The "Good Ol' Days"—Then versus Now

[centralsweeper63]

Ah yeah, sounds good. A Vacuflo 760 or 960 would be pretty sweet.

 

[cheesewonton]

Ah yeah, sounds good. A Vacuflo 760 or 960 would be pretty sweet.

I will have over 200 vacuums in that garage. I won't need a central vac.

 

[centralsweeper63]

Oh, okay. I thought it might be good to have for sucking up dirt from within machines. I find a big bin that is bagless very, very helpful.

 

[cheesewonton]

Oh, okay. I thought it might be good to have for sucking up dirt from within machines. I find a big bin that is bagless very, very helpful.

That is what the 16 gallon Rigid shop vac is for.

 

[cheesewonton]

Half the garage will be for the vacuum collection and the front half will be for one restored Audi and five of my six motorcycles along with car and motorcycle lifts and a workbench. It's a big garage, 1,200 square feet.

 

[centralsweeper63]

That is bigger than my whole house!

 

[hygiene903]

You're most welcome, Jeff!

A career that becomes a hobby sounds awesome!

My churches had United/Lifetouch pictorial directories made but only with the glossy heavier-weight paper covers; the leatherette covers would be great to have for anniversary editions!

Thanks for the photos of you at the Heidelberg press and of your C & P handled press—how cool!

And thank God for back doors—good for you!

Thanks again for the compliments, Paul! Actually, I took up Printing as a hobby before it became a career. I had been laid off from the first Printing company I had worked at, and was working at Galion Iron Works, a company that built road graders, cranes, and rollers at the time I started the Printing hobby, thinking that I would be working there the rest of my life, and if I couldn't work in Printing I could pursue it as a hobby. Ended up being laid off from there after 6 years in 1981, on the day before Lena and I got married. It was about 5 years later that I got back into Printing and made a career out of it.
And yes, the leatherette covers were often ordered by the churches for Anniversary or other commemorative editions. I also ran the folder, so even if I didn't print the cover for your books I might have folded the inside pages. Also, for several years we offered pocket folder covers which were similar to the 4-color glossy covers except that they had a pocket flap inside. I also ran the die-cutting press that cut the flaps. It was also a Heidelberg and looked somewhat similar to the press I'm running in the picture, except that instead of having 3 cylinders, it had one cylinder that the bed that held the die went back & forth underneath.
Jeff

 

[centralsweeper63]

Very cool.

 

[cheesewonton]

Thanks again for the compliments, Paul! Actually, I took up Printing as a hobby before it became a career. I had been laid off from the first Printing company I had worked at, and was working at Galion Iron Works, a company that built road graders, cranes, and rollers at the time I started the Printing hobby, thinking that I would be working there the rest of my life, and if I couldn't work in Printing I could pursue it as a hobby. Ended up being laid off from there after 6 years in 1981, on the day before Lena and I got married. It was about 5 years later that I got back into Printing and made a career out of it.
And yes, the leatherette covers were often ordered by the churches for Anniversary or other commemorative editions. I also ran the folder, so even if I didn't print the cover for your books I might have folded the inside pages. Also, for several years we offered pocket folder covers which were similar to the 4-color glossy covers except that they had a pocket flap inside. I also ran the die-cutting press that cut the flaps. It was also a Heidelberg and looked somewhat similar to the press I'm running in the picture, except that instead of having 3 cylinders, it had one cylinder that the bed that held the die went back & forth underneath.
Jeff

You have had an interesting working life. I still picture you pushing refrigerator and washing machine parts around and my mind still has a hard time getting used to the idea of a five story factory.

 

[paul]

Thanks again for the compliments, Paul! Actually, I took up Printing as a hobby before it became a career. I had been laid off from the first Printing company I had worked at, and was working at Galion Iron Works, a company that built road graders, cranes, and rollers at the time I started the Printing hobby, thinking that I would be working there the rest of my life, and if I couldn't work in Printing I could pursue it as a hobby. Ended up being laid off from there after 6 years in 1981, on the day before Lena and I got married. It was about 5 years later that I got back into Printing and made a career out of it.
And yes, the leatherette covers were often ordered by the churches for Anniversary or other commemorative editions. I also ran the folder, so even if I didn't print the cover for your books I might have folded the inside pages. Also, for several years we offered pocket folder covers which were similar to the 4-color glossy covers except that they had a pocket flap inside. I also ran the die-cutting press that cut the flaps. It was also a Heidelberg and looked somewhat similar to the press I'm running in the picture, except that instead of having 3 cylinders, it had one cylinder that the bed that held the die went back & forth underneath.
Jeff

You're welcome, Jeff!

Sounds like you have had a wonderful life (like the Christmas movie starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed) ; with things like your marriage to Lena and your printing career and hobby. Congratulations, my friend!!!

 

[centralsweeper63]

I, from the sounds of it, believe you have a terrific life.

 

[hygiene903]

Thank you, Paul, Cheesewonton, and Eliot, for the compliments! It definitely has been an interesting life. Wonderful or terrific might be pushing it a bit, as it has definitely had its ups & downs. For example, when I worked at Westinghouse, I hired in during my first layoff from Galion Iron Works but was laid off from Westinghouse 6 months later. Fortunately, about 2 weeks after Westinghouse laid me off, I got called back to the Iron Works. But when I got laid off from the Iron Works again the day before our Wedding, it wasn't exactly the ideal way to start a marriage, but in almost 45 years we've definitely seen all of the better & worse, richer & poorer, in sickness & health aspects, and we're still together!
Later, when I got laid off at age 53 from United Church Directories/Lifetouch along with 25 co-workers due to the Printshop being shut down after working there for 22 years (they moved our jobs to another plant out of state), it was an enlightening experience to say the least. First, I realized that being middle aged meant too young to retire and too old to start over. And when I updated, or actually, rewrote my resume, it was a real eye opener! Most of my former employers were out of business, the college where I earned my degrees no longer existed, and most of my personal references had passed away.
So yes, although life has had its ups & downs, it has mostly been good.
Jeff

 

[centralsweeper63]

That would have been a fun and confusing day for sure! Life goes on though!