customers. Keith now lists me on his advertisements as the framing expert. How about that! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.