The most recent 20 comments posted to Making Light by Lee Hauser:

I graduated from journalism school at Washington State University in 1978 and immediately started work at a weekly in southeastern Washington. I'd done plenty of writing and photography/darkroom work, but had no experience with actual layout and production. We had two Compugraphic machines -- one for articles, one for headlines/display copy. Two days a week we'd have this lady come in and set the stories and ads. She hardly ever talked. She just came in, took the copy, and her words flew over the keys for a few hours, producing long strips of paper with my writing on them.

Every Tuesday night, after the city council or school board meeting, I'd come in and set my articles myself, as well as the headlines on the other machine. I think the Compugraphics had at least a single-line dot matrix display, which would have been essential since I typed even worse then than I do now.

We shared space with a print shop, but not the shop that printed our paper. A crotchety but lovable old Crankshaft of a fellow ran that business, and he did all his typesetting on a Linotype. I can still remember typing away at my Olmpia manual typewriter in the front window and hearing the whirs and clanks from the rear as Rollie ran his Linotype and ran his presses.

I ended up hating being a journalist, but I wish I'd spent more time looking at -- and listening to -- that Linotype.

I am disappointed to find no reference to "thingamabob." That's my favorite. And yes, Mark, I am reminded of that song...though I never heard Tom Paxton sing it. Peter, Paul and Mary all the way (from the "Peter, Paul and Mommy" album, I'm sure).

So, where's the Bush joke?

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