He Fixed 300,000+ Machines - America's Oldest Typewriter Repairman Dies At 96

An anonymous reader writes "The New York Times reports, 'For eight decades, Manson Whitlock kept the 20th century's ambient music going: the ffft of the roller, the ding of the bell, the decisive zhoop ... bang of the carriage return, the companionable clack of the keys. From the early 1930s until shortly before his death last month at 96, Mr. Whitlock, at his shop in New Haven, cared for the instruments, acoustic and electric, on which that music was played. Mr. Whitlock was often described as America's oldest typewriter repairman. He was inarguably one of the country's longest-serving. Over time he fixed more than 300,000 machines, tending manuals lovingly, electrics grudgingly and computers never. "I don't even know what a computer is," Mr. Whitlock told The Yale Daily News, the student paper, in 2010. "I've heard about them a lot, but I don't own one, and I don't want one to own me."'"

Re:300,000 Machines?

[jqpublic13]

Not only are some repairs quicker than others, but TFA noted that he had a staff as large as six people at one point assisting him in his shop... I don't doubt that a man of his abilities could repair 300,000 machines (depending on the complexity of the repair), but it could be a reference to those repairs he supervised, and not just those he actually performed with his own two hands.

Re:300,000 Machines?

[dywolf]

plus theres the factor of once you become THE guy to do it (low supply, high demand), your shop starts getting typewriters shipped in from beyond the local area.