 Milwaukee, WI: We’re glad to announce a historic wobbly, bobbly, qwert-obly creation: The Christopher Latham Sholes Bobblehead.
Sholes (1819-1890) was a Milwaukee newspaper publisher, politician, and inventor of the first commercial typewriter, which changed the way the world writes. One aspect of that invention, the QWERTY keyboard layout, is still found on our computers and phones today. QWERTYFEST MKE (qwertyfest.com), founded in 2023 by Molly Snyder (senior writer at OnMilwaukee) and author and journalist Tea Krulos, is a weekend long festival that celebrates Sholes’ invention as well as Milwaukee writers, history, and innovation. In tone with being in the “City of Festivals,” it’s also a lot of fun. To the latter point, we present this collaboration with the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum (bobbleheadhall.com). Located in the Walker’s Point neighborhood of Milwaukee, the world’s only bobblehead museum has more than 10,000 bobbleheads based on athletes, mascots, celebrities, animals, cartoon characters, and more. It also has a life-size bobblehead on display. We’re proud to say that Sholes will soon be bobbling among those ranks. "The Sholes bobblehead is the perfect desktop accouterment," says Snyder. "I can't wait to have the inventor of the revolutionary communication machine bobbling away while I work." “This is such a fun way to celebrate an important chapter of Milwaukee history,” adds Krulos. “I’ve already cleared space off on my desk for this guy and will look to him for inspiration.” The bobblehead can be pre-ordered now for $35 and will be ready for pick-up or delivery this fall prior to QWERTYFEST MKE, Oct. 3-5. Those coming to the festival can pick up at the museum and get free admission. To order, go to: store.bobbleheadhall.com/products/qwerty Contacts: National Bobblehead Hall of Fame: Phil Sklar: [email protected] QWERTYFEST MKE: Molly and Tea: [email protected] ##
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Year 2 of QWERTYFEST MKE exceeded our expectations in every way. It was an incredible weekend that celebrated the invention of the typewriter in Milwaukee as well as history, writing, and innovation in general. It was also a helluva lot of fun. QF co-organizers want to give a heartfelt thanks to the many people who made this event happen. We are fortunate to have a wide base of supporters who wanted to help us see this event happen. We are looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish on 2025, and we will have some dates very soon. Here's a run down of everything that happed at QF 24. Photos by Royal Brevväxling Friday, June 21: Typewriter Ball at Turner Hall  Retired journalist Paul Hayes had a table to sell off typers from his collection.  After a set by DJ Swing Shift (spinning records on an antique Victrola), we had our first Quick Brown Fox Typing Contest to see who QF's fastest typer would be. Seven people entered.  Here we see QF's Typewriter Technician Lisa Floading and Bob (Typewriter Muse) perhaps talking typing strategy.  Jon Boyd won the contest with an impressive 108 correct words in 120 seconds. Jon won a trophy, gift basket, and will emcee the contest next year.  We wanted to showcase other uses of the QWERTY keyboard, so our friends at DarkFusion Systems helped us set up a gaming lounge where people could play classic keyboard games like "The Oregon Trail" and "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?"  We set up some Scrabble boards so people could play a game while enjoying the entertainment.  Free food is always a hit. We had locally made Usinger's hot dogs, buns from Sciortino's, and popcorn.  And QWERTY cupcakes from Bakehouse23!  Turner Hall provided some themed cocktails-- the Remington Revolver and the Olivetti.  We had 9 typing stations up on the balcony. Each had a different writing prompt. Most were positioned so you could see the stage while you typed. The sound of clacking was fantastic.  