Penny's Larks and Yarns (P.L.A.Y): What Do You Do in Silverton in the Winter?

This is the question that has been asked of me over and over for the forty years I have lived here. The answer is: There are many interesting people in Silverton who do surprising and amazing things with their time. One of them is my friend, George Chapman, the former editor of the local newspaper. He is retired so has time to enjoy the print shop in his garage, where he prints a variety of types of documents. Today I had the pleasure of spending part of the afternoon with him, watching him print a page for an annual publication created by a printing association to which he belongs.

The press he used today is a Chandler & Price, an 8 X 12 platen press (sometimes known as a clamshell press) which was manufactured in 1911. George has electrified it with a small motor. Along with this press (and a number of others) his print shop is crowded with all manner of drawers of type and other printing gizmos and tools---most surfaces are covered with little bits of metal that are mirror images of some word or logo---it is the kind of place where you realize you'd best not move even one thing or the next time the printer started a job, he wouldn't be able to proceed because of the missing object!

This is George, in his printing uniform. Note all the nifty posters on the walls and part of the press on the left.

Here he is actually printing, hand-placing each small piece of paper with precision just before the flywheel of the press brings the type to the paper.

This is the flywheel and above George's hand you can also see the ink rollers which place the ink on the type. The round, flat metal piece in the background is the ink plate (George---I hope that's right!) where the rollers get a fresh supply for each page.

This is the counter (about 4" X 3" high) which has a nifty little spring mechanism on it, which is tripped each time the frame of type prints a new page. You can see the counter on the previous

picture. It is to the left of the ink rollers and above the flywheel.

This is the leather belt which wraps around the flywheel and runs the press. George recently had to replace the stitching that splices it together---it is a healthy inch wide and will soon need more repair. The current system of having the belt run the flywheel is a modern innovation done by George. The belt originally ran a drive wheel on the opposite side of the press.

Here is the final product---the page for the Amalgamated Printer's Association! (Hobo is actually a type style.) It was a fascinating afternoon. If George and Karen weren't about to move to Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, I would be tempted to see if George would let me learn to set type! Thanks, George!