TRANSCRIPTION
How old were you when you began working at the shop?
I was Twenty-four years old when I started working at the LaCoste Ledger.
What kind of training did you need?
In regard to training basically it was on the job training 90% is that. I went to
school for photo engraving where you learn how to change pictures into plates like this which were
used in the process of
letterpress printing.
Did you enjoy the job?
As far as being a printer you have to enjoy it for which I have for many years. I have been working at it for some 50 years
right now and it has been a pleasure doing it.
At anytime were there slumps where business was slow?
Business has been really good over the years. Back in the '40s, when I started in this
business it was very good but through the years different things coming into play such as computers and stuff like that which has hurt
the printing industry tremendously. We have lost business to schools where we made report cards that are now done with computers.
What was your job description when you began at the shop?
In the beginning when i first came to work for the printing business was basically to
feed platinum presses and you do this by feeding it one at a time one at a time while it is printing.
Later on I went up into making frames and type pages like the one you see here which are used in making books.
Have you ever had doubts about what you were doing as a career?
There have been times where I had serious doubts to what If I wanted to be a printer or not.
Overall though, it has been a good profession. There are times when it is very frustrating and especially
now with letterpress printing going out and the work is not that plentiful now.
Was the job hard or dangerous?
In the printing business, you normally put in long hours, it's very tedious work you might work 8am-5pm. If you have a deadline
you might work through the night. When we made the paper, we worked to nine to ten at night to get the paper out in time.
How much did you make when you began at the shop?
I made around $300 dollars a month.
Did you print the local paper and how long did you print it?
We also published the local paper for
Lacoste, Texas and surrounding areas. It was
founded in 1915 by my grandfather. In 1919 my father purchased it and then on it was printed as the LaCoste
Ledger. We continued to publish the paper until the mid 50's when it was sold to the
Hondo Anvil Herald.
Basically we sold the paper because advertising was very scarce and it just wasn't economical and we went to job training.
During the prime years how many people worked along for you?
Employee's, we had about 7 employees when we were printing the local paper, through the years we had one more or less
until we went into commercial printing where the number of employees decreased and over the years have worked down
to only two employees.
