Quick Takes

The reason I so enjoy maintaining this website is because I always learn something new–and its usually something quite different from what I expected to learn. This month’s newsletter is no exception.

Autumn means the start of a new school year for families, so the subject of the newsletter revolves around school. When I think of my own childhood I remember the Dick and Jane readers, so you’ll find interesting information about these books that were a part of so many childhoods. But the second story–about handwriting–was the one that really fascinated me! My parents used to talk about learning the Palmer handwriting method, and in reading about Palmer, I was struck by how very important handwriting was in business up until about the 1950s when office typewriters became more plentiful. Up until that time, legibility and speed-of-writing really mattered. That concept seems so foreign in a world where even our phones have keyboards!

If you’re on the American Snapshots mailing list, you’ll get your newsletter on Friday. If not, then take a peek at what I learned about “Reading, Writing, and ‘Rithmetic.”

And please write and tell me your favorite book from childhood. I’d love to know: [email protected].