I just communicated with a GHS60 Alumnus about my typewriting journey, started in HS at the insistence of my mother who was a secretary. Here is the communication, somewhat pared down:
I took typing in HS, I believe it was called personal typing. I got reasonably
proficient.
After HS, I went in the Army and had one other opportunity to develop my typing skills. I joined the Army Reserve with 12 classmates from GHS. We were offered the opportunity to stay together for the six months of active duty for training (Basic and some advanced) if we agreed to go into Advanced Infantry Training (AIT). So, my mother responded to a Colonel who wrote a serial form-type letter to all parents about what training we were getting. She responded on Office of the President stationery because she was the secretary for the President of Abney Mills. (Not only did the stationery say that, but in fact my mother shared the same physical office as the President and did that for the 20+ years she was there.) In any event, the Colonel must have thought I was important, because he came out into the field to meet me during Basic Training. I had no idea why he did that, but he did ask whether I might prefer going into some other Army specialty such as clerk typist rather than AIT. I declined, saying that I wanted to stay with my buddies in AIT. If I had accepted that offer, I would have honed my typing skills beyond the high school experience.
I also took typing in college in the business school at USC (after
going on active duty in the Army in 1960). Just one semester. As I recall, I
was the only male in the class, so that was a positive. I may have marginally
increased my typing skills in that class.
So, I came out of college as a reasonable typist.
While in college, I did Army Reserve duty in Columbia with a JAG unit. About the only typing I did was to
type up the paperwork for my promotions for the Colonel to sign.
I also received court reporter training at the Naval Justice School in Rhode Island. Although we used "monkey masks" to repeat into a recorder everything that went on in the mock courtroom, we then had to type up the recording in standard transcript format. Given the rigor of that training, good typing skills were required.
One college anecdote. At USC, I was a history major requiring a senior thesis. In the history department, the senior thesis was a big deal. I consulted with my favorite history teacher about the topic; that teacher then
reviewed the thesis, including three or maybe four rounds of drafts. (He was a
very exacting professor who worked hard and expected his students to work hard
as well.) I turned in my first draft in handwriting. I went to his office for
the review. I knocked on the door. He asked me to come in, close the door, and
sit down. As I was closing the door and sitting down, he asked me “Mr. Townsend,
do you know what I think of when I see sloppy handwriting?” I responded “No, sir.” He
said “A sloppy mind.” I got the point. (Actually given the tone of his question, I could have made a good guess; but as a side note, he had already graded me A on two examinations I took in handwriting, so he must have gotten over my horrible handwriting.) My later drafts were typewritten. My
thesis won the outstanding senior thesis award for that year. That award was based
on the content, rather than the typewritten presentation, but the typewritten
presentation may have helped at the margins.