QF guest Derek Mosley and QF co-organizer Molly Snyder looking sharp in their press card adorned fedoras.  The Splendid Mailbox was a free mailing station we set up. We provided postcards, paper, envelopes, and stamps. People dropped their correspondence into the mailbox. We made sure postage was correct and sent almost 100 postcards and letters all over the country and beyond.  We had about a dozen vendors-- artists, authors, crafters, and typewriter sellers.  Our QWERTY Silent Auction was a success. We had 9 typewriters, 5 of those decorated by local artists, and one typewriter purse.  Wendy Lynn Markus rocked the typewriters with percussion by Stuart DeVaan as "Measures of Escapement," a special performance for QF. The Clackathon returned with another exciting display of creativity. The wonderful performers and crew that participated: WOO crew/ Fabrication Assistant: Sedy Bee All Evil Sponsors: Freesia McKee Intimidating Judge 1: Rocky Intimidating Judge 2/ Story Consultant: Becky Franzel Leader of the WOO Crew/ Fabrication Assistant: Kirsten Meier Cowardly Cliff/ Story Consultant: Matthew Filipowicz The Poet Laureate of a Trash Mountain the Size of Texas: Kay Kro Homeless Animal: Ben Yela Super Duper Senior/ Costumes / Props: Leslie Vaglica Engineer of Tomorrow’s Typewriter: Mikal Floyd Pruitt The Dandy Troubadour: Dandy Freling Host/ Director/ Writer/ Producer/ Stage Manager: Anja Notanja Sieger Choreographer: Brian Rott         Our headlining act was the Boston Typewriter Orchestra. We were thrilled to bring them to town to perform.      Saturday, June 22: QWERTYFEST presentations and workshops at Charles Allis Art Museum and Whisky Type after party at Great Lakes Distillery  Librarian and author Amy Waldman gave a presentation on library resources, QF co-organizer and author Tea Krulos was joined by author Ben Riggs to discuss Wisconsin's connections to the fantasy genre, QF co-organizer and writer Molly Snyder read some of her work, and keynote presenter Richard Polt, author of "The Typewriter Revolution" gave a talk titled "Revolution Forever."  We also had a "Typewriter 101" workshop led by Lisa Floading and a creative writing workshop led by Kay Kro in the museum's beautiful French Parlor.  The Peanut Butter and Jelly Deli generously provided food for our attendees. As you can see, it's Kay Kro approved!  Carolyn Wynnack, creator of The Whisky Type website, was special guest host of our after party at Great Lakes Distillery.  Carolyn came up with some fun prompts to get the gears moving.  Vox Starling played a fantastic set, a great soundtrack for the night.  QF special guest Richard Polt (left) spent time talking with QF attendees.  Sunday, June 23: National Typewriter Day Activities "QWERTY Journey" tour at Forest Home Cemetery Typewriter Brunch Open Jam 2 at X-Ray Arcade Mapping the Qwertyverse presentation at Central Library Rare Books Room Anchor Press Open House at Charles Allis Art Museum  Typewriter Brunch Open Jam is a simple concept (and we think that's why people like it): bring a typewriter, order some food and drink and hang out.  This year we held the brunch at X-Ray Arcade.      The Qwertyverse is a project we've collaborated on with Prof. Jason Puskar (pictured) and his students. It's a site that has an archive of typewriter related documents, a mapping project, and an oral history collection. Jason talked about the project's already impressive start in Central Library's Rare Books Room. See link to Qwertyverse below.  We wrapped the weekend up with a nice open house led by Celeste Contreras (pictured) of Anchor Press, Paper and Print. AP3 provided Celeste's wonderful stamps, typerwriters, and paper to make stationary at the Charles Allis Art Museum.    And that's a wrap! See you next year! Links
