The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over The Lazy Dog At EP's First Type-In

EVERGREEN PARK, IL — The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog at Evergreen Park’s first Type-In on Saturday. Forty typewriter enthusiasts gathered at the senior center to celebrate the ultimate writing machine.

Many attendees brought vintage typewriters found in attics or basements, including this Patch reporter, who brought a Royal portable purchased new by my grandfather in 1937. My trusty Royal got me through college and the early years of my career as a journalist. After decades of sleeping in its original black case and getting a new ribbon, the Royal awoke from its slumber and the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog — although, technically, the classic typing test sentence is “the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” because it contains all 26 letters of the alphabet. I can’t believe the many hours I spent violently punching out papers, articles, poems and short stories. I must have had really strong hands.

I was told my vintage Royal was in near-perfect condition, but was just in need of a good cleaning. I’m looking forward to some distraction-free writing for pleasure and rebuilding the strength in my hands.

Special guest at the Type-In was Sarah Everett, who hosts her YouTube channel "Just My Typewriter." Everett took a train from Pittsburgh to attend the event. Fans of Everett’s YouTube show included guests from Madison, Wisconsin, and a Minnesota couple on a “type-in”-hopping road trip.

The oldest machine on display was a rare, 1907 Hammond 12, the first to introduce a ribbon vibrator on top of the turret, that turned the Hammond 12 into a visible writer, according to the Virtual Antique Typewriter Museum. Prior to this improvement, the work being done was hidden by the turret. The machine was brought in by Lucas Dul, a hipster typewriter repair technician from Downers Grove. The Hammond Co. of New York City’s line of luxury typewriters featured aluminum bodies to make them lighter in specially decorated wood cases.

“It works,” Dul said.

The Type-In was the brainchild of the village’s communications and community theater director, Glenn Pniewski, whose own collection boasts 13 vintage typewriters. Though he wished the attendance was higher, the Type-In morphed into a collectors’ event. People streamed in throughout the afternoon. Pniewski said his event was designed for a quieter, more-introverted recreation department user.

“I knew that this wasn’t going to be a ‘Day In the Park’ size crowd, that it was going to cater to the collector market. And it did,” Pniewski said in an email. “Altogether, I think we had about 40 people come through, but the great thing was that they didn’t just 'walk through,' they sat down and STAYED.”

Volunteers from the Evergreen Candlelight Theatre assisted with the event. One resident questioned how much the village spent of taxpayer money on the complimentary hot dogs. Pniewski hopes to make the “Type-In” an annual event to introduce children to this marvelous machine.

The late author Larry McMurtry used a Hermes 3000 portable author to write “Lonesome Dove,” “Brokeback Mountain” and other famous works. Academy Award-winning actor Tom Hanks is perhaps the best-known typewriter aficionado, with more than 200 typewriters in his collection. Rumor has it that if you send Hanks a typewritten letter, he’ll write you back.

The first-ever Type-In was, all in all, a delightful afternoon.