Page 552 - Demo

Fools%u2019 Journey546he was a regional Olympia typewriter dealer, and a new Olympia portable cost just over $100. Sometimes, when he sold a new one, he might accept an older typewriter %u2014 like an Underwood %u2014 as a trade-in, but usually only offered $5 for it. After giving the trade-in a mild servicing %u2014 not the complete Stanisol treatment %u2014 he%u2019d price it at $50. I thought his markups were a bit steep, but then I didn%u2019t have a mortgage and a herd of kids to feed.So, when I saw the Underwood No. 5 on the Estate and Downsizing Specialists%u2019 website, it brought back a lot of memories, and it aroused my curiosity. I thought it would make a nice decorative object, but I also figured I could actually type something on it occasionally (with my two-finger technique). Maybe I%u2019d even restore it and learn about all its intricacies in the process. Lynn and I knew a man in Fort Wayne who owned about twenty typewriters. His name was Scott Sprunger, and when I asked him what the old Underwood would be worth, he said they usually sold for between $50 and $125. So I put in a high bid of $60, but lost out to somebody who wanted it more than I did.Scott used all of his typewriters regularly, often to write poetry, which was quite good. In fact, it was so good that one year I nominated him to be Indiana%u2019s Poet Laureate. Because most of Indiana%u2019s former Poet Laureates were college professors, Scott probably never had a chance, but I stressed on the application that he worked in the tradition of James Whitcomb Riley and that, %u201clike Riley, he is a working man, not an academic, and his poetry comes directly from his soul.%u201d Scott was very honored to be considered, but he wasn%u2019t selected for the post. Over the next few months, I kept thinking about that old typewriter, and started doing some online research. One of the first things I gleaned was that the Underwood No. 5 was one of the most popular typewriters ever produced, and it was being manufactured until the early 1930s. Because 5 million of them were made, it was still relatively easy to find one, and I was able to watch several videos of people dismantling and repairing them. I also downloaded a number of old service manuals. After perusing eBay, I bought one for $50, plus another $50 for shipping. It looked to be in decent shape, although it was missing one key.