Royal Brevväxling: Royal Brevväxling - Brevväxling.com (brevvaxling.com) DarkFusion Systems: DarkFusion Systems, LLC Wendy Lynn Markus: Wend O'Lynn The Fiddler (wendolynn.com) Bakehouse 23: Facebook Anja Notanja Sieger: www.laprosette.com Boston Typewriter Orchestra: bostontypewriterorchestra | Twitter, Instagram, Facebook | Linktree Richard Polt: The Typewriter Revolution blog (writingball.blogspot.com) Kay Kro: The Traveling Typist Lisa Floading: Lisa Floading (@platen_place) • Instagram photos and videos Amy Waldman: Bookshop.org Tea Krulos: teakrulos.com Ben Riggs: Ben Riggs (writerbenriggs.com) Molly Snyder: Molly Snyder (@mollysnydermke) • Instagram photos and videos Carolyn Wynnack: The Whisky Type Vox Starling: Facebook The Qwertyverse: Welcome · The Qwertyverse · UWM L&S Omeka Anchor Press, Paper and Print: www.anchorpresspaperandprint.org Central Library Rare Books Room: Richard E. & Lucile Krug Rare Books Room · MPL Sponsors Retrospekt: retrospekt.com Awkward Nerd Events: Awkward Nerd Events Woodland Pattern: Woodland Pattern - for Poetry & the Arts, Milwaukee, Wisconsin OnMIlwaukee: OnMilwaukee 91.7FM WMSE: WMSE - 91.7FM  We have SO MUCH to share from QWERTYFEST MKE 2024! We're going to start with results from our Typewriter Station #4, which featured a Remington Rand Model 5. At last year's QF, typists were asked to write a short poem about frogs. This year we asked for poems on bats. Bats are an important part of the ecosystem, but Wisconsin's bat population is threatened by a fungal disease called white-nose syndrome. Save the bats! For more info visit: Saving Wisconsin's bats | | Wisconsin DNR Here are some of the results, some signed, some anonymous, all appreciated!                Next Up: "My Favorite Things About Summer."
 Hello Qwertytypes-- we have some important news. We made the decision to move our programming on Saturday, June 22 from Mitchell Street Arts to the Charles Allis Art Museum (1801 N. Prospect Ave.) on Milwaukee's East Side.
The Museum is a beautiful space that is the former mansion of Charles and Sarah Allis. Charles was the president of the Allis-Chalmers Corporation, and the couple were avid supporters of the arts. Their Tudor-style mansion, built in 1911, contains items from the Allis' vast collection as well as newer works. QWERTYFEST presentations will take place in the Great Hall. These are free, but you must register as capacity is limited. If you already registered for Mitchell Street Arts, you do not need to re-register. If you want to explore the rest of the museum, you'll need to buy an admission ($15) and we also encourage you to drop some cash in the museum's donation box in the lobby. We have two workshops-- "Typewriter 101" and "Creative (Type) Writing," those workshops have very limited capacity and will take place in the museum's stunning French Parlor. There is a $10 fee for each workshop, you can find workshop tickets as well as the free registration ticket here: QWERTYFEST MKE 2024 | Buy Tickets | Ticketbud Here's the schedule: Presentations 11-12: Amy Waldman, “Hacks for the Stacks: A Brief Guide to MPL Resources for QWERTYpes” 12-1pm: Tea Krulos, “Wisconsin’s Dragon Horde of Fantasy Writing” w/ guest Ben Riggs, author of Slaying the Dragon: A Secret History of Dungeons & Dragons 1-2pm: Music and poetry performance by Bryon Cherry/ lunch break 2pm: Kristina Gómez, “Business Plans for Creatives” 3pm: "Revolution Forever," keynote presentation: Richard Polt, author of The Typewriter Revolution: A Typist’s Companion for the 21st Century Workshops Noon: "Typewriter 101," Lisa Floading 1pm: "Creative Writing," Kro, the Traveling Typist We will have a PB&J bar set up courtesy of The Peanut Butter & Jelly Deli and non-alcoholic drinks. We are also taking a lunch break at 1pm, and there are many food options close by on Brady Street and Farwell Avenue. Afterwards, our Whisky Type after party is still on for 7pm at Great Lakes Distillery and the rest of weekend's schedule remains the same: