Thank you for reminding me of the childhood trauma of the old "real" ink pens that leaked everywhere, signaling to everyone that you are a dweeb, dork, uncool and unkempt...placing a book or notebook across your chest to hid the embarrassing stains to avoid ridicule and social shame. It may take me a day or two to recover my self-esteem.
Oh Ed, how I laughed at your commentary on the wooden pencil. I remember so clearly one teacher I had in grade a school who lectured her class constantly on various 'must dos'. Among them was NOT to over sharpen one's pencil. She made sure of it by her close supervision at the pencil sharpener.
I too, love the look, feel, and smell of a wooden pencil.
I have several boxes of #2 B pencils which I used to write drafts of all my memiors. I always keep several well sharpened ones handy and switch when the lead becomes slightly worn; a sharp pencil is a must for me.
Thank you for that delightful and knowledgeable history lesson on the wooden pencil. It was my first computer with 'print' on one end, 'delete' on the other end, and 'refresh' with little hand held sharpener. JCY
Ah, another of my own heart. There are many to whom the pencil is King.
Thank, John. Great memories.
Oh, and by the way, I won't take a picture of the pencils standing tall in my tin cup. You'll laugh. Or maybe give me a thumbs up. I'm guessin' the latter.
Great story and interview. Being the same age as you, I had very similar experiences with pencil-sharpening in my Regent Avenue Elementary School - another "teacher's pet!
As a kind of writer (technical articles) I used to hand-write the drafts with No. 2 (what else?) pencils. The final drafts went to a typist. To submit a piece for publication, an elaborate process was required of cutting-and-pasting (real cutting with a scissors and real pasting with a glue stick) the typed pages on an over-sized, stiff-paper template. That got mailed (snail mail) to the potential publisher for review. If accepted, the pages were then photographed and printed. That is, we submitted "camera-ready" copy.
Now, no more pencils, or pens - immediately to the computer keyboard where drafts are easily edited until the finished article is ready. Then it travels at the speed of light to the publisher and the review begins. I mention all this for the younger folks reading. We dinosaurs tend to do that.
BTW, here is a great article on the coal mine in Cranston:
I remember the being told the story about the hard coal slightly differently from the one in this story. The Cranston coal was so hard, that the safest place to be on Judgment Day was in that mine because that coal would be the last thing to be consumed by fire. It was anthracite which was very hard to ignite, unless it was pulverized first as is done in the boilers of steam power plants using anthracite fuel. Mercifully, there are very few if any such plants still operating in the US.
Pencils are magical. Pens are terrifying. Writing with pens are permanent. A mistake can only be crossed off, but remain as a reminder of an imperfect thought. Pencils are more forgiving of our human condition...imperfect, but striving for perfection. With one simple motion, an error can be erased and replaced with the word or words to convey a more precise thought. I, too, was (and still am) addicted to the power of the No.2 soft lead pencil. Thank you for your homage this humble instrument.
Ed loved the story and learned about the pencil. 12,500 for a pencil. You wouldn't want your grandchildren sharpening that pencil. When I was in competition to close a deal, some clients would say "you better sharpen that pencil"
How wonderful to give this great invention a whole essay and a TV appearance. Thank you, Ed. And it must be said that you are a persuasive writer. I just sharpened all my No. 2 pencils stored point up in a coffee mug on my desk after reading and listening. Looking forward to next week's edition, but first I must apply the graphite-clay mixture to a Mozart score.
Great one, Ed. I loved the TV interview. Interesting that the word "pencil" and the penicillium mold that produces penicillin derive from the same latin word? Don
I loved the article , not only for its information and good prose but also for the memories it brought back to me.
When we returned back to Cranston in 1952, we moved into an apple orchard called Dean Apple Orchard. It was on an hill overlooking what was to become Garden City.
Between what was to become Garden City and Sockanosset Reform School was the entrance to a huge underground mine. We called it a coal mine but in fact it was one of largest graphite mines in the US at one time. One wonders how many pencils were made from that mine. The mine was closed and filled when Mr. Melacaro began him great venture of developing Garden City . That’s another story.
Thanks, Paul. Graphite mine. Thanks. I remember viewing the mine shaft, or maybe it was a conveyor, as we drove by on our way to Lido's Beach in Narragansett on a summer Sunday. "Are we there yet, Dad"
Oops..that I said I used a pen for all my writing, including for puzzles, and some scoffed at that.
Well, my main reason for a pen was how easy to read what was written!
Confidence with a pen. You were great at crosswords, neat, and never had to erase. Well, Joe, I admire you.
To each his own. If you remember, I was the one, probably last year’s Pencil Day, that ai
Hi, Joe. Your message was clipped.
https://youtu.be/67tHtpac5ws?si=hVYhoXbX5zBZ6gv8
Wow, thank you, Charles. A remarkable piece by a remarkable man.
Thank you for reminding me of the childhood trauma of the old "real" ink pens that leaked everywhere, signaling to everyone that you are a dweeb, dork, uncool and unkempt...placing a book or notebook across your chest to hid the embarrassing stains to avoid ridicule and social shame. It may take me a day or two to recover my self-esteem.
Once I had a huge stain in, yes in, my shirt pocket. Dam leaky fountain pen!
