Learn from the Past
Hamilton Stories: An Oral History, was a six-event speaker series in 2015 at the Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum, that commemorated the occupational heritage and process of making wood type. Founded in Two Rivers, Wisconsin in 1880, the Hamilton Manufacturing Company became the largest manufacturer of wood type in the United States. As a local employer and an enduring legacy, Hamilton established a culture of quality, pride and innovation that influenced the community to this day.
Hamilton Stories was established to preserve the stories of six former Hamilton employees who worked in the company’s wood type cutting area. Each event featured one guest speaker who shared his or her personal experience at the company. The Museum Director, Jim Moran, interviewed each speaker with a series of questions to reveal their experiences and guide audience members through the process of creating wood type. Beginning with harvesting wood, cutting letterforms on a pantograph and finally trimming finished pieces each person shared his or her unique story. The commemorative posters on display at local locations were designed for the speaker series and printed at the museum.
Each interview was recorded and realeased on our YouTube Channel. Follow along as we learn more about the process of creating wood type from the people who made it. See the first video with Kenny Koenig here.