QWERTYFEST 2024 SCHEDULE - QWERTYFEST We thank you for being part of QWERTYFEST MKE and a huge thank you to the Charles Allis Art Museum for hosting us. The QWERTYFEST MKE Typewriter Ball (5-10pm, Friday, June 21 at Turner Hall) will have lots of stuff for you to try out, including the DarkFusion Systems Gaming Lounge, The Splendid Mailbox mailing station, and the OnMilwaukee Tyipng Stations. These will be located on the second-floor balcony of Turner Hall, and it's a chance for you to get a feel for a variety of typers from different decades with some fun writing prompts. You can see an example, Typewriter Station #1, if you scroll below, but you'll have to see what the others are about in person. 1. Reagan v. Sholes (see below) 2. Create Your Own "Kerning LIfe" Comic Dialog 3. Typewriter Movies (we recycled this one from our screening of California Typewriter earlier this month) 4. Ode to Bats 5. Psychic Detective Roberts Predicts... 6. Lurv Letter 7. My Favorite Thing About Summer 8. Morjjg the Martian 9. Training to be a Quick Brown Fox Get your tickets to the Typewriter Ball here: QWERTYFEST MKE 2024 | Buy Tickets | Ticketbud Saturday, June 22: Whisky Type Party (7pm, Great Lakes Distillery) At our QF after party, we're having a free event featuring Carolyn Wynnack (creator of The Whisky Type site) and a performance by Vox Darling. Food and drink will be available, and we encourage you to bring your typewriter if you'd like to write. Some suggested prompts: -Whiskey Noir: write a short, page long story about a whiskey swilling detective on the case to recover a millionaire's stolen prized possession...a typewriter, of course. -Vox Starling Song: Write some lyrics for the band to consider. Maybe it'll be a hit! Sunday, June 23: Typewriter Brunch Open Jam (11am-2pm, X-Ray Arcade) Typewriter Brunch was fun last year, so we brought it back. The concept is simple-- bring your typewriter (or a pad and pen), order brunch from X-Ray Arcade, hang out and type. We'll also have a couple Scrabble boards and X-Ray has some great vintage arcade games. Some suggested prompts: -Ode to Brunch: a haiku, limerick, acrostic, free form poem, or whatever...tell us about your favorite brunch! -Dear Sham 69: Later the same evening, X-Ray Arcade will have a show with English punk legends Sham 69 (along with No Consent and The Grovelers). They've been doing the punk thing since the 70s and had a hit song with "If the Kids Are United." We just think it would be fun if Sham 69 rolls up and has a pile of typewritten letters welcoming them to Milwaukee waiting for them.   By QQ Staff
“The Qwertyverse” is a new project collaboration that we are excited for and proud of. A Collaboration between University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee College of Letters and Science, UWM Libraries, and QWERTYFEST MKE, this project is directed by UWM Professor of English Jason Puskar and consists of mapping, archiving, and collecting oral history related to the rich legacy of the QWERTY keyboard, from the earliest days to the present, from the original inventors to modern users, and from Kenosha to Calcutta. From The Qwertyverse site: "This site gathers, commemorates and shares the history of how modern people write, which is to say, by typing on a certain kind of keyboard invented in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1873. The history of the QWERTY keyboard is well known to a modest number of historians, curators and collectors, but too little known by the billions of people world-wide who still depend on it to this day. There are few other artifacts of the Victorian era still in use in something close their original form, and none used so widely. But every history starts with the recognition that it didn't have to be this way. Things could have come out differently, and if they had, we might be writing on entirely different kinds of machines. There was