Freshly graduated from high school…new adventures loomed on the horizon for young Fern…
She left the comforts of home and family for the bustling city of Los Angeles in the 1920’s…
First thing that must be done: get a job. Newspaper searched and an advertisement found:
“Typist wanted for Telephone Company”
“I thought I could accomplish the job and do the work because I had been pretty good at typing in high school,” Fern recalled…
… “pretty good” was quite a modest claim, actually…
…125 words per minute on “straight type” was her claim to fame…
Typing test taken…a week later, a card arrived in the mail…
“Please report to the Southern California Telephone Company on Santee Street…”
Her first job landed…and in Los Angeles she stayed…
So many things relating to this little story came into my life this very week…
I’ve LONGED for a beautiful, old typewriter to call my very own…didn’t think I’d ever find the type of vintage beauty I had in mind…and if I did ever find one, I certainly didn’t think I’d be able to afford the asking price!
Last Saturday, as is our new custom, we hit the yard sale circuit…a small nearby town having their yearly community yard sale….oh, what a day!
On one of our very first stops—my heart stopped, too…
…a gorgeous, pre-1920 Underwood typewriter…!
I put my hand on it—thinking that would claim it for mine—and casually (as I could!) asked the elderly lady who owned it, “how much for the typewriter?”
“Oh…that was my grandmother’s”, she said wistfully… “how about five dollars?”
Oh, my! It was so hard to keep a straight face as I said, “I’ll take it!” Couldn’t believe my luck that day!
I just love how even everyday items were made so beautifully at the beginning of the last century…so much lovely detail on even the most utilitarian items…
Turns out, according to Fern’s daughter (my mother-in-law), that this was the very style and make of typewriter that Fern used to type on…talk about a lucky coincidence!
Just down the street from where I got my typewriter…what do you think I found?
A wonderful typewriting book printed in 1933…
I just love these illustrations for pre-typing hand exercises—so funny!
…proper hand placement on the keys…
…the anatomy of a typewriter…!
About mid-week, I went to pick up my daughters who were staying with their grandma (Fern’s daughter), for a couple of days…
…and she pulled out her beautiful, old portable Corona typewriter for us to see…
…in perfectly wonderful condition…still works like a charm…the first time my girls ever typed on a real, old typewriter—they were thrilled!
Why aren’t keys this beautiful anymore? Look at the “pi” key! Love the font on the “floating” shift key…
We were able to take it home and “babysit” it for a while…
A little addition to my heritage scrapbook made yesterday…
…the beautiful framed journal sheet is from Crafty Secrets’ new “Vintage Paper Patterns” CD…
…this vintage “button” is also found on the CD—looks pretty real, doesn’t it?!
What a wonderful week this was…just my type!
I’ll be taking a bit of a summer blog break this next month…so much to do and enjoy with my sweet family…I don’t want to miss a thing!
I’ll pop in now and then to check on you all & I’ll be back with regular posts soon…
Enjoy every golden summer moment!
Julie
