It was an ordinary day. Reading my latest edition of "The Saturday Evening Post." Was turning the pages when I came across an article titled "Benjamin Franklin, Man of Letters." Boy did that bring back memories of times past....long ago. I taught Industrial Arts (I.A.) at Manheim Township High School in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania beginning in the mid-1960s. I took over the Graphic Arts Department when the former I.A. teacher became an administrator in the high school. At the time we were still teaching letterpress, which included setting type by hand in a composing stick, placing the handset type in a "chase", or metal frame, and placing the chase in a hand-operated letterpress. We had 2 letterpresses which were both run by electricity, rather than the older presses that were powered by the press operator. My students, both boys and girls, loved the course since they could do everything by hand and see a printed result as soon as the inked type struck the paper. I still think back to those days every time I read a story about letterpress printing. My latest edition of "The Saturday Evening Post" had a rather large article that was titled "Benjamin Franklin...Man of Letters." I closed my eyes and pictured the many students I had over 50 years ago who may have been reading the story as I was. Do they, (both boys and girls) remember setting type and printing it on the couple of letterpresses we had in our print shop. I'll bet they never forgot that course I taught in the Industrial Arts department, especially the day I, their teacher, got my hand caught in the press, but still have all my fingers (my right trigger finger is turned nearly 90 degrees to the right, but is still useful. Looks a little funny, but became a good teaching tool!) The latest Saturday Evening Post had a short, 2 paragraph story titled "Franklin And The Post" which I have copied for you to read to allow you to also see what Benjamin Franklin must have been like during the very early 1900s. So enjoy the story...
"Franklin And The Post." The Post's connection to Ben Franklin is one of the reasons Cyrus Curtis chose to buy and relaunch this magazine in 1897. Back in 1728, when the young Franklin began publishing the "Pennsylvania Gazette," it carried news and articles on various topics from correspondents to other publications, and often enough by Franklin himself. "The Gazette" reflected his interest in people, science and politics, his keen sense of what people wanted to know, and of course, his wit. His editorship made "The Gazette" the colonies' most popular publication. "The Gazette" ceased publication in 1800, but Franklin's old print shop remained in business at No. 53 Market Street, Philadelphia. In 1821, Charles Atkinson used this shop and its press to start a weekly publication. It was to be delivered with the Saturday afternoon mail, so he called it "The Saturday Evening Post." Though it wasn't started by Franklin, the "Post" carried on the spirit that animated the Gazette: Franklin's practical, inquisitive, lightly skeptical, and basically moral tone, but was always leavened by a sense of humor. It was hoped that they could follow in his footsteps. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
Thank you for sharing your writing.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to take your Graphics I course. My guidance counselor duped me out of it for junior year, saying she wanted to save spots for seniors who wanted to take it and senior year, saying she wanted to offer it to juniors who might want to take Graphics II, as well. My loss, for several reasons. I took a study hall instead (that was my short-sightedness). I went on to have a summer job that required me to take late in the summer shifts in the print department. My current job of forty-some years is with a company that prints, flexo in earlier years and offset in recent years. What I might have learned!
My friends who took the class really enjoyed it.
Luckily I was on Neff-Vue staff and had a chance to work with you.