Oh Ed, how I laughed at your commentary on the wooden pencil. I remember so clearly one teacher I had in grade a school who lectured her class constantly on various 'must dos'. Among them was NOT to over sharpen one's pencil. She made sure of it by her close supervision at the pencil sharpener.
I too, love the look, feel, and smell of a wooden pencil.
I have several boxes of #2 B pencils which I used to write drafts of all my memiors. I always keep several well sharpened ones handy and switch when the lead becomes slightly worn; a sharp pencil is a must for me.
Thank you for that delightful and knowledgeable history lesson on the wooden pencil. It was my first computer with 'print' on one end, 'delete' on the other end, and 'refresh' with little hand held sharpener. JCY
Ah, another of my own heart. There are many to whom the pencil is King.
Thank, John. Great memories.
Oh, and by the way, I won't take a picture of the pencils standing tall in my tin cup. You'll laugh. Or maybe give me a thumbs up. I'm guessin' the latter.
Hi Ed,
Great story and interview. Being the same age as you, I had very similar experiences with pencil-sharpening in my Regent Avenue Elementary School - another "teacher's pet!
As a kind of writer (technical articles) I used to hand-write the drafts with No. 2 (what else?) pencils. The final drafts went to a typist. To submit a piece for publication, an elaborate process was required of cutting-and-pasting (real cutting with a scissors and real pasting with a glue stick) the typed pages on an over-sized, stiff-paper template. That got mailed (snail mail) to the potential publisher for review. If accepted, the pages were then photographed and printed. That is, we submitted "camera-ready" copy.
Now, no more pencils, or pens - immediately to the computer keyboard where drafts are easily edited until the finished article is ready. Then it travels at the speed of light to the publisher and the review begins. I mention all this for the younger folks reading. We dinosaurs tend to do that.
BTW, here is a great article on the coal mine in Cranston:
https://smallstatebighistory.com/how-curious-a-coal-mine-in-cranston/
I remember the being told the story about the hard coal slightly differently from the one in this story. The Cranston coal was so hard, that the safest place to be on Judgment Day was in that mine because that coal would be the last thing to be consumed by fire. It was anthracite which was very hard to ignite, unless it was pulverized first as is done in the boilers of steam power plants using anthracite fuel. Mercifully, there are very few if any such plants still operating in the US.
Ron
Thanks, Ron. This is great. An era with all the wonderful smells of pen, ink, paper and glue now gone. It's almost sad.
Thanks for the coal mine link.
Pencils are magical. Pens are terrifying. Writing with pens are permanent. A mistake can only be crossed off, but remain as a reminder of an imperfect thought. Pencils are more forgiving of our human condition...imperfect, but striving for perfection. With one simple motion, an error can be erased and replaced with the word or words to convey a more precise thought. I, too, was (and still am) addicted to the power of the No.2 soft lead pencil. Thank you for your homage this humble instrument.
Yes, I could not agree more, Larry.
But here is what else the pen left me in elementary scghool. Ink stains everywhere . . .fingers, shirt, papers
"What the heck did you do at school today?" Dad
But he gave me an Eversharp Pen, and that was the start to my collection.
Ed loved the story and learned about the pencil. 12,500 for a pencil. You wouldn't want your grandchildren sharpening that pencil. When I was in competition to close a deal, some clients would say "you better sharpen that pencil"
Yes, "sharpen your pencil" was the common 'deal' quote.
They sell them by the box at BJs.
The 12,500-dollar pencils? Or the 99 cents by the box.
How wonderful to give this great invention a whole essay and a TV appearance. Thank you, Ed. And it must be said that you are a persuasive writer. I just sharpened all my No. 2 pencils stored point up in a coffee mug on my desk after reading and listening. Looking forward to next week's edition, but first I must apply the graphite-clay mixture to a Mozart score.
Aha, secret out. You revise with a #2
Have you conducted with one?
In choral rehearsals or with small numbers of players or singers. In concerts, generally a baton or just my hands. Thanks for asking.
as usual a interesting and informative article. keep your pencil sharp
HaHa, I'll try
Great one, Ed. I loved the TV interview. Interesting that the word "pencil" and the penicillium mold that produces penicillin derive from the same latin word? Don
Ah, great, I didn't realize that. Thanks, Don.
Ed,
I loved the article , not only for its information and good prose but also for the memories it brought back to me.
When we returned back to Cranston in 1952, we moved into an apple orchard called Dean Apple Orchard. It was on an hill overlooking what was to become Garden City.
Between what was to become Garden City and Sockanosset Reform School was the entrance to a huge underground mine. We called it a coal mine but in fact it was one of largest graphite mines in the US at one time. One wonders how many pencils were made from that mine. The mine was closed and filled when Mr. Melacaro began him great venture of developing Garden City . That’s another story.
Paul
Thanks, Paul. Graphite mine. Thanks. I remember viewing the mine shaft, or maybe it was a conveyor, as we drove by on our way to Lido's Beach in Narragansett on a summer Sunday. "Are we there yet, Dad"
Ed,
I always remember the Odd Couple tv show episode when Oscar and Felix are on Password
and Felix screws up by saying "graphite". Ever since then I knew what graphite was. And
yes, I remember sharpening the pencils when I was at Nelson St. school. (now Robert F. Kennedy)
Thanks, Tom. I had not heard that Odd Couple story. A teaching moment, Eh?