nothing natural or inevitable about QWERTY, no single reason why it took the form it did, or and no easy explanation for why it has flourished for so long. This archive of QWERTY materials includes a wide range of historical artifacts and contemporary reflections, ranging from digitized documents from the original inventors to oral histories with modern typists. It also maps locations in Milwaukee where the inventors lived and worked, and one day we hope it will map the spread of QWERTY around the globe. This archive began as a collaborative project in a graduate seminar in the Department of English of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, English 885: Humanities for the Public Good. The students and the instructor worked together to shape the project, create and gather materials, interpret some of them, and pass it on to others in the future. This is a living archive that we hope will grow and develop over the years ahead. We welcome your suggestions, items for inclusion, or ideas for improvement." You can enter The Qwertyverse here: web.uwm.edu/ls-omeka/s/qwerty Visit us at QWERTYFEST MKE Sunday, June 23, 3-4:30pm, in the Rare Books Room on the second floor of Central Library, where project collaborators will show archived items, locations mapped so far, and answer questions about the project. Free event- no registration required. This article originally appeared in QWERTY Quarterly #5 See the full QWERTYFEST schedule here: QWERTYFEST 2024 SCHEDULE - QWERTYFEST   By Tea Krulos Computers were an exciting developing technology in the 1980s and 90s, and before the visualization of sharing funny cat photos or arguing with strangers became common, educators saw a way to share lessons with amusing computer games. Students would take a trip to the school computer lab and get a floppy disk with a game that they would navigate using arrow keys and letters as commands. Since these games were played using a QWERTY keyboard, we thought a fun tribute to this era would be to set up a gaming lounge at this year’s QWERTYFEST MKE, so people can try these digital adventures. DarkFusion Systems (read more about them HERE) have partnered with us to set up this experience. We’re still working on the details, but here’s two well-known classics you’ll have a chance to play. The Oregon Trail (1985) The Oregon Trail was designed to teach a bit of American History, but perhaps the better lesson is how to be prepared in life, because if you go all in on food and not enough medicine or ammo in this game, you will die. The game was first developed in 1971 by Minnesota teachers and evolved into the widely known version of the game released in 1985 for the Apple II computer, with other versions that have followed since, including a more recent version by Gameloft.. Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? (1985) This game, designed to help children learn geography, has continued to have an influence on pop culture– the computer game spawned several sequels, a children’s game show (with a very catchy theme song) on PBS, books, board games, and most recently, an animated show on Netflix. The game’s namesake is a dashing, crimson clad, globetrotting thief that leads a network of criminals. You, gumshoe, use geography knowledge to capture them!  What else? We might look for more classics, but DarkFusion Systems tells us there’s been a renaissance of QWERTY powered games on platforms like Steam, so we’ll probably give some newer creations a whirl as well.
See a full QWERTYFEST schedule and tickets here: QWERTYFEST 2024 SCHEDULE - QWERTYFEST This originally appeared in QWERTY Quarterly #4.  On June 7, 1924, a crowd gathered at Milwaukee's Forest Home Cemetery for the unveiling of a new memorial at the gravesite of Christopher Latham Sholes, inventor of the typewriter and the QWERTY keyboard, An early form of crowdsourcing gathered donations to create the memorial.
