The "Presses are Running in Room 308" Story

It was an ordinary day. Running the AB Dick Offset Press in room 308, excuse me, I mean room 168, at Manheim Township High School. Used to be room 308 when I taught in the room. Woods Printing is back in business at the same location it was before renovations started at the high school a few years ago. In 1999, after retiring from teaching at MTHS for over 30 years, I formed Woods Printing Services so I could continue to do the in-house printing for the school district. I was now an independent contractor. My friend Mike, who was an elementary school teacher in the district and also a neighbor of mine, who had helped me with the school printing since the early 70s, continues to help me. He retired last year from teaching. A few years ago we thought that the school district was going to discontinue doing their own in-house printing in the high school, but I was able to convince them that the savings we could achieve were substantial. Really a no-brainer, since the school owns the presses and other equipment and there is no overhead. Four years ago, at the end of the school year, Mike and I were told that the print shop would be closed for the summer when the school district would remove all the asbestos in the building. Did some quick thinking and convinced the district to move the equipment across campus to the middle school. Worked fine and we set up shop in the Graphic Arts room. Only thing we had to do differently was to have our negatives for printing made at a local business. At the end of the summer we moved the equipment back to the high school. The following summer a total renovation of the school was started and we were told no summer printing; plus told us the middle school was having some updates and that was out. So, I did some searching. Hey, I had worked for over three centuries in the district and knew my way around. I knew that the district owned private residences on either side of our 6th grade building, so I scouted them both and proposed to the district that they move us into one of them. OK, they agreed. But, the one THEY chose had the water already disconnected. No problem, I told them. We brought our own buckets of water into the house. Needed water for the darkroom, developing plates as well as clean-up. Even was able to set up a darkroom for our camera in a small room and make our own negatives. The water thing did create a big problem, though. NO BATHROOM! They gave me a key to get in the 6th grade building if we needed to use the toilet. They were kind enough to put in a few window air conditioners for us. Then September came and the renovations in the high school print shop were not done. We remained in the house and what was hot in the summer became freezing in the winter. Some small space heaters didn't help much, but we were still got the jobs finished. By the end of that school year, the presses were moved back to the high school with the completion of the renovations. Only problem was they forgot to put in a new darkroom for the camera which was needed. Duh! I found an old basement room in the 6th grade building that I was able to use for the darkroom ........ until a teacher complained that the smell bothered her. The school finally purchased an Xante machine which will make a negative from a computer file. I look back at the last few years and wonder how Mike and I survived all the problems. Persistence I guess. And why? Well, for one reason I love the smell of printing ink and so enjoy the field of printing. Both my sons are pressmen for large companies. My daughter reminded me the other day of the cartoon I had under the glass top on my desk in my classroom in room 308; shows a cartoon caricature with a print roller in one hand and a tube of ink in the other saying, "Years ago I kudent even spel printor, and now I are one! In .... room 308 .... or is it room 168? It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - photos from the top are old house we used for sometime for printing near the 6th grade building (you can see the distance to the school and if you had to use the restroom you better plan early), outside shot of what is now room 168 of the high school where the printing presses are currently located, and looking in the door at room 168.