Before there were daily deliveries via UPS, FedEx and other local carriers, we depended on the postal service, over the road truckers and railroads. Above is an interesting 1927 event that occurred when Walter W. Prior had an air freight carrier drop a shipment of Royal typewriters via parachute from an airplane over Mercer Airport. In addition to a copy of my original weekly "Hamilton Scrapbook" feature in the Mercer Messenger, I have added the successor to the Walter W. Prior Typewriter Exchange, my friend Tony Nami and his "PRIOR-NAMI BUSINESS SYSTEMS over on Hamilton Avenue adjacent to Camp Olden Park. The computer with its typewriter-type keyboard has largely replaced the now old fashioned typewriter. I was a high speed typist during my Army years with a "manual" typewriter which was known as a "mill" in my ASA (Army Security Agency) M.O.S. (Military Occupation Specialty). I recently tried my hand a typing on one of those relics. I did fine until I reached the end of a sentence and waited for an automatic carriage return!
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Anonymous said... - They mention the parachute drop into Stacy Park. I seem to remember something about the first scheduled air mail was between Trenton and Philadelphia with the pick up by one of those large Sikorsky birds landing at Stacy Park by the RR bridge. Perhaps in about 1953? Mom started out as a typist and they had proficiency exams for speed. When the first of the IBM speed machines came out she would bring one home to practice. My Dad challenged her to a duel. Like an old gunslinger he emerged with an ancient Royal from the attic. He won, beat her hands down on that old thing. Skip
They mention the parachute drop into Stacy Park. I seem to remember something about the first scheduled air mail was between Trenton and Philadelphia with the pick up by one of those large Sikorsky birds landing at Stacy Park by the RR bridge. Perhaps in about 1953?
ReplyDeleteMom started out as a typist and they had proficiency exams for speed. When the first of the IBM speed machines came out she would bring one home to practice. My Dad challenged her to a duel. Like an old gunslinger he emerged with an ancient Royal from the attic. He won, beat her hands down on that old thing.
Skip
Skip:
ReplyDeleteTom's article mentions the drop as taking place ion 1927 ( 60 years before his 1987 column)
not 1953. I grew a block from the river and a few blocks from the Penna. RR Bridge over the Delaware. The was without a doubt, no space between the road, and the river for anything to land except a fish. Stacy Park stopped at the Assumpink Creek bridge just behind the War Memorial Bldg. In addition, the Sikorsky Helicopter was unknown in 1927. I do remember a radio station doing a publcity stunt by having somthing dropped at an Easter Egg hunt that Pete Radice and I were running in Stacy Park.
The year sounds right since Pete and I met the year before in 1952.
Regards
Mike Kuzma