|
|
||
|
Wirt Model # 96a Long with Rotary Club emblem on crown
|
|||||
|
I bought this from a very sweet lady who lives in Bloomsburg and has become quite a friend, A great deal of what I have learned about Wirt and Bloomsburg came from her efforts. Her father and uncle were carpenters in Bloomsburg and often worked on the Wirt Mansion. In one unrelated story. Her father was hired to build a chimney by a miserly old man who was infamous for slinking out of his debts. Her father built the chimney, and as expected the man failed to pay. A few months latter as the weather grew colder. The man came to the carpenters house yelling that his house was full of smoke. The chimney didn't work. The carpenter said he would fix it, but not until the man paid for the original work. The man reluctantly agreed, and handed over the money. The carpenter went to the man's house, climbed up on top of the roof, and dropped a brick down the chimney, breakng the glass pane that he had earlier built into the masonry. This pen had belong to the woman's father and she is not sure where or when he picked it up. She speculated that it might have been given to her father when he worked for the Wirts. The reason she was willing to sell the pen was because it was missing the section, nib and feed. I didn't think it would be so hard to restore the pen, but I was a bit surprised by how large the pen was when it arrived. From her description I expected something much smaller. Finding a Wirt section for a #96a is all but impossible. I bought a few Waterman 56's, but there were too small. A Waterman 58 was just a hair too big. Eventually I had one of the Waterman 56 sections built up to fit the barrel. About a year latter, I found a Wirt #6 nib and feed, so now other than the section, the pen is correct. I haven't had anyone notice that yet.
|
