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Sunday, June 22, 2025

The Analog Editor

I recently bought an Olympia SM3 typewriter, circa 1955. It’s a manual typewriter, German-made. Its keys make the perfect clickety-clack, and the margin bell chimes clear. I typed on a manual typewriter in college, pounding out dozens of term papers. High school buddies at Western Kentucky University paid me to type their papers. Somewhere along the line, I got rid of that typewriter, also an Olympia, a later model. Recently, I began to wish for it back. After a little research on manual typewriters, I set about buying an Olympia SM3. After striking out locally, I ended up on eBay, where I noted these typewriters were attracting bidding interest. I set my price, allowing that the typewriter might need to be worked on, and it was mine.

I plan to use it primarily for writing notes and cards, though already I have typed household lists and instructions. My sons think it is pretty neat, though they, along with their father, are predicting the Olympia typewriter will meet the same fate as the much longed for Pfaff (also German made) sewing machine, given to me years ago by my in-laws. My mother was an excellent seamstress and typist; she could just as easily adjust her justified margins as she could expertly finish a hem. I couldn’t imagine a household without the whirl of a sewing machine. It is true the sewing machine is long gone, but not before I completed the promised piece — an Indiana University cape for our rescue Golden Retriever mix, Pearl Bodine.

I’ve learned about my Olympia typewriter. Mad Men’s Don Draper types on a dark green SM3. Writer Don DeLillo and screenwriter Woody Allen also compose on the model. Be assured, I won’t type this blog (called typecasting) on my typewriter, though I do plan to enjoy it.

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Kristen K. Tucker
Kristen K. Tucker
Kristen K. Tucker formed Tucker Publishing Group, Inc., along with her husband, Todd, in September 1999 and published the first issue of Evansville Living in March 2000. Kristen, publisher and editor of Evansville Living, holds a bachelor’s degree in public relations and English from Western Kentucky University and a master’s degree in liberal studies from the University of Southern Indiana. Kristen has recently served on the board of directors of The Catholic Foundation of Evansville, the Board of Advisors for the IU Medical School Evansville, and Indiana Landmarks. In 2007, she helped found the Women’s Fund of Vanderburgh County. She also is a member of the 125-year-old Social Literary Club. Kristen is the 2003 Athena Award recipient and the 2006 recipient of the Indiana Commission for Women’s Torchbearer Award. Tucker Publishing Group, Inc., magazines have won dozens of awards through the years from the City & Regional Magazine Association, the Advertising Federation of Evansville, the Evansville Design Group, and the Indiana Society of Professional Journalists. A native of Des Moines, Iowa, Kristen moved with her family to Evansville, her father’s hometown, in 1971. She attended Caze Elementary School, and Castle Jr. and Castle Sr. High Schools in Newburgh, Indiana. Kristen and Todd have two adult sons, Maxwell and Jackson. Kristen enjoys walking, travel, Pilates, and reading.

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