Loss of Maplewood typewriter repair shop may be Rolla’s gain

A typewriter repair shop in the Route 66 town of Maplewood, Missouri, has closed after almost 60 years in business, but it appears its services and part of its collection will resurface later this year in Rolla, Missouri — another Route 66 town.

Jones Typewriter Co. recently closed after 81-year-old owner Vern Trampe decided to shutter it in October, reported the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Higher rent and property insurance premiums were cited.

It was one of the few typewriter repair shops left in operation in the entire state.

Jones Typewriter sat about a mile south of the Manchester Road alignment of Route 66.

The shop’s apprentice, Shane Byrne, however, has plans to set up shop in Rolla in about six months.

Though Trampe and May are moving on, the store’s approximately 1,000 typewriters will be rehomed with Byrne and his wife, Amanda, in Rolla.

Byrne has plans for a retail and repair shop named Clickety Clack in Rolla, in addition to a typewriter museum where he will display machines from his personal collection of over 105 typewriters, plus some from Jones. The couple hopes to have the museum and business open in six months.

Already, the Byrnes have hosted a “type-in” event in Rolla, where they set up typewriters in a public place and invite people to use them.

A few years ago, a local TV station produced a segment about Jones Typewriter Co.:

When we lived in the St. Louis region, we went to the business to buy a ribbon. Jones Typewriter was every bit of a museum as a parts and repair shop.

The article notes typewriters have seen a resurgence thanks to actor Tom Hanks, who loves them and continues to use them to type out letters.

The resurgence reminds me of the revival of vinyl records and other retro products in recent decades.

(Screen-capture image from KSDK video of typewriters at Jones Typewriter Co. in Maplewood, Missouri)