[Written: May 2007]
How I Got Involved
in Letterpress Printing: I owned three weeklies in northern Illinois in 1960s and even though we converted to offset I got the ink
and lead in my veins. After moving to California I bought a C&P Pilot and the rest is history.
Presses & Equipment: Sold
my hobby shop in 2004 when selling our home (garage full of printing stuff) to move into a seniors apartment complex (at
age 64) but then acquired a 6x9 Golding Official #4 with 10 cases of type plus a galley rack of borders, dingbats and cuts,
so am back into letterpress. Since moving to Illinois I also bought a motorized 8x12 C&P and some more type.
Work
History: Bought three weeklies in Genoa, Sycamore and Kirkland, Ill. in 1960s. Sold out and moved to California where I first worked
on San Bernardino Sun, then was editor of two dailies in SF Bay Area—the Tri-Valley Herald and Valley Times, Pleasanton, CA. Also
returned to Illinois for four years to be editor of DeKalb Daily Chronicle. Then in 1980 changed careers and became Public Affairs
Manager for Sandia National Lab in Livermore, CA. Retired from there in 2001 and became Oral Historian for Lawrence Livermore National
Lab. Retired again in summer 2006. Moved back to our roots in Illinois to be near wife’s family after retirement. Now live
at Oak Crest Retirement Center in DeKalb, Ill. and changed my press name to reflect the historic invention of barbed wire here by
Joseph Glidden in 1874.
Education: Earned my Bachelor’s in Journalism at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Ill. Received
an honorary degree from Las Positas College, Livermore, CA. in 2001 after serving three terms on the college board and then retired
from it. Also taught journalism at that college for three years evenings so hold a Lifetime Teaching Credential for California
Community
Colleges.
Other Interests/Hobbies: Wrote a weekly column on history for three Bay Area newspapers from 2004-2006 (website:
www.historydetectives.info) Collecting historic newspapers; photography; videography and doing oral histories; working the handplaten
at county fair each summer; announcing parades for Livermore Rodeo and Alameda County Fair.
Group Memberships: AAPA; NAPA; APA
#556; APHA; Society of Professional Journalists, SDX; Association of Personal Historians; Past president of Livermore Rotary
Club and Livermore Heritage Guild; Arnold Schwarzenegger Re-election Team. Now VP and program chair of the DeKalb County Historical-Genealogical
Society.
Email Address: historian2@sbcglobal.net
Website: www.historydetectives.info
Birth Date or Birth Year: 1940