Forest Home Cemetery historian Brian Fette notes that Mayor Daniel Hoan presided over the dedication ceremony, which was also attended by Christopher's daughter, Lillian Sholes. This history is something that we're proud to celebrate at QWERTYFEST MKE, and part of our activities line-up for Sunday, June 23 (which is National Typewriter Day!) is a "QWERTY Journey" tour at Forest Home Cemetery, which we're offering at 11am and again at 2pm. The tour, led by Fette, not only visits the Sholes Memorial, but talks about other key figures in the invention of the typewriter and the publishing industry so you can learn about the enduring legacy of Milwaukee inventors and purveyors of the written word. This unique tour was created specifically for QWERTYFEST MKE. Tickets for the tour are $15 and can be purchased here: QWERTYFEST MKE 2024 | Buy Tickets | Ticketbud You can see a full QF schedule here: QWERTYFEST 2024 SCHEDULE - QWERTYFEST SEE ALSO: Our roving reporter Ed Makowski talked to Brian Fette in advance of QWERTYFEST last year: "When Milwaukee was the Silicon Valley for Typewriters and more." Molly Snyder wrote about women's typewriter history in "Women's complicated relationship with the typewriter is not black-and-white." Both articles published in QWERTY Quarterly #1 and OnMilwaukee.com.  Illustration by Nick Berg
Tom Hanks is an avid typewriter enthusiast who, since the 1970s, has been a passionate collector. Currently, he owns roughly 250 machines and continues to use them regularly. Earlier today, QWERTYFEST MKE named Tom Hanks the official spokesperson of the three-day, Milwaukee-based event that celebrates the invention of the typewriter in Milwaukee 150 years ago. Hanks has no clue of his new title or his prominent role in the world’s only typewriter festival. “We’ve invited him multiple times through typewritten and digital letters and have not heard back, so it was pretty easy to name him spokesperson because he has no idea this is happening,” says co-organizer Molly Snyder. As the unknowing spokesperson of QWERTYFEST, happening June 21-23 in Milwaukee, Hanks will be attributed with all sorts of quips he didn’t say. For example: “QWERTYFEST MKE is the greatest festival of our times and everyone on the planet should consider attending.” “QWERTYFEST MKE is more than a typewriter festival. It is a revolution of contemporary practices.” “QWERTYFEST is poised to be the next New York World’s Fair – only based in Milwaukee.” Tea Krulos, co-organizer of the event, agrees that Hanks is the perfect person to be the spokesperson for QWERTYFEST MKE. “Hanks has played some really important roles in his life, but the one as spokesperson for QWERTYFEST is undoubtedly going to be his finest yet,” says Krulos. “Too bad he’ll never know about it.” If he knew about it, Hanks would probably tell you to check out the full QWERTYFEST MKE schedule and tickets here: QWERTYFEST 2024 SCHEDULE - QWERTYFEST  By Lisa Floading
Spring will soon be sprung, and it’s a great time to spruce up your typers. Think of this like a recipe for happy typing! You Will Need:
Areas to Focus On Type Slugs – the “e” and “a” often need some cleaning. Use the dental pick to gently lift out the debris. Don’t have a dental pick? An open safety pin will work, but consider getting yourself a pick (under $8 on Amazon). You’ll really appreciate the clear type! Type a few pangrams – sentences that use every letter of the alphabet – to see if any other letters need cleaning. Foxes and dogs are great, but here are a few more pangrams: The job requires extra pluck and zeal from every young wage earner. A quart jar of oil mixed with zinc oxide makes a very bright paint. The public was amazed to view the quickness and dexterity of the juggler. Platen – while some may be blessed with new platens (courtesy of JJ Short or their own ingenuity) most of us have granite-hard platens. Rubber Renue can be used to clean the rubber, and while it will not take off decades, it will give it just a little more “tooth” to grip the paper. It’s not cheap, but it does last forever. Be sure to use it in a well-ventilated area with a mask. Apply the Rubber Renue to a paper towel and turn the platen knob to wipe down the entire surface. Knobs – because of the texture on many carriage knobs (especially lighter colored ones) they can get grimy. Use cotton buds/swabs and a little simple green (or gentle dishwashing liquid mixed 1 part to 4 parts water) to clean them up. Dusty Areas – a can of compressed air here is usually all you need, with a few soft paint brushes, to clean off any areas that have gotten a little dusty. If you do leave your typewriter out, a hand towel makes a great dust cover when not in use. Keytops – lastly, don’t forget to clean off your key tops. Pieces of an old t-shirt work well (as do microfiber towels) combined with some Simple Green or your dishwashing detergent from before. This article originally appeared in QWERTY Quarterly #4. Lisa will be leading a "Typewriter 101" workshop at QWERTYFEST MKE on June 22. See a full schedule and ticket links here: QWERTYFEST 2024 SCHEDULE - QWERTYFEST